Five of the best green watches for 2018

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published 18 April 2018

Subtle details come together to create this textural timepiece, imbued with a retro 1970s feel. The bronze case (the material chosen because of its ability to develop a unique patina with age) comes in a curvy cushion-shaped design with fluted bezel, its warm hues providing the perfect partner to the sun-brushed dial in a deep green. The striking model is finished off with an unusual felt strap, handmade in Italy using natural fibres, combining durable qualities in a product that is lightweight and soft to the touch.

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Glashutte Original has drawn on its in-house dial making expertise, based at its factory in Pforzheim, Germany, to create this eye-catching new addition to its retro Sixties collection. The unusual degrade effect on the watch face has been achieved through a painstaking process, beginning with the application of a galvanic base coat, followed by coloured lacquer and finally a layer of black lacquer applied with a spray gun, which is then fired at high temperatures to burn in the colour. The stunning result is subtle gradients on the dial that play with the light, and ensure that each watch is truly one of a kind.

Here the colour choice is not purely aesthetic, but pays tribute to a practice going back more than a century. Marking 30 years of partnership between Chopard and car race Mille Miglia, the watchmaker has produced a special edition of chronographs that take inspiration from the motoring tradition of racing colours, denoting the nationality of the driver. Here it has decked out the dials in five different choices – bright red Rosso Corsa for Italy, grey-white for the German 'silver arrows', yellow for Belgium, blue for France and, finally, British racing green for the UK – in a stylish, vintage-inspired design sure to appeal regardless of patriotic allegiances. Each comes equipped with high-precision, COSC-certified movement and 42 hours of power reserve.

The Minerva factory in Villeret, Switzerland was the forerunner to what is now Montblanc's watch manufacture, and in the 1920s and 1930s led the way in producing technical watches for military professionals and mountain explorers. Today, this spirit is channelled in the 1858 collection, with this limited edition paying special tribute to a particular piece of horological history, referencing the Minerva monopusher chronograph calibre 13.20, designed in 1920 to be fitted into a wristwatch. Here the vintage feel is continued with a smoked green dial, paired with matching green alligator strap with beige stitching.

This bold timepiece was conceived as the result of happenstance. At the Baselworld watch fair in 1966, when the brand received the dial for its new release in the run up to the show, it was missing the hour markers. Its resourceful founder, Rene Bannwart, instead had the marker engraved on the bezel, something that has come to be one of its defining features. This latest iteration comes kitted out with a retrograde annual calendar display, fitted in a chunky 44cm case and emblazoned with eye-catching emerald green across the dial, bezel and strap.

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