Opinion: Green dials are my favourite watch trend of 2024

Colourful watches and extravagant dials are one of the key 2024 watch trends I expected to see this year. While we’ve barely made a dent into 2024, it seems the watch experts at T3 weren’t far off as the newest timepieces have all had one distinct feature in common: green dials.

Green coloured dials aren’t exactly new in the watch world. In 2018 and 2019, green watches were absolutely everywhere and were met with high demand. Since then, block colours have somewhat calmed down as watch manufacturers went even bolder, like the cartoon-inspired dials of the Rolex’s emoji and bubble watches.

But now at the start of 2024, it looks like the green watch trend is back and more sophisticated than ever. The main theme I’ve been seeing with this year’s green comeback is the specific shade of the dial. Rather than pastel or lime greens, I’ve been noticing watch brands steering toward deeper greens like emerald, sea and forest shades.

Case in point, TAG Heuer, Zenith and Hublot debuted a host of new watches at LVMH Watch Week in January 2024, and their use of green certainly didn’t disappoint. TAG Heuer reimagined its popular Carrera Chronograph with a teal green dial while Zenith’s Chronomaster Sport featured a green ceramic bezel and lacquered green dial.

Similarly, Blancpain debuted a Year of the Dragon-inspired watch with a red gold and green enamel dial. Newer releases have also used green in bold ways, including the Breitling X Victoria Beckham Limited Edition Chronomat with a peppermint dial and the Rado Anatom Automatic that has a blurred green-to-black gradient at its centre.  

Most watch manufacturers trying out this year’s green trend are complimenting the colour and dial with subtle materials like black rubber straps and gold or stainless steel bracelets. But other brands, most noticeably Hublot, have been expanding the green into other areas of the watch.

Another debut at LVMH Watch Week, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Green Saxem doesn’t have a green dial, but instead the colour is displayed on the watch case, bezel, numeral and hour markers, and highlights the hands. Other watch brands are incorporating green more subtly by adding it to the watch strap, or adding a secret pop of green like Bell & Ross.

On the surface, the Bell & Ross BR-X5 Green Lum has a simple and understated design with its beige and black accents. But when the lights are down, the watch glows bright green, thanks to a photoluminescent LM3D composite material made from quartz fibres. It’s truly mesmerising to see.

As I said previously, we’re only at the start of the year, so it’ll be interesting to see if this colour and dial trend will continue throughout 2024. With Watches and Wonders coming up in April, I’m looking forward to seeing what green-inspired timepieces will debut and what other colourful accents we can expect.