Rock On! Stone-Dial Watches For Every Budget — Including Dennison, Piaget, Baltic, And Rolex
Would you rock a stone-dial watch? I would. And I also could. Previously, only a handful of brands ventured into stone dials, and those that did reserved them for highly expensive pieces. Today, however, technological advancements have made stone dials far more accessible to produce. This benefits watchmakers and watch fans: smaller brands can now experiment with the aesthetic, while the public can enjoy a watch with a stone dial at a more approachable price point without any apparent loss in the perceived value of the watch. There are stone-dial watches for every budget, from affordable yet distinctive creations by Dennison to exclusive models from Rolex, which has a long history in this field. Here are a few examples of what you could be rocking.
Given the restrictive canvas that watch designers must work within, it is little surprise that ancient art is continually being revived. Once dismissed in favor of instrumental and sporty dials, stone dials have returned to prominence. Today, brands across the spectrum are launching watches with them. The term “stone dial” generally refers to a watch face crafted from a semi-precious stone, such as malachite, lapis lazuli, onyx, or tiger eye, sliced thin and polished to reveal its natural beauty. The natural variations in the stones used ensure that every watch featuring one of these dials is unique. And it’s just that uniqueness that enhances the attraction.
Stone-dial watches for every budget — Dennison ALD Collection
A decade ago, a watch with a natural stone dial was at a price level that lots of watch fans would have considered unattainable. But the times, they are a-changin’. Dennison is a good example of that positive change. The English brand that disappeared in 1967 didn’t bother to launch just one stone-dial watch. Instead, it launched one collection in 2024 and another this year.
The Dennison ALD Natural Dials Collection now consists of no fewer than 11 stone-dial variants (plus two others with dials made of natural wood). And with a price of €650 including shipping, you can have the whole lineup for less than the cost of one Rolex GMT-Master II with a tiger iron dial (but more on that watch later).
Dennison offers seven stones — malachite, tiger eye, aventurine, lapis lazuli, aventurine, rubellite, and agate — and a choice of standard stainless steel or gold PVD-treated cases. Emmanuel Gueit, the man behind the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, designed the collection. His goal was to create a series of watches that the English brand Dennison would/could/should have released in the year it closed its doors in the late 1960s.
If one type of stone on your dial is not enough, and you prefer a travel watch, Dennison also has the ALD Dual Time. This creation comes in two versions. Yes, there are the ones with an aventurine, tiger eye, malachite, or lapis lazuli dial showing a second color-matching circular sunburst display for the second time zone. But the more spectacular offerings are the variants with two-stone split dials. One combines bloodstone and lapis lazuli, while the other pairs tiger eye and black marble. No matter which variation you fancy, each watch has a price of €780.
Piaget’s stone-dial Andy Warhol watches pop
It’s no secret that Emmanuel Gueit, who designed the stone-dial Dennison collections, found inspiration in vintage Piaget pieces designed by his father. Jean-Claude Gueit, who worked at Piaget for most of his career, created many of the brand’s iconic stone-dial watches, which first appeared in 1966. One of Piaget’s most famous clients was Andy Warhol (1928–1987). This artist and cultural icon owned seven Piaget timepieces, and he was mostly seen with the Black Tie watch, created in 1972. The watch, with its 45mm, neither circular nor square case and a remarkable stepped bezel, was revived in 2014.
The model looks best with a stone dial. For instance, in 2017, there was a yellow gold version with a brown pietersite dial, and last year, a rose gold version with a green malachite dial debuted. This year, thanks to an official new collaboration under license with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the timepiece was formally renamed the Andy Warhol watch. The white gold model with a blue meteorite dial and stepped hobnail-pattern bezel (€67,000) celebrates that fact and steals the show. But if this watch isn’t to your liking, Piaget has a solution. The brand now has an Infinitely Personal service that lets you tailor an Andy Warhol timepiece to your style. You can choose from white or rose gold cases, ten types of stone dials, dauphine or slender pencil hands, and an array of leather straps.
What is tiger iron? Rolex knows
When you think of stone-dial watches, you probably think of Rolex. There are way too many desirable Rolex models in this category. The solution is to only show The Crown’s latest creation. This year, Rolex presented an Everose GMT-Master II with an intriguing tiger iron dial showing many color details. The dial of this year’s Rolex GMT-Master II “Tiger Iron” ref. 126715CHNR (€51,250) is a metamorphic rock — a mixture of tiger eye, red jasper, and hematite stones — that gives the watch an almost wild appearance. It seems a muscular sports watch is needed to control the wild tiger iron dial.
A sporty look combined with a stone dial is not exclusive to Rolex, though. The Baltic Prismic limited editions with stone dials have clean, angular lines. Also, the steel and titanium case construction is anything but classic and traditional. Last year, the Parisian brand made three watches, each with a colorful stone dial inspired by Paris, London, and New York City, cities where Baltic has a brand boutique.
Paris got a vibrant blue lapis lazuli dial, London turned red with fiery agate, and New York went green thanks to a lively jade dial. Only 200 pieces were made of each version. At the time, the price of these limited editions was €1,250 on a leather strap and €1,310 on a steel mesh bracelet. If you’re interested in any of these creations, you have no choice but to look for a pre-owned one.
Have you lost your marbles?
Last but not least comes the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon (€140,500 ex. taxes). I wore this watch for a few mesmerizing minutes during this year’s Watches and Wonders, and it blew me away. The green dial’s marble stone comes from quarries in the northwestern region of the Aosta Valley in Italy. Its “Verde Alpi” color is both Alpine and very Roman. Framing the dial is a yellow gold case paired with a green leather strap. Wearing this watch is like strapping the famous Bvlgari boutique at Via Condotti 10 in Rome to the wrist.
Marble is robust in its natural state, but it becomes exceptionally fragile when cut into thin layers. That didn’t stop the people at Bvlgari from creating a dial only 0.8mm thick. They only did it 30 times, though. Oh, there was also an Octo Finissimo with a marble dial as well as a marble-covered titanium case and bracelet. It was a one-off for the Only Watch auction in 2023. It’s impressive, yes, but also a bit too “rocky” for me. The marble-dial watch feels lavish, like a salon in a Roman palazzo. The full-marble treatment, on the other hand, is like a bathroom in a 1970s five-star hotel.
Many other brands recently released watches featuring stone dials, including otherworldly stones. Omega, Berneron, Formex, and Hublot are just a few. If you’re curious, go look them up. And if you still have time after doing that, please let me know if stone dials are within your budget and on your wishlist. Maybe you have a favorite stone you want to put on your wrist one day, and now, with all the new offerings, it can become a reality.
