FEATURE: The Rise of the Green Watch Dial

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For the last little while the blue dial has been the colour to have, but times are changing and by all accounts the new colour to be seen wearing on the wrist is green. Of course, the Rolex Submariner Hulk is partly responsible for this change, but now apparently the green dial solid gold Rolex Daytona is trading pre-owned at something like 60% above its list price and Rolex aren't even taking orders, this for a watch which two years ago was languishing unloved and unwanted in the boutiques. Clearly the green dial is on the rise...

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Green dial TAG Heuers are few and far between, there's the 2019 Autavia pictured above (top) of course, which to my mind is the pick of the new Autavia range and the perfect complement to the bronze case. There's also the Khaki Aquaracer Calibre 5 from a few years ago (that one was released alongside the blue/white camouflage model), and the quartz Khaki that effectively replaced it (below).

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A little further back in time we've had the Formula 1 Khaki, which was available on either a bracelet or a rubber strap - never seen one of those, I used to have the black version and I must admit the Khaki definitely appeals, great lume on the that watch as well, which was an added bonus, but the rubber is a no-no for me as I had major issues with the clasp digging into my wrist and it doesn't have the same appeal for me on the bracelet.

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Further back still we have the green dial Kirium, which is another piece I'd like to get hold of at some point to expand my Kirium collection, but colour dial Kiriums seem to hold their price better than black dials so they can be a little hard to pick up and they weren't made in massive numbers either.

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Even further back we have the green dial S/EL, but the same goes here too really. Red and green examples command a noticeable premium over standard black dials and again scarcity means the sellers can wait for the right buyer to come along.

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Another old favourite is the two tone 6000 Series Chronometer, but this is even harder to get hold of and you'd have to be looking at nigh on a grand to get one of these on the wrist. These were available on a leather strap as well if the two-tone bracelet is a bit too much for you, but again good luck finding one!

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If you're undaunted by bling, you could go full gold and really make a statement, but finding one of these solid 18k gold 6000 Chronometers is really going to be a challenge...

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I'm pretty sure I've never come across a WH5145 for sale, and it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of them have been melted down for the gold content, that is a thing these days apparently. Sounds like vandalism to me, but then it's probably worth more as scrap than it is whole, so I guess it's understandable, I have a feeling that these might have been made to order as well, so there's no telling if there was that many out there in the first place...

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But if you want something a bit more up to date and a bit more 'classic' into the bargain then the Monaco might be the watch for you. This 'Men's Club' limited edition was released in Japan in 2017 but apparently hasn't sold out as yet, which I find quite incredible actually given that there's only 100 pieces in existence!

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Lastly, we have this, which I must admit I dismissed as 'fake' at first glance, but then I noticed the picture source was Calibre 11 and so the reality is, this was a 2016 limited edition Monaco made for the Swiss boutique and limited to 250 pieces. I can't help but think that the stripe on the left hand side looks a bit odd, but I'm sure you'd get used to it.

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And finally, finally, I couldn't resist adding a couple more pieces I came across while Googling for this post, a couple of 2000 Series limited editions (500pcs each I believe) which are quite similar to the black/green 2000 Series I posted about a little while back. Not strictly green dials, but definitely worthy of mention.

If none of these has really grabbed you, worry not - there's at least two new green dial TAG Heuer's on the horizon, one of which is due next month.