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The 7 best salmon dial watches for collectors with delicious taste

The 7 best salmon dial watches for collectors with delicious taste

Jamie Weiss

Every year, it seems there’s a new trend in dial colours that takes the industry by storm. In 2021 it was blue, in 2022 it was green, and in 2023 it seemed to be rainbows… But among the fleeting enthusiasm and the short-lived trends, one colour has lingered to become a staple of the diehard watch-collecting community. It’s all about salmon. Now, I’m more of a barramundi kinda guy, but in this case, I’ll make an exception to bring you my list of the seven best salmon dial watches in no particular order. Order up!

Baltic MR01 Salmon

baltic mr01 salmon

Baltic salmon can be found in the seas around Lapland and Iceland, but you can catch a Baltic MR01 Salmon in the Time+Tide Shop. An affordable mechanical entry point into the world of salmon dial watches, its Art Deco aesthetic pairs with the old-school vibe of a salmon dial perfectly, with an offset small seconds and Breguet numerals giving it a jaunty edge. It’s powered by a Hangzhou micro-rotor movement and measures up at an approachable 36mm. Price: €545(~US$600)

Fears Brunswick

The Brunswick from UK-based brand Fears is another salmon-dialled option that won’t have you selling kidneys and is also available in the Time+Tide Shop. With a dial galvanically coated in rose gold and copper, it has a rich salmon colour and a vertically brushed finish that’s applied by hand. Adding to its clean design, we have a small seconds at 6 o’clock that has beautiful circular graining. The design as a whole is a throwback to early Fears watches from the ’40s and ’50s, cased in an elegant cushion shape. It’s vintage, elegant and the perfect pairing to the sweet salmon colour of the dial. Under the hood is the ETA 7001, a movement that has been in use for years. It’s not much to write home about aesthetically, hence the use of a closed caseback, but it gets the job done and makes for a reliable daily wearer. Price: US$3,895 (on a leather strap), US$4,390 (on a stainless steel bracelet)

IWC Portugieser 40

portugieser salmon

This year, IWC unveiled a bunch of delicious new dial colours in the Portugieser collection, including horizon blue, sand gold and onyx… But this salmon-dialled Portugieser 40 remains a strong contender for the prettiest (and perhaps most underrated) dress watch in the Schaffhausen brand’s stable. Featuring a rich sunburst salmon complemented by comparatively minimalist Arabics, this timepiece offers expanses of salmon tones. Price: US$7,450

Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42

Imagine for a minute, if you will. You’re a young professional. You’ve just received your first pay cheque, and, being an avid reader of Time+Tide, you want to blow it all on a nice watch. Something special, perhaps. After seeing someone on Instagram wearing a Patek Philippe 5172G, you say to yourself: “that’s the one!”, and promptly head to your local AD, only to be told that you’ll probably never be offered one. At first, you’re disappointed, but as you exit the boutique, you spot a lovely little Breitling out of the corner of your eye. “Is this available?”, you whisper to the sales associate, relieved at the sight of his nodding head. Although the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph bears a striking resemblance to the aforementioned Patek, it absolutely stands on its own. With its in-house movement, thoughtful date execution and beautiful salmon dial, it’s a winner in my books. Price: US$9,350

Chopard L.U.C 1860

chopard luc 1860 wrist

Released at Watches & Wonders 2023, the Chopard L.U.C 1860 is a faithful reproduction of the first-ever L.U.C watch from 1996. Although the real focus of this watch is the movement, the L.U.C 96.40-L, Chopard has knocked it out of the park with the dial. It’s made from gold, finished with a hand-crafted guilloché and made salmon via a galvanic treatment. What a stunner! At 36.5mm, it’s the perfect size for a dress watch – tell me this wouldn’t look amazing with a tuxedo. It’s also made from Chopard’s Lucent Steel, a partially recycled alloy that is 50% harder than its 316L counterparts. Price: US$23,200

Grönefeld 1941 Principia

gronefeld 1941 principia automatic salmon dial

Let’s move up the scale (pun entirely intended) with the Grönefeld 1941 Principia Automatic Salmon Dial. In true haute horlogerie fashion, this salmon dial beauty has all the hallmarks we have come to love from the Horological Brothers. Ridiculous movement finishing, intricate case design, exotic straps (hello buffalo), and attention to detail that that puts most to shame. At 39.5mm, in either white gold, red gold or stainless steel, this is a watch for the slightly flamboyant, and deep-pocketed watch collector. As an aside, go and check out the Grönefeld website, they go into glorious detail on their specs page. Here’s what they say about the winding system of the calibre G-06: “For 24 hours of autonomy 633 rotations of the oscillating mass are required”. Classic. Price: starting from €36,900 (~US$40,000)

Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon Pursuit

Laurent Ferrier GrandSport Tourb Pursuit

Want to really splash out on a salmon dial watch? (Sorry, I can’t help it with the puns.) Then look no further than this Laurent Ferrier. It’s almost the perfect blend of traditional and modern: its integrated bracelet and motorsports-inspired design give it a modern (or at least mid-century) flair, but the fact that it’s got a tourbillon movement that doesn’t show via the dial side is a truly old-school touch… And one of the biggest subtle flexes in modern horology, which particularly blew the mind of our creative director Marcus when he got hands-on with it. The smoked salmon dial is just the icing on the cake. Price: US$202,000

Honourable mention: Studio Underd0g Series 03 Salm0n

studio underd0g salm0n monopusher chronograph

Strictly speaking, Studio Underd0g’s Salm0n is not a salmon-dialled watch, although it does have a salmon-coloured chapter ring and chronograph subdial! But we had to include it because, well, it’s literally a salmon dial – with a mottled grey centre that resembles salmon skin. It’s the sort of characteristically cheeky touch we’ve come to expect from this design-focused brand, but the Series 03 Salm0n is also one of the British brand’s most horologically credible watches yet, thanks to its use of a Sellita monopusher chronograph movement. As of publishing, this watch is currently sold out, but there are likely to be more drops in the future, so stay tuned. Price: US$2,000