The ephinany of the Sunburst Dial.
So today, as per my morning routine; I rolled out of bed, greeted my Betta fish good morning, grabbed a nice cup o’ joe, and plopped down on my couch bathed in the warm morning sun rays and put on YouTube.
On my recommended was a video of my grail watch - enter the Rolex Day Date. The presidential. The supreme being of watches. (To me at least) and so far out of reach (to me, again) it may as well be those poor souls trapped in that submarine.
BUT I digress, what a wonderful video it was. And for the first time I was completely awestruck by a sunburst dial. I’ve been aware of sunburst dials of course; but they’ve always flown under the radar for me. They were just kinda there. Sometimes I’d find myself appreciating a watch with a sunburst dial without really knowing why - until today.
I now find myself in a new chapter of my watch journey. The rise of the sunburst dial. I can’t stop looking at them - they’re amazing, they’re eye catching, they morph with the light and are somehow subtle and magnificent simultaneously. How did I miss this? And to be honest I think I know the answer; navy blue sunburst dials… kinda suck. Ironically, with blue being my favorite of the colors, you’d think I’d love the blue sunburst. But I just find them blasé, they don’t grab my attention at all. And they’re seemingly the most ubiquitous of the sunburst colors.
But man! A nice silver, dark grey or mint sunburst and now we’re talking. I saw a GORGEOUS gold sunburst on an island watch (brand I’d never heard of before today) and it took me for a whirl.
Anyway; now I am on a quest. A sunburst crusade. I must find the best sunburst options this beautiful world of horology has to offer.
So please share with me your favorite sunburst dials and open my eyes even further!
What time is it? Learning how to watch spot and always in the pursuit of the worlds finest red velvet latte.
The first watch I bought when I started developing a serious interest in watches was my OP36 with the sunburst silver dial. I love the look of it, but the white gold hands don't contrast enough with the dial, so it can be tough to read the time at a glance.
I've also got a vintage Benrus with somewhat of a sunburst dial, as well as a Zelos with a gorgeous teal sunburst that never seems to be able to be properly captured in photos.
The first watch I bought when I started developing a serious interest in watches was my OP36 with the sunburst silver dial. I love the look of it, but the white gold hands don't contrast enough with the dial, so it can be tough to read the time at a glance.
I've also got a vintage Benrus with somewhat of a sunburst dial, as well as a Zelos with a gorgeous teal sunburst that never seems to be able to be properly captured in photos.
Dear god - that Rolex is sublime. I’m enraptured. I can definitely see legibility being a slight issue - would have been an awesome opportunity for some heat treated blue hands and how that could have played with the light from the sunburst to give it a minute blue hue in certain lights / angles.
The other two are incredible as well! That teal dial would be champion at both the top of a mountain or the luxurious shores of a beach. Stunner. Thanks for sharing!
If you put the watch outside your Betta fish bowl, will it try to attack it?
Dear god - that Rolex is sublime. I’m enraptured. I can definitely see legibility being a slight issue - would have been an awesome opportunity for some heat treated blue hands and how that could have played with the light from the sunburst to give it a minute blue hue in certain lights / angles.
The other two are incredible as well! That teal dial would be champion at both the top of a mountain or the luxurious shores of a beach. Stunner. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. The sunburst finish of the OP was definitely a huge draw for me, and in the bright light of the AD, it was actually fairly easy to read the time. I love nice bright dials, and being a sucker for blue dials, I'd probably pick up a blue dial OP if I could stumble across a great deal.
The blue on that Panerai is stunning - I'd love to get something with that exact same shade of blue.
I do have a couple of others with blue sunburst - IWC Pilots Chrono 41 and Oris Aquis Great Barrier Reef III, both of which I purchased in large part due to their dials. In person, they both pale in comparison to the teal Zelos, which has some greenish tones along with the blue, which I've never been able to capture in a photo. Zelos is my favorite microbrand, and that is mostly as a result of their amazing dials.
If you put the watch outside your Betta fish bowl, will it try to attack it?
This is an interesting question that I’ve never attempted, but I don’t think he would. Iorek is a rather calm lad for a betta fish.
Love a nice sunburst dial. Today I got my first Salmon coloured sunburst on this Zelos.
But my favourites are my blue ones. My Cemence Photic
And my Vilhelm Prism.
Thank you. The sunburst finish of the OP was definitely a huge draw for me, and in the bright light of the AD, it was actually fairly easy to read the time. I love nice bright dials, and being a sucker for blue dials, I'd probably pick up a blue dial OP if I could stumble across a great deal.
The blue on that Panerai is stunning - I'd love to get something with that exact same shade of blue.
I do have a couple of others with blue sunburst - IWC Pilots Chrono 41 and Oris Aquis Great Barrier Reef III, both of which I purchased in large part due to their dials. In person, they both pale in comparison to the teal Zelos, which has some greenish tones along with the blue, which I've never been able to capture in a photo. Zelos is my favorite microbrand, and that is mostly as a result of their amazing dials.
Alright the cobalt on that IWC has me eating my words - what a splendid color. I’m a sucker for IWC. The Oris is in excellent company with your Zelos as well! Great collection my friend.
Love a nice sunburst dial. Today I got my first Salmon coloured sunburst on this Zelos.
But my favourites are my blue ones. My Cemence Photic
And my Vilhelm Prism.
Alright everyone coming out of the woodworks to prove me wrong about the blue sunburst dials. These are all fantastic!
I will say I still prefer the mint, and silver but these blue ones are very nice! I really dig the salmon on the Zelos as well. A copper would be pretty killer too now it’s got me thinking…
My DJ 41 with the mint green sunburst dial. Absolutely stunning when the light hits it and changes colors with the sun’s rays, shadows and surroundings. Easy to get lost in.
This is an interesting question that I’ve never attempted, but I don’t think he would. Iorek is a rather calm lad for a betta fish.
Iorek...as in Iorek Byrnison from Golden Compass? It would be a very appropriate name for a fighter.
My DJ 41 with the mint green sunburst dial. Absolutely stunning when the light hits it and changes colors with the sun’s rays, shadows and surroundings. Easy to get lost in.
Ah man, what a grail. My ultimate grail is the DD, but this DJ is so spectacular. Is this platinum?
Iorek...as in Iorek Byrnison from Golden Compass? It would be a very appropriate name for a fighter.
Correctomundo my friend! Huge fan of those books.
Ah man, what a grail. My ultimate grail is the DD, but this DJ is so spectacular. Is this platinum?
Thanks! No it’s white rolesor. Don’t ask me what that is. I failed metallurgy 😂😂😂
Correctomundo my friend! Huge fan of those books.
The movie and the HBO show does not do it justice.
Alright everyone coming out of the woodworks to prove me wrong about the blue sunburst dials. These are all fantastic!
I will say I still prefer the mint, and silver but these blue ones are very nice! I really dig the salmon on the Zelos as well. A copper would be pretty killer too now it’s got me thinking…
Yeah that’s one of the issues with the Crunch, it makes you think and then your bank account decreases 😉.
My favourite sunburst I’ve had was on the Aquanaut:
And to whet your desires - here’s a random picture of the day date I owned:
Silver sunbursts are stunning, especially on vintage watches where the edges of the dial seem to fell away from you, absolutely gorgeous
The Tudor Black Bay 31/36 wasn't even on my radar until I saw the new models with the blue sunburst dial - I know a lot of purists think it's a step back, but that dial definitely catapulted it to the top of my current wish list.
My own personal 'king of sunbursts' is the blue dial Glasshütte Original Senator:
PS: that Clemence Photic shown above looks stunning!
SARB017 is the gateway drug to sunburst dials imho
Funny story, I had a betta 15 years ago. Forgot to feed him before going camping for 2 weeks, thought he’d be dead when we came back. No still kicking he was. Must have been the algae.
Fantastic watches
Funny story, I had a betta 15 years ago. Forgot to feed him before going camping for 2 weeks, thought he’d be dead when we came back. No still kicking he was. Must have been the algae.
Betta can actually easily live without food for around 14 days give or take, they’re pretty resilient pets. I’ve taken a few vacations where I wasn’t able to have anyone stop in for 5-10 days and he’s always doing good