Watch Dial

– Plan – Usually a flat color that can be shiny or mat in finish. The most common type of plan dial is the plan, painted/printed or enameled metal disk. The substrate is often stainless steel or some other type of common metal such as brass or bronze. Of course, you can have dials with precious metals, these are typically gilded, or electro-plated.

– Textured/Patterned – Textured dials have a long history in watchmaking and can have any type of pattern. Some of the most recognized include:

– Guilloche – is a wave-like pattern on the dial. Often done with a brushed or mat surface.

– Linen – looks very much like the cloth but is engraved or embossed on a metal surface.

– Marquetry – is a dial art form that takes a material such as mother of pearl and arranges small pieces into patterns. 

– Tapisserie – like guilloche, tapisserie is a pattern that is engraved on the surface of the dial, but rather than creating a wavy pattern it is a pattern of small squares. 

– Teaked – dials reference the vertical strips of a ship’s teak deck. It consists of simple engraved or painted/printed vertical lines, usually in a subtle color pattern.

– Skeletonized – Dials with skeleton features are simply dials that have holes that show the machinery of the watch below. The simplest form is the “open heart” that shows the escapement beating. The most dramatic examples incorporate the mechanisms of the watch in the design of the dial with all the components exposed.

– Unique – Unique dials are often made from a precious material or are some form of hand-crafted art.