If you’ve been in the UK recently, you’ll know that the cold winter weather has well and truly arrived and hopes of a white Christmas are filling the air. However, while the snow and ice has waited until the very end of the year to show up, watchmakers have been using frosty weather and icy terrain as inspiration for their watches all year long. Here’s a look at some of the best ice dial watches of 2022.
Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date
When it comes to icy dials, the Montblanc Iced Sea sets the benchmark. A seemingly random pattern of sharply angled lines perfectly evokes the image of frozen shards floating in the bitterly cold sea. Not to mention that the watch the dial is presented in is a stunner, a 41mm diving watch with a beautifully tactile bezel for just £2,785. Part of that accessibility is because it’s powered by the calibre MB 24.17, which is based on the Sellita SW200-1 with 38-hour power reserve.
More details at Montblanc.
Seiko Prospex Glacier ‘Save the Ocean’ SPB333J1
When you think of icy watches, one of the first brands that pops to mind is Seiko with their Save the Ocean series. It’s a collection full of glacial designs as well as those featuring tiny Antarctic scenes with penguin tracks left across the snow. This is the Glacier SPB333J1, the latest addition to the series, which has a silvery white dial with textured glacier pattern.
More details at Seiko Boutique.
Ball Watches Rescue Chronograph, £2,200
The Ball Watches Rescue Chronograph pays homage to icy environments in two ways. Firstly, the light blue dial is evocative of ice when the sun shines through it, which is emphasised by its finish and guilloché subdials.
Secondly there’s the chronograph complication consisting of chronograph seconds, a 30-minute timer and a 12-hour timer. When it comes to surviving in freezing conditions, a few minutes can be the difference between life and death, so it’s important for rescuers to have an accurate picture of the timeframe they’re working with.
More details at Ball Watches.
Grand Seiko ‘Snowscape’ SLGH013
A major player in textural dials (read about how they create their dials here) is Grand Seiko, with watches like the ‘Snowscape’. It’s inspired by Mount Iwate, a snow-capped mountain overlooked by Grand Seiko’s Shizukuishi workshop. The dial is like a blizzard, the icy frost that seeps into rock and erodes it away, the cold snap of a dangerous frozen landscape coated in ancient snow that never melts. All of which is communicated through the sharp angles and rough surface of the dial.
More details at Seiko Boutique.
MB&F LM Flying T Ice & Blizzard
MB&F have approached the concept of an icy watch from a very different angle to those we’ve looked at so far. The LM Flying T Ice & Blizzard editions feature diamond decoration in the shapes of snowflakes and icicles, referring to the fact that diamond watches are described as iced. It’s a fun play on terms as well as a great way to integrate haute joaillerie within the MB&F design language.
More details at MB&F.
Tool Watch Co. Arctic Field
The Arctic Field watch from Tool Watch Co. features a similar striated pattern to watches like the Montblanc Iced Sea and Seiko Save the Ocean. However, the pattern is entirely natural as the dial is made from meteorite. As meteors fall through the Earth’s atmosphere the pressure and heat create a distinctive pattern called Widmannstetter, which doubles as an excellent icy landscape.
More details at Tool Watch Co.
GoS Watches Sarek Glacier
GoS Watches are a Swedish watch brand that produce watches with intricate dials that are inspired by the natural landscape around them. Their signature technique is to use Damascus steel, metal that has been folded upon itself many times, creating a rippling effect. However, this is the Sarek Glacier watch, which uses mother-of-pearl to create gentle undulations like fresh fallen snow. The material’s translucent properties also allow light to shine from below, creating an ethereal effect.
More details at GoS Watches.
Citizen Silver Leaf, JPY ¥126,500 – JPY ¥137,500 (approx. £760 – £825)
The Citizen Silver Leaf technically has nothing to do with cold weather whatsoever. However, the dials, produced with a combination of traditional Japanese lacquer and silver leaf, have a frost-like pattern. The aquamarine Ref. NB1060-12L in particular looks like webs of dark ice forming in a pool of cold water. Beneath the surface is the Calibre 9011 with 42-hour power reserve. Unfortunately, it’s exclusive to Japan, which only makes it all the more desirable to those of us with no access.
More details at Citizen.
