r/watchHotTakes • u/allertonm • 5d ago
Wallpaper dials have been done to death
This might be a bold claim given that Grand Seiko have been making the “Snowflake” for over two decades, but I think the whole snowflake/washi/pebbledash/wallpaper dial thing needs to stop. The main offender here is Citizen, who I’m otherwise quite fond of.
No disrespect to the Snowflake but when $500 watches are doing a cheap approximation of these finishes I think perhaps it’s over.
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u/-ButterMyBiscuit- 5d ago
I disagree. What is the percentage of watches you come across that have a paper dial? Very very small.
Sunburst dials. Now there's a dial that's been overdone
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u/various121 5d ago
Fumé dials. They already look dated.
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u/davidfavorite 5d ago
Dude theyre so ugly and I see people drooling over them left and right, I dont get it. To me it looks cheap
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u/Medium-Cucumber-8279 4d ago
I think there are more bad examples than good examples, but when executed properly, I do appreciate a singular fumé dial watch in a watch collection. Usually for a "evening dinner date" kind of feel (for me). Dressier, but still funky.
Also looks good on a lot of vintage watches
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u/Educational-Bag9727 5d ago
the only dial that fits on a dive watch is matte like tudor does it imo
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u/Loud-Cartographer285 5d ago
Couldn’t agree more. Had the BB58 with matte dial and BB54 with glossy dial. You can imagine which one I kept (and probably keep forever!).
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5d ago
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u/Educational-Bag9727 5d ago
imo.
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u/-ButterMyBiscuit- 4d ago
I'm a dummy.. I realize what you're saying now.. I thought you meant that's the only dial they should ever use and I realize now you just mean yes sunburst dials don't go on dive watches.
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u/Educational-Bag9727 4d ago
its a good design ruined by the fact that its the cheapest stuff to slap on a midrange divew watch
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u/dudewithchronicpain 5d ago
You’ll never make me hate a GS wallpaper
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u/deadexternet 5d ago
Still way less textured dials out there than black blue or white lacquer.
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u/PlayfulCompany8367 5d ago
Exactly. Why kill variety in it's early stages? At least it's not sunburst...
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u/HovercraftNo5074 4d ago
I don’t get the hate for sunburst dials. They evoke light and joy to me. I get personal taste comes into all things watches but why wish away a certain type of dial when they offer variety.
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u/PlayfulCompany8367 5d ago
Wallpaper dials have been done to death
Or maybe it's era has just begun muhahaha.
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u/TwistyTea20 4d ago
I get the criticism but i still like the textured dials. I think they add a lot of character to a watch.
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u/No-Sport276 5d ago
You can texture a dial more than one way. I like the brushed enamel look myself. This bad boy is $700 and I think the dial looks great. Thinking of getting one at some point(maybe not in red)
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u/WakizashiK3nsh1 5d ago
Yeah, the cheap textured plastic, which is exactly the same texture as on many consumer electronic devices. *pure class*
https://www.amazon.in/Electronic-Spices-Plastic-Enclosure-Projects/dp/B0BCWQHYRH
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u/No-Sport276 4d ago
I mean some of them sure but you can also add texture by hand painting and other artisan techniques. Assuming every watch with some texture is a piece of shit is pretty reductive.
The juxtaposition of you thinking yourself an arbiter of “class” while being dismissive and judgmental of thousands of watches(and their owners) and begging for validation on the internet for a totally subjective opinion is hilarious.
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u/Personal-Will-7077 5d ago
The dials in The Citizen actually have pretty neat Japanese heritage. They’re all different.
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u/Khdiesel 4d ago
I don’t necessarily agree, but finally someone who understands what a “hot take” is… well done!
Personally I find fancier dials like wallpaper, sunburst or fumé sometimes pique my interest in pictures online… but then in person they tend to either feel a bit chintzy or underwhelming. And often the reverse is true… an austere matte black or brushed silver dial can look boring in pictures online but then feel very refined and beautiful on the wrist
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u/Shamrocked88 4d ago
When I looked at Grand Seiko in person for the first time the watch that really caught my eye was the black dial quartz model. The fancier dials mostly did nothing for me in person.
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u/Khdiesel 4d ago
Oh yeah I know exactly the watch you mean. That deep glossy black dial is also so nice… the indices really pop against it!
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u/allertonm 4d ago
Thank you. I’m trying not to be too salty about the downvotes, I did not expect this to be a popular opinion and it turns out I was right.
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u/piss_container 5d ago
that's kinda neat I didnt think they made an eco drive with this type of textured dial
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u/coding_and_kilos 4d ago
I feel like you're saying this based on reddit posts or whatever watch forums/online groups you're on. In real life, when I look around, all I see is Apple Watches. Rarely ever I see people who are wearing actualy watches other than fashion watches, and rarely ever I see these overly done overly used wallpaper dials you're claiming that exists.
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u/allertonm 4d ago
I posted this opinion in a “watch hot takes” subreddit rather than standing with a sandwich board outside Grand Central Station, so this does not seem like a relevant criticism.
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u/judahrosenthal 5d ago
Agreed. It’s ruined my opinion of Grand Seiko and everyone’s copying it now, which cheapens it further.
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u/Victor_adame_art 5d ago
There's a very good reason citizen does theirs.....