6 Bold Pink Watches to Embrace the Barbiecore Summer
From TAG Heuer to Piaget, here are a few boldly coloured watches to celebrate the Ken or Barbie in you.
Pink dials are a more recent development than, say, blue or green dials in watchmaking, but the trend has taken off rapidly ever since Rolex introduced the Ref. M126000-0008 Oyster Perpetual 36mm with a candy pink lacquer dial. This year, thanks to the Barbie movie, the hot pink summer trend has fully fledged its wings. For watch lovers who aren’t afraid to wear their Barbiecore (or Kencore, if there's such a thing) style on their wrists, here are some great models that you can sport this season (and, in fact, all year round).
Rolex
Rolex is probably the earliest driver of the bright pink dial trend with its Stella dials from the ’70s. But more impressively, it has translated that into a wide variety of watches ranging from lacquer to stone dials in several of its Classic collections. While we’ve already mentioned the OP36 in candy pink, whose price has skyrocketed on the pre-owned market, another model you may not have noticed is the Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 in white gold or platinum with a pink opal dial and diamond-set Roman numerals. The pink opal stone comes in a vivid colouration that graduates across the dial, radiating its natural beauty on the watch. The fluted bezel model is a watch that would be perfect on any wrist. Although we would love to see this dial with the baguette diamond hour markers, that option doesn’t exist on Rolex’s configurator... yet. (Starts from S$65,400, check with an authorised retailer on availability.)
Rado
When it comes to inventing colours, especially in high-tech ceramics, Rado and the Swatch Group are the pioneers in the field. One recent colour addition is pink ceramic, which appears in two collections this year: the True Square x Ash Barty Limited Edition and the True Thinline Great Gardens of the World Chapter 4: Spring. The Great Gardens of the World collection celebrates the beauty of nature with unique dial designs that recreate exotic flora in a ceramic case. The Spring model is inspired by the flowering of plants, with a faceted sapphire crystal and a graduated dial that goes from silver to light pink. It’s a unique design, housing a quartz movement in a lightweight but rugged 39mm pink ceramic case with a matching bracelet. (S$3,050, available at all authorised retailers.)
Oris
Oris was one of the first independent watchmakers to really embrace the candy pink dial with a full bronze Divers Sixty-Five model in 2021. The funky watch was definitely a statement piece and stood out both in part for its bronzed bracelet as well as the brightly coloured dials. Last year, it added matching coloured textile straps to the bronze models, but now it’s released the same models in stainless steel. Against the pristine silver of the brushed cases, the dials stand out even more. The Cotton Candy model has all the same specs as its predecessors – 38mm case, Oris 733 calibre with 41 hours of power, lumed indexes and hands, and an engraved bezel. They are also available with a steel bracelet or textile strap. (S$3,550, available at all authorised retailers.)
TAG Heuer
As many of you already know, this is the year of the Carrera, and TAG Heuer is celebrating it with a new Carrera model – the Carrera Date 36mm. In fact, Barbie actor Ryan Gosling, a TAG Heuer ambassador, has been wearing the hot pink dialled Carrera Date on his wrist during the movie tour. The vivid pink dial is one of the most striking, created using electroplating on a sunray brushed plate that accentuates the pink hue in sunlight. The Carrera Date 36mm comes in a classic case with sharply angled lugs and a non-tapered three-link bracelet. The surfaces of each side are alternately polished or brushed to give the watch a very contemporary look. (S$4,550, available at all authorised retailers.)
Zenith
The Defy Skyline is one of Zenith’s best-selling models today, and that’s impressive considering it’s the brand’s newest launch. The unisex Defy Skyline 36mm is designed to strike a chord with style savants, featuring dials in bold colours like apple green, cool blue, and of course, a beautiful bright pink that demonstrates how this hue is definitely sports-chic. The Defy Skyline features a stamped dial with a pattern based on Zenith’s old four-point star logo on a sunray-brushed backdrop. The pattern creates a different surface off which light plays, further complementing the brushed surfaces of the bezel and case as well as the polished chamfers. Powered by Zenith’s Elite movement with a 50-hour power reserve, it comes with two straps: a matching rubber for the weekend and a more classic steel bracelet for the workplace. (Starts from S$12,500, available at authorised retailers.)
Piaget
Piaget is well known for its stone dials, especially its vintage stone-dialled Polo watches. But today, it has transferred that technique to the Altiplano collection with a range of pink mother-of-pearl watches that are truly outstanding both in technique and design. A classic pink mother-of-pearl dial is available in the Altiplano Traditional (26mm with quartz movement) and Origin (34mm with hand-wound movement) collections. However, the Altiplano Rose demonstrates Piaget’s mastery of artisanal crafts, jewellery, and fine watchmaking. The dial is a combination of wood marquetry and pink mother-of-pearl to create the image of a rose, housed in a white gold case that’s set with 78 diamonds. The watch is powered by a Calibre 430P in-house movement and matched with a white alligator leather strap. (S$103,000, limited to 18 pieces, on request at Piaget’s boutiques.)
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