The California Dial is somewhat of a legend in the watch industry. As enthusiasts and collectors of watches we love a good backstory, especially when it comes to obtainable watches that can be found in both their vintage and modern form. One such variety that fulfils this desire is the California Dial, and if you want to know more about the history and function of this type of watch read our recent Q&A article here.
Simply put, a California Dial has a 50/50 split with the top of the dial being in Roman Numerals, and the bottom half in Arabic Numerals. Originally designed to aide in split second time reading, the odd and unmistakeable appearance of this type of dial has grown a substantial following of collectors who specifically seek them out. Let’s take a look below at some of the best modern offerings of this special dial, and what sets them apart from the rest.
Nomos Club Campus
If you’re at all familiar with Nomos, you most certainly have heard of their Club variant – which is probably the most popular in their catalogue due to it being a substantial value offering. Within this line of watches they have the less heard of Campus model, which is their take on the California Dial. Nomos made one big adjustment that allows this watch to stand out amongst the other modern California Dial’s, they’ve inverted the top and bottom half of the watch – so instead of the Roman Numerals being on the top half, they’re on the bottom and vice versa.
Nomos is very well known for their minimalist bauhaus aesthetics, and this Club Campus is no different. The dial layout is very clean but modern in appearance. The numerals are well sized and easy to read in the classic Nomos font, but they’re not applied, and there’s also a small seconds display at 6 o’clock. Available in both 36mm and 38mm case sizes, with slim cases for both, this is a very elegant watch that’s easy to wear both casually as well as smart casual. The watch is also available in a series of dial colors ranging from bright pink and orange to more subdued shades of grey and navy blue.
One of the biggest attractions of this watch, and many other Nomos watches is the use of in-house movements at excellent price points. The Club Campus uses the Alpha Caliber, which is produced entirely by Nomos. This movement is a work of art and looks gorgeous with its hand finished metal work and exposed blue screws and jewels. Mind you, on this specific model the watch is using a solid caseback with optional engraving instead of an exhibition window usually found on Nomos watches. The movement is only 2.6mm in height, which translates to the extra slim construction of the watch case. It’s also equipped with a 43 hour power reserve, which is fairly standard for a hand wound movement of this caliber.
Farer Cayley Verde
Here’s another unique California Dial watch from Farer, that I only just discovered myself. Most of the California Dial watches, both modern and vintage, that I’ve discovered myself have had rather matte or lacquered dials. This version here from British watchmaker Farer is using a bright green sunburst dial, which appears to be its only color option.
This offering is vastly different from the Nomos above, giving you the option of a more sporty pilot oriented watch. You’ll notice immediately that the crown is oversized for easy operation, and the Alpha shaped hands contrast extremely well due to their size and heavy filled Super-Luminova. Not only is the California Layout obvious in regular daylight use, but it’s also apparent in dark settings due to the top half of the watch using a different color shade of lume. The outer dial hashes on the top half use a bright green lume, with the lower half of the dial in a blue lume.
This is a very well sized watch with a 39.5mm case, it should fit a large variety of wrist sizes. The absence of any substantial bezel, and the wide-open dial will probably have this watch fitting and appearing slightly larger on wrist than the official specifications would suggest. Considering that this is using a self-winding automatic movement, the 12.5mm thickness of the case is quite impressive. Overall, this is a very well proportioned watch with a very unique design.
Isotope Hydrium California
Isotope is a very low key watch brand, I guess you can consider it a niche microbrand. We have actually reviewed one of their watches in the past which was their Goutte d’Eau Orange. This Hydrium California model we’re highlighting here is not much different in terms of uniqueness, it’s truly a one of a kind watch with very specific design cues implemented by the brand.
California Dials we’re originally created to help with quick readability in difficult situations, like aviation and diving. This specific model here is quite obviously geared towards diving, as you can tell with its chunky diver case, timing bezel, and heavily knurled crown. Out of all the choices on our list here, this watch probably has the most design detail on it, and the more you look at it the more you discover in its texture, color pallet and features. This is a watch designed by Isotope Founder Jose Miranda, to mimic some of the original and functional California Dial dive watches.
The case and metal finishing of the watch has an almost titanium dark metal appearance to it, but its simply micro blasted 316L stainless steel. A process that probably saved the brand money from using Titanium, but still achieved a similar look to the more expensive metal. The proportions of the watch are pretty much spot on with a classic 40mm case size, which is quite traditional for more modern dive watches, and some of the larger vintage variants.
There’s one aspect of this watch that really stands out to me and differentiates it to not only the other options on this list, but to other general dive watch competitors – and that’s the textured dial. You don’t need to look that close at the dial to notice it, and in combination with the California Dial mixed numeral layout it truly is a unique and intriguing concept. The small Hydrium text in red at 6 o’clock also gives off a vintage vibe, just like the iconic and highly sought after vintage “Red Submariner” from Rolex.
Leave a Reply