Dialled In: Our Favourite Artistic Watch Dials of 2026 So Far

In a year filled with technically bonkers watchmaking, some of our favourite bits of wrist candy have been the ones that treat the dial as a miniature artwork. Across techniques like enamelling and precious gem setting, these are the brand-new artistic watch dials that caught our eye for the level of craftsmanship showcased within just a few square centimetres.

A watch dial has long been the perfect canvas for showcasing some of the world’s most extraordinary métiers d’art techniques. From miniature enamel paintings, where master enamellers spend hundreds of hours recreating landscapes and portraits on dials no larger than a coin, to grand feu cloisonné, in which fine gold wires are bent into intricate patterns and filled with successive layers of enamel fired at over 800 degrees, to marquetry dials of wood, straw, horsehair and hardstones like malachite, onyx and even meteorite from outer space, these artisanal surfaces prove just how much beauty can be held in such a teeny space.