The Tiffany Blue Watch Trend Just Reached Its Final Form

Back at the end of 2021, the watch industry came down with Tiffany Blue fever.

In December of that year, Patek Philippe bid farewell to its coveted 5711 Nautilus sports watch with a version featuring a co-branded Tiffany dial in the jeweler’s trademarked shade of blue. Reception to the watch was through the roof, resulting in one of the most hyped watches of all time.

Shortly after its release, a plethora of other brands began launching their own watches with Tiffany-ish blue dials in an attempt to capitalize on the hype. That hype has calmed down from its Patek-propelled peak, but robin’s egg blue/turquoise remains a popular and attractive option for watch dials.

Now, more than four years after the Tiffany Blue Nautilus set the watch world aflame, Tiffany & Co. itself has launched its own hype watch that should serve as the final word on Tiffany Blue dials.

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Tiffany & Co.

Tiffy time

Tiffany isn’t nearly as respected a watchmaker as fellow jewelry-forward brands Cartier and Chopard, but the legendary Fifth Avenue institution still has a long horological history — one that the brand is now starting to take a lot more seriously.

160 years ago, in 1866, Tiffany & Co. created its first-ever stopwatch, the Tiffany & Co. Timing Watch. Two years later, the pocket watch was renamed the Tiffany Timer, and it helped usher in a golden age of watchmaking at Tiffany that saw the brand open its own manufacture in Geneva in 1874.

Now, Tiffany is marking its return to the scene as a serious watchmaker with a new Tiffany Timer created to honor the 160th anniversary of the original.

The new Tiffany Timer is a chronograph wristwatch rather than a pocket watch, and it’s as impressive as it is gorgeous.

Tiffany & Co.

The watch features a fully polished 40mm platinum case with curved lugs, integrated chronograph pushers that double as crown guards, and a prominent faceted crown styled after the brand’s signature six-pronged Tiffany Setting.

As pretty as the case is, the dial is decidedly nicer. It’s in Tiffany Blue, naturally, but that’s only part of the story. It’s a lacquer dial consisting of eight layers of matte Tiffany Blue varnish followed by 15 layers of clear lacquer, with the entire lacquering process alone — which requires a lengthy mix of kiln and air drying — taking over 40 hours to complete.

The hands are all in white gold, while the hour markers are baguette-cut diamonds — a fitting touch for the world’s best-known diamond retailer. All markings are transfer-printed in gray on the blue dial, and there’s a color-matched date window at 6:00.

Tiffany & Co.

There’s a whole lot of beauty here, which should be expected from Tiffany. But what’s surprising is that this watch is also a horological powerhouse. Visible through the sapphire caseback is the Zenith El Primero 400 automatic chronograph movement, part of LVMH’s new initiative to use Zenith’s manufacture to create movements for brands across its portfolio. The column wheel chronograph beats at 5Hz and has a power reserve of 50 hours.

The movement is fitted with a custom skeletonized rotor featuring a recreation of Tiffany’s iconic Bird on a Rock brooch in 18k yellow gold. The bird is both hand-sculpted and hand-polished, which is an impressive feat considering it measures just 14mm wide.

Pricing and availability

Between its impressive case, legendary movement and the ultimate Tiffany Blue dial, the new Tiffany Timer represents the best watch I’ve ever personally seen from Tiffany & Co. If this is a representation of what the future holds for watchmaking at Tiffany, then Cartier and Chopard had better watch their backs.

The Tiffany Timer is surprisingly water resistant to a solid 100m and is sold on a taupe alligator leather strap secured with a white gold deployant buckle. The watch is limited to just 60 pieces and is priced at a somewhat conservative $55,000.

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. Tiffany Timer

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Zenith Cal. El Primero 400 automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	100m

• $55,000 at Tiffany & Co.

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