One of the most talked-about releases from this year’s Watches and Wonders is the Rolex “Jubilee” Oyster Perpetual. Love it or hate it, you absolutely can’t miss its vibrant and colorful mosaic dial.
At $6,750, it is ironically one of the Crown’s most affordable new models at retail value, but the hype has made it all but impossible to acquire through direct retail channels. Fortunately, an aesthetically similar alternative is available for a fraction of the price, and with no hoops to jump through.
IFL Watches is a watch customization workshop located in Dubai. It specializes in adding hand-painted dials to affordable watches that are either creative and appealing on their own or mimic the look of far more expensive luxury releases.
Whether by pure coincidence or an impressively fast turnaround, the third installment in its ongoing Maen Manhattan series resembles Rolex’s new Jubilee dial. Both dials contain boldly contrasting, repeating geometric patterns in a rainbow of intense colors.
IFL’s Manhattan series utilizes the nominal connection to New York City, producing dial motifs inspired by notable artistic movements from the city’s history.
While the previous two were inspired by street art from the 1980s and 1990s, this third installment goes back to the Roaring Twenties. Its sharp Art Deco geometry evokes the intense flow and rhythm of jazz, with two swirling circles recalling blaring gramophones.
