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One of the World’s Hottest Affordable Watches Is Now Literally Twice As Nice

I honestly can’t believe they pulled this off at this price.

Close-up of a Dennison wristwatch corner showing a polished silver metal case, a brown stone dial, and a black textured leather strap. The watch crown is partially visible on the left side.Dennison

By Johnny Brayson

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Since its revival as a brand late last year, Dennison has taken the watch world by storm.

Fueled by its wildly successful launch release — an elegant, ’70s-inspired, square dress watch with a stone dial called the ALD — the brand has quickly cultivated fans across the collector spectrum, from beginners attracted to its sub-$700 price tag to even celebrities like Alicia Keys, who recently performed a concert while wearing an ALD.

Second acts are rarely as good as the first, but Dennison is challenging that notion with its new permanent model: the ALD Dual Time. And I have to say, taken at face value, the new version looks to be twice as nice as the original.

A close-up of a person's wrist resting on a silver motorcycle helmet. The person is wearing a black leather jacket with a visible zipper and a denim shirt underneath. On the wrist is a square-faced watch with a black and brown split dial and a black textured strap. The hand has multiple gold rings, and a gold chain bracelet is on the other wrist. The background is blurred, focusing on the wrist and watch.
Dennison’s sequel literally doubles down on the ALD’s style cues.
Dennison

Double time

Taking even more inspiration from the funky dress watches of the 1970s, specifically the era’s twin-dial dual-time trend, Dennison has come up with a version of the ALD that tells the time separately on two different clock faces.

Powered by a pair of Swiss-made Ronda quartz movements (good luck getting a pair of mechanical movements into this 6.1mm-thick case), the ALD Dual Time once again features natural stone dials in several different configurations. Most impressive are the two versions that incorporate two different types of stone, side by side, creating a unique two-faced appearance that could not have been easy to pull off.

Stone dials are notoriously fragile and difficult to work with, so just imagine the failure rate of trying to get two pieces of different types of stone to line up perfectly side by side on a compact watch dial while also exhibiting the patterns you want. It seems impossible, which makes the price point of these watches — $890 — almost unbelievable.

Two luxury wristwatches with square silver cases and dual dials. The watch on the left has a teal and blue speckled dial with a gray textured leather strap. The watch on the right features a brown and black dial with white markings and a black textured leather strap. Both watches have white hands and the brand name "DENNISON" on the dials.
Tiger eye and black marble or bloodstone and lapis lazuli? You can’t go wrong with either choice.
Dennison

The twin-stone versions combine tiger eye with black marble and lapis lazuli with bloodstone, respectively. The tiger eye and black marble version offers greater contrast, but the lapis-bloodstone combo is heavier on texture.

They’re both super cool, and both versions are available in a TV-shaped 37 x 35.6 x 6.1mm polished steel case with a plain silver or PVD yellow gold finish. Each clock face has polished hands that match the metal of the case, and the time on each clock face is set using its own crown on either side of the case. The two time displays are independent of one another, so you can use the watch like a GMT if you wish.

Square-shaped wristwatch with a polished silver case and a dark blue, speckled dial resembling a starry night sky. The watch features two separate time displays with white hands, one larger and one smaller, and the brand name "DENNISON" printed on the dial. It has a textured dark blue leather strap. The watch is resting on a green fabric surface.
If the twin stone dials are too much for you, there are also Dual Time dials featuring one stone paired with a sunray dial in a similar color. This is the aventurine version.
Dennison

If the two-faced watches are a bit extreme for your tastes, no worries. Dennison also has several monochrome versions that feature a single stone dial surrounding a smaller sunray dial in a similar color.

These include malachite with a green sunray dial, lapis with blue, tiger eye with gold and aventurine with black. Everything else remains the same on the monochrome versions as on the twin-stone dials, including your choice of a plain or gold finish, and all watches are sold on an Epsom calfskin leather strap. The $890 price tag remains the same, too.

Square-shaped wristwatch with a gold case, green malachite dial featuring two separate time displays with gold hands, and a black textured leather strap. The brand name "DENNISON" is printed on the dial. The watch is resting on a dark green book with light green lines.
The polished steel case of every version of the ALD Dual Time is available in either a plain steel or gold PVD finish.
Dennison

In total, there are six different dials and 12 total references for the ALD Dual Time collection, making it pretty easy for anyone to find the right one for them. And at less than a thousand bucks each, who wouldn’t want to get one — or, perhaps more fittingly, two?

These watches look phenomenal, the craftsmanship involved with the stone dials is impressive, they’re wearable for practically anyone and they’re from one of the buzziest brands in the business. It’s safe to say Dennison has another hit on its hands. No wonder fellow hitmaker Ms. Keys is a fan.

Square gold watch with a dual-faced dial: the left side features a tiger's eye stone pattern in brown and amber tones, and the right side is black with white marble-like veins. Both sides have gold hour and minute hands. The black side displays the brand name "DENNISON." The watch has a black textured leather strap.Dennison

Dennison ALD Dual Time

Specs

Case Size 37 x 35.6mm
Movement Dual Ronda quartz
Water Resistance 30m
About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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