Amongst the many watch launches in 2024, some timepieces in yellow gold stood out. Some of these pieces made waves at the prominent watch fairs right from the start of the year, such as the LVMH Watch Week and Watches and Wonders. Rolex and its sister brand Tudor unveiled their popular timepieces in the yellow metal complemented by coloured dials; there’s a comeback of a popular vintage timepiece from Cartier and Piaget; Audemars Piguet presented a mini Royal Oak for slender wrists in the glittering metal; and there are more. Here we picked 7 watches in yellow gold that got the most spotlight.
Tudor Black Bay 58 18K
The new Tudor Black Bay 58 18K is the brand’s first entirely solid gold diver’s watch. Unlike traditional yellow gold that stands out with its shine, Tudor's yellow gold has a muted, subtle sheen. The timepiece features a 39mm case topped with a domed sapphire crystal, a unidirectional ratcheting bezel with green anodised aluminium insert and a ‘golden green’ dial entailing 18K yellow gold applied hour markers and snowflake hands.
Driving the novelty is the COSC certified Manufacture Calibre MT5400, with a hairspring in silicon and a 70-hour power reserve, and completing it is a three-link 18K gold bracelet. The watch is water resistant up to 200 metres.
Price: INR 28,91,000 (approx.)
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea
A watch with an exceptional water resistance of 3900 metres, the 44mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea (Ref. 136668LB) is made in 18K yellow gold for the first time. It features a 60-minute graduated Cerachrom bezel insert in blue ceramic and a blue lacquer dial adorned with the name 'DEEPSEA' in powdered yellow. The Cerachrom ring made with blue ceramic and with a circular satin finish and gilded engravings, enhances the watch's compression resistance and anti-deformation properties, contributing to its exceptional waterproofness. The patented Ringlock system, comprising a sapphire crystal, compression ring, and caseback in RLX titanium, ensures the watch's durability and robustness in extreme conditions. The helium escape valve protects the watch during decompression phases.
Curated for professional divers, the Rolex Deepsea is designed with a Chromalight display on the pared-back dial providing long-lasting blue luminescence for enhanced visibility in low-light conditions. Powered by the automatic Calibre 3235, the timepiece displays the date, hours, minutes, and seconds. The Oyster bracelet, also in 18K yellow gold, features the Oysterlock folding safety clasp and the Rolex Glidelock extension system, enabling easy adjustment of the bracelet length without tools. Furthermore, patented ceramic inserts inside the links enhance flexibility and longevity.
Price: INR 4,737,000
Piaget Polo 79
On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, Piaget revived the original Polo, the brand’s first sports watch in full gold with an integrated bracelet introduced in the 1970s. The freshly released Piaget Polo 79 (Ref. GOA4950) is a 38mm timepiece crafted in 18K yellow gold featuring gadroons (horizontal lines) on the brushed surface, extending from the dial to the case and to the bracelet in clean symmetry. The hour and minute hands on the dial are also made in gold. Powering the timepiece is the ultra-slim automatic caliber 1200P1 with a 44-hour power reserve.
Price: INR 72,82,000 (approx.)
Cartier Tortue
This year, Cartier added two new models to its Privé collection with the relaunch of the iconic vintage Tortue. There’s a time-only version and the other is a monopoussoir (monopusher) chronograph. One out of the three timepieces in the time-only version and two of the monopoussoir chronographs, is crafted in yellow gold. Both are a limited edition of 200 pieces.
The simple time-only watch (Ref. WGTO006) takes inspiration from the Tortue that was introduced in 1912 that emphasised curves and taut lines, and carries only subtle changes. The other two timepieces are in platinum where one is set with diamonds.
There are stretched horns along the strap and a slimmer profile, contributing to its lighter and more refined appearance. The dial, paying homage to the original model, boasts apple-shaped hands and a rail-track motif surrounding the hour markers. Complementing the yellow gold case, its dial has a finely grained golden finish, the crown is set with sapphire cabochon, and the strap is blue alligator leather.
The other, Tortue with a monopoussoir chronograph complication, was first seen in 1928 and reinterpreted in 1998 with a modern sophistication that included blued-steel apple-shaped hands, hollowed central seconds hand, and triangular motifs on the dial corners, all of have been passed on to the novelty. The yellow gold timepiece (Ref. CRWHTO0007) has a grained gold-finish dial, sapphire cabochon, and interchangeable semi-matte blue and dark blue alligator leather straps. The Roman numerals on the dial are outlined by a railway track for enhanced legibility and there are two chronograph counters. The chronograph's functionality is consolidated into a single push-button integrated into the crown. With 4.3mm thickness, the manual-wound Manufacture 1928 MC movement is the brand’s thinnest so far. The other timepiece is in platinum.
Price: Time-only - INR 25,40,000 (approx.)
Chronograph - INR 41,87,000 (approx.)
Czapek Antarctique Mount Erebus Deep Blue
The very first Czapek Antarctique was launched in 2020, and instantly became the brand’s hot selling line. The new Mount Erebus Deep Blue model in the collection is the very first Antarctique in 2N yellow gold; there's a 2N pink gold version as well.
The new timepiece features the line’s legendary lamé dial which first appeared in Antarctique Terre Adélie limited edition in May 2020. The satin-finished deep blue dial is made using the CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process. There are gold hour markers and hands and a date window at 6 o’clock. The in-house automatic Caliber SXH5 with a micro rotor made of recycled platinum powers the 100-piece limited edition watch.
Price: INR 30,28,000 (approx.)
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Mini Frosted Gold Quartz
Following the design codes of the 20mm Mini Royal Oak launched in 1997, and inspired by the brand’s history of miniature and jewellery watches, the 'Mini Oak' collection features three newly reinterpreted miniature Royal Oak quartz models in 23mm diameter. Made in 18K yellow (Ref. 67630BA.GG.1312BA.01), the watch is crafted by combining the brilliance of Frosted Gold, an ancient gold hammering technique to create tiny notches on the surface, for an appealing visual effect. The effect continues on the matching tapering bracelet.
The petite tapisserie dial of the timepieces entails case-matching faceted gold hour-markers applied with lume. Calibre 2730, a Quartz movement, powers the watch with a battery life of over seven years. Additionally, the calibre comes with a switch so that the wearer saves some battery life by deactivating the battery by pulling the crown.
Two other watches in the collection are in white gold (Ref. 67630BC.GG.1312BC.01) and pink gold (Ref. 67630OR.GG.1312OR.01).
Price: INR 28,21,000 (approx.) for yellow gold.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Yellow Gold Automatic
Earlier this year, Bulgari unveiled the Octo Finissimo Yellow Gold Automatic (Ref. 103812) along with Octo Finissimo Tuscan Copper Automatic (Ref. 103856) in its one of the most sought-after lines.
Crafted with 18K yellow gold, the watch features a blue lacquered dial with sunburst finish, and small seconds at 7 o’clock . The timepiece is powered by automatic winding via a platinum micro rotor - this is thanks to Caliber BVL 138, beating at the frequency of 21,600 and boasting a power reserve of 60 hours. The 40mm watch is finished with the matching metal bracelet. It is water resistant up to 100 metres.
Price: INR 38,08,000 (approx.) for yellow gold.
Images: Courtesy Brands
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