These 9 colourful watches are built for every adventure

Just because many watchmakers are working on a side of the world where summer is fleeting and the workdays are spent on a bench overlooking snowy white Alps or fog-draped valleys, doesn’t mean they don’t know how to capture the spirit of the season in their creations. Punchy colours, sun-drenched tie-ups and breezy design tweaks shake up your favourite models to inject a little escapism into your rotation, so here are the ones to get you into a perpetual summer state of mind.

TUDOR BLACK BAY 54 “LAGOON BLUE”

Tool watches needn’t always look so darn burly. With the right size and colour, even a dive watch can look like it could sit comfortably between the “sport” and “sport chic” category. Case in point: Tudor’s new 37mm diver. It’s surprisingly soothing for a Black Bay, thanks to its friendly dimensions, polished bezel, and a pale, grainy blue dial. Its 200m water resistance and COSC-certified MT5400 movement should ease any doubts that its soft looks come with soft performance.

RESSENCE TYPE 8 DANIEL ENGELBERG

Miniaturising art for watch dials isn’t exactly novel — Hermes, for instance, has made a habit of shrinking scarf designs from neck to wrist year after year. But Ressence’s collaboration with sculptor-painter Daniel Engelberg feels almost predestined: His Inside Out series is inherently circular, making the transition to a watch face seamless. The DE2 shown here, with its hypnotic ripple motif, sits naturally within the pebble-like Type 8 case and heightens the brand’s already minimalist approach to time. But best not to attempt a cannonball with this one as it only has 10m of water resistance.

HUBLOT BIG BANG UNICO SUMMER 2025

This year’s summer editions bring Hublot fans to Mykonos — specifically its golden hour and crystalline seas, thanks to a vibrantly hued ceramic case and dial accents. At 42mm it’s a fairly beefy watch, made even more assertive with the HUB1280’s chronograph. Complementing the bright colours are the mainplate, bridges, rotor, and case flanks in dark blue. Three interchangeable straps are included with each watch — in sky blue, dark blue, or orange and all lined with white rubber — so you’re covered whether the mood calls for sky, sea, or sunset.

H. MOSER PIONEER SPICED AQUA

After the riotous fun it had with stone dials in its recent Endeavour Pop series, H. Moser is clearly still in a holiday mood. Three models — the Pioneer Centre Seconds, Pioneer Tourbillon, and Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton — have gotten heady beach makeovers with fiery orange and rich turquoise dials and accents. Cased in steel and paired with rubber straps, the trio exudes all the energy of beach barbecues and sundowner cocktails.

TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 SOLARGRAPH

If you grew up in the 1980s, you might remember Tag Heuer’s bold bid to charm a colour-loving, quartz-converted generation. While the brand’s other race-inspired icons have gone on to legendary status, the Formula 1 series still holds a soft spot in many collectors’ hearts. Just look at it: Chunky, primary-coloured, and loveably silly, it’s hard to believe these watches came from the same house that gave us the Carrera and Monaco. But oh, how gloriously kitschy it is. And it’s solar-powered to boot — all the more reason to take this with you to the beach.

ZENITH DEFY SKYLINE SKELETON WHITE SURFER CERAMIC

After two titanium limited editions made in partnership with Australian online watch media Time+Tide, the third and final collaboration in the “Surfer” series comes in crisp, brushed white ceramic. Just like its 2023 predecessor, this 100-piece edition borrows the Defy Skyline Skeleton model and dresses it up with a gradient dial, as the bridges shift from deep ocean blue at the top to pale sky blue at the bottom. Peer closely and you’ll spot the high-frequency El Primero 3620 SK calibre beneath the star-shaped architecture.

IWC PILOT’S WATCH CHRONOGRAPH 41 TOP GUN MIRAMAR

The latest shade to join the Colors of Top Gun collection is the light blue “Miramar,” developed in collaboration with Pantone and inspired by the pale blue t-shirts Top Gun instructors wear under their flight suits. Not exactly a summer vacation narrative, but the blue ceramic case with matching dial and rubber strap is still fun and lively. Inside the 41mm case sits the calibre 69380 (though you won’t be able to see it) with time, day, date, and chronograph. Limited to 1,000 pieces.

CHOPARD HAPPY FISH

Chopard’s happy little collection of wrist aquariums welcomes its latest edition in vibrant turquoise. This colourway has appeared before in bi-metallic rose gold and steel, but is now presented in a 36mm Lucent Steel steel case with ethical rose gold-toned accents, and a simple textured mother-of-pearl dial that mimics the gentle ripples of tropical waters. Dancing freely around the dial are three diamonds and a tiny fish in ethical rose gold, set with diamonds and an onyx for its eye.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX DEEP DIVER — LEGACY EDITION

Think Girard-Perregaux and you probably picture tourbillons, lots of bridges, and Aston Martins — not cheerful dive watches. But they did make them back in 1969, where for a handful of years the original Ref. 9108 drew attention thanks to its retro-futurist dial and cushion-shaped case. Now, with the help of Bamford Watch Department, it’s back, sunnier than ever, with an updated 40.3mm × 38mm brushed titanium case and the in-house GP03300 calibre visible through its solid case back. Limited to 350 pieces.

For more watch stories, click here.