Fratellos Top 5 Sports Watches With Stone Dials

March 12, 2025

Another Friday, another Top 5! This week, we continue our series of lists inspired by Watches and Wonders 2025 and take a look at some of our favorite watches with stone dials. But as we wanted to make it a bit more specific, we decided to list five sports models with them. For most of us, a sports watch with a regular dial is the way to go. But after creating this list, you might be surprised by the brilliance of some of these sporty watches with their exotic dials.The inspiration for this list came from the new stone-dial variants of the different sports watches introduced during Watches and Wonders 2025. In a year when the brand s Land-Dweller was the center of attention, many of the new dial variants were much less talked about. Nevertheless, we were impressed by some of these dials, especially the new tiger iron one in the GMT-Master II. This set us on a little quest to find other sports models with equally impressive stone dials. As it turns out, finding plenty of options is easy, but picking five favorites is much harder because there are many to choose from. In the end, we settled on this list of five brilliant examples. Let s find out what they are.Image: Sotheby s Cosmograph Daytona ref. 16516 with a turquoise dialI reported on s new Daytona dial variations during Watches and Wonders. The absolute standout for me was the yellow gold version with its turquoise-blue lacquered dial. Something about that watch just makes me smile. While I would have preferred a version with a gold bezel and bracelet, the contrast between the black ceramic bezel and the black Oysterflex bracelet creates much more visual drama. As it turns out, it s not the first time that equipped its Daytona with a dial in that color.Image: Sotheby sIn the late 1990s, former CEO Patrick Heiniger had five platinum Daytonas created. While the platinum Daytona is a standout in today s collection, the five watches Heiniger ordered were the first five platinum versions of the Zenith Daytona. The story goes that Heiniger kept one of them for himself and gifted the remaining four to valuable business partners who had become personal friends. All five models feature special stone or shell dials and comprise a series of five unique watches, three of which were auctioned a few years back. We know the dial materials used for four of them - dark mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli, coral, and the special turquoise pictured above.Image: Sotheby sWhat seemed to be a blue lacquer dial…For the longest time, it was thought this was a blue lacquer Stella dial. Upon closer inspection, a team at Sotheby s discovered a small difference in texture and color between the main dial and the sub-dials. As it turned out, the dial was crafted from a proper turquoise mineral stone. This was concluded after the dial was removed from the case, and its backside revealed the natural stone material. The applied lacquer on the front of the dial makes this harder to detect as it hides the grain normally found in a natural turquoise stone.Image: Sotheby sThat makes this platinum Daytona far more special than expected. I love the vivid blue color of natural turquoise because it contrasts nicely with the case and bracelet materials we usually see. The blue turquoise dial was combined with a 40mm platinum case that housed the caliber 4030, a movement based on the Zenith El Primero caliber 400. But the story of this watch is all about the dial. While we prefer the standard dial configuration with regular markers over this one with Arabic numerals, it is still an absolute stunner that might have even inspired the new Daytona with an actual lacquered dial. Submariner ref. 16618 with a lapis lazuli dialYou might have seen this special version of the gold Submariner before here on Fratello. Robert-Jan reviewed this brilliant variation of the Submariner with its lapis lazuli dial in 2023. Additionally, I featured it in last year s Top 5 list of stone dials. But for this occasion, I am bringing it back. The sheer brilliance and impact of this special gold Submariner left a lasting impression on most of us here at Fratello. Seeing a bright blue lapis lazuli dial in a gold Sub is just something else!From a distance, it looks like a regular blue dial. But once you have the watch in your hand, you realize this is something special. The lively blue color has a lot of depth and texture. As you can see, the version we had in the office has some amazing speckles that bring it to life. This makes a watch that is already brilliant in gold and blue even better.The luxury version of the famous SubmarinerThe Submariner ref. 16618 debuted in 1986 and stayed in production until 2008. This gold model had quite the production run before a modern version of the Sub replaced it. The standard variants of this luxury version of s iconic diver in yellow gold were available with either a black or blue dial and matching bezel. Inside the 18K yellow gold case, equipped the watch with its renowned caliber 3135. The watches came fitted with a yellow gold Oyster bracelet that adds tremendously to their visual presence.A version with a standard blue sunburst dial - Image: Bulang & SonsOver this watch s 22-year production run, produced just over 20,000 pieces of this reference, equaling an average of roughly 1,000 per year. That is not a large number.The lapis lazuli version is much rarer and thus has become a proper favorite among collectors. It has made this brilliant Submariner a grail watch for many fans, and it s easy to understand why. The Submariner ref. 16618 is the perfect proof that a sports watch and a stone dial can be a match made in heaven. GMT-Master II ref. 126719BLRO with a meteorite dialA list like this is not complete without a meteorite dial. As most of you will know, there are several options available. The most obvious are the several Daytona models with meteorite dials. For Watches and Wonders, introduced the meteorite dials for its current-generation Daytona. More specifically, you can now get each of the three gold Daytona models with a black rubber Oysterflex bracelet, a black ceramic bezel, and a meteorite dial. I prefer the previous generation s full-white-gold ref. 116509 with a meteorite dial because it has a beautiful monochromatic presence.But we decided to highlight a different meteorite dial from . A collective Fratello favorite is the current GMT-Master II ref. 126719BLRO in white gold with a Pepsi bezel and a meteorite dial. Ask Lex any day for his top three models, and this watch will make his list every time. The 126719BLRO is still part of the current collection and retails for $49,350. The combination of white gold and this meteorite dial works incredibly well.Add the blue and red Cerachrom Pepsi bezel, and you get a watch that looks like the classic Pepsi GMT with a light dial from afar. Up close, however, you quickly find out there is much more to the story. As Lex vividly explained in his article about meteorite-dial watches, this GMT-Master will take you on a mental trip across the universe every time you look at it, but the familiar looks of the GMT-Master will ensure you always land safely back on Earth. As a result, it has landed the third spot on this list. Yacht-Master 42 ref. 226659 with a falcon s eye dialIn 2022, almost silently introduced a special dial variant of the Yacht-Master 42 in white gold. The big Yacht-Master news of that year was the 42mm yellow gold version. However, next to it, also introduced a dial in falcon s eye for the white gold model. Falcon s eye is a variation of tiger s eye, distinguished by darker hues. When looking at it from a distance, you might think reflections are hitting a regular black dial to create a blueish tone. But there was a lot more to the story.I say was because the falcon s eye dial is no longer an option on the website. Since it could easily have been mistaken for the regular black dial, that might explain its discontinuation. That said, at least in proper lighting, there was quite a significant difference in color and pattern. Some examples online even show light blue or white stripes across the generally very dark dial. Honestly, though, those are the ones I would not consider if I had my sights set on buying a Yacht-Master with a falcon s eye dial.The press images are rather different and give you a good idea of how nicely the dial fits the overall look of the Yacht-Master. There is something super nice about the colors and the texture that livens up the watch perfectly. While this falcon s eye dial might have had a short run in the collection, it will not surprise me if this Yacht-Master variant becomes a sought-after model. Short production runs and rare dials are important elements to collectors, and I would expect no different with this special Yacht-Master 42. GMT-Master II ref. 126715CHNR with a tiger iron dialOur last pick is the much-debated GMT-Master II with the new tiger iron dial. presented this dial variant as an option for the Everose version of the GMT-Master II with the black and brown Cerachrom bezel insert. However, as it turns out, you can also choose the dial for the yellow gold GMT-Master II ref. 126718GRNR with the black and gray bezel insert on the Jubilee bracelet.We at Fratello discussed which of the two is the better match for this new dial. The answer to that question heavily depends on the specific dial you can get your hands on. If the overall tone of the dial is redder, the Everose GMT-Master II seems like the better option. But if the dial shows a lot more yellow, the yellow gold version of the watch could be a great option.Our gut feeling is that most tiger iron dials will suit the Everose model better. There will be lots of color variations, though, because tiger iron is a mixture of tiger s eye, red jasper, and hematite stones.The Everose model with the tiger iron dial was one of my absolute highlights from during Watches and Wonders in 2025. It will be interesting to see how long this new dial variation will be available, but first reactions from fans and media alike were predominantly positive. We re also part of that group, so hopefully, it will be available for some time.Final thoughts on sports watches with stone dialsThere you have it - our five current favorite sports watches with stone dials. As you likely know, there are plenty more out there to choose from. Let us know in the comments section what your favorite is from this list or if we missed your top pick. Or maybe there are special stone dials that you would like to see make. We would love to hear your suggestions, so drop them down in the comments section, and we ll see you back here with another list next Friday.