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Panda-dial watches — a category of chronographs that derive their nickname from their two-tone dial colorways, generally defined by black subdials on a white main dial — have gone from a niche favorite to a widely popular genre for collectors and enthusiasts, who prize their high-contrast sharpness and legibility. Even in an era of watchmaking when bolder and brighter colorways seem more dominant than ever, there is something about the black-and-white simplicity of pandas, and their mirror-image cousins, the so-called “reverse pandas” (white subdials on black dial), that still strike a chord. Here are 18 of our favorites.
Price: $300, Case Size: 38mm, Thickness: 12.9mm, Lug-to-Lug: 44.7mm, Lug Width: 19mm, Water Resistance: 50 meters, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Seiko VK63 Mechaquartz
A longtime watch collector, and founder of the historical-watch website Timeline Watch, Dan Henry established his eponymous watch brand in 2016, inspired by his extensive collection of vintage pieces to produce contemporary watches with recognizably retro design language. Each Dan Henry watch model is limited and numbered, and named after the year from which it draws its main aesthetic influence. The mechaquartz-powered 1964 Gran Turismo Chronograph brings to mind iconic racing watches born in the ‘60s like the Heuer Carrera and Rolex Daytona, and Dan Henry makes it in both 36mm and 38mm case sizes, with either a two- or three-register dial design, with or without date display, in two panda colorways as well as a monochromatic slate-grey. The subdials have a subtle snailed texture, an impressive detail at this price level, and the tachymeter ring on the dial’s periphery completes the vintage motoring theme.
Price: $369, Case Size: 39mm, Thickness: 11mm, Lug-to-Lug: 48mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Crystal: Mineral, Movement: Seiko VK64 Mechaquartz
Founded in France’s watchmaking hub of Besançon in 1948 by watchmaker Henry Louis Belmont, Yema relaunched in 2005 after a long hiatus, under new French ownership, and began offering a vast range of watch styles, including the emblematic Superman divers’ watch and the racing-inspired Rallygraf chronograph, which is a modern re-edition of a watch worn by F1 legend Mario Andretti. Powered by a VK64 caliber, the contemporary Rallygraf, here in a striking silver-black “panda” execution, features the block chrono pushers and double-domed mineral crystal of its predecessor as well as the car-dashboard-inspired subdial arrangement, with a tiny checkered-flag motif between two trapezoidal registers. The black aluminum bezel is etched with a tachymeter scale and the caseback features a relief engraving of Yema’s historical coat of arms.
Price: $695, Case Size: 39mm, Thickness: 13.3mm, Lug-to-Lug: 45.5mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Seiko Solar Caliber V192
The original Seiko Speedtimer, released in 1969, was among the world’s first self-winding chronograph watches, equipped with the legendary Caliber 6139. When Seiko revived the Speedtimer, as part of its sport-oriented Prospex collection, it decided to eschew the automatic mechanical movement in favor a new, high-tech, solar-powered one, Caliber V192, which enhances reliability and runs up to six months on a single charge from any light source. This panda-dial model matches a black tachymeter-scale bezel to a matte-white dial with three black subdials and black-bordered hands. Seiko’s proprietary LumiBrite substance illuminates the hands in the dark, while red detailing for the central seconds hand and the elapsed minutes hand on the subdial at 6 o’clock make for easy reading of the chronograph displays.
Price: $1,995, Case size: 42mm, Thickness: 14.8mm, Lug to Lug: 46.5mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Movement: Automatic ETA Valjoux 7753
Tissot’s 1970s-inspired PRX family welcomed its first Automatic Chronograph (see our review here) models in 2022. The watch’s satin-finished steel case measures 42mm, larger than the three-hand models, and a relatively modest 14.5mm in thickness. The first PRX Automatic Chronographs offer another retro-yet-trendy visual element with their bicolor “panda” or “reverse panda” dial layout, with subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock and a date window at 4:30, along with luminous-coated baton hands and faceted indexes. Inside the case beats the sturdy, self-winding ETA Valjoux 7753 movement, which boasts an impressive level of high-horology finishing for a timepiece in this price range as well as an extended, above-average power reserve of 60 hours.
Price: $2,475, Case Size: 40mm, Thickness: 14.4mm, Lug-to-Lug: 49mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Hamilton H-31 (Valjoux 7750 base)
Based on the original Hamilton Chrono-Matic — one of the world’s first self-winding chronographs, debuting in 1968 — the Intra-Matic Autochrono has a 42-mm steel case with elongated lugs, pump-stye pushers, and a large, right-side-mounted crown. Its black-on-cream “panda” dial has an outer black tachymeter scale, applied hour markers with luminescent inserts, and two parallel, snail-finished black subdials for running seconds and 30 elapsed chronograph minutes. A vintage-style Hamilton logo appears at 12 o’clock. The movement is the automatic Hamilton Caliber H-31, based on the ETA 7750, which maintains a 60-hour power reserve. The Milanese-style mesh steel bracelet adds another appealing “retro” touch calling to mind the era of the original watch.
Price: $3,550, Case size: 44mm, Thickness: 15mm, Lug Width: 25mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 200 meters, Movement: Automatic Caliber ML112 (ETA Valjoux 7750 base)
Maurice Lacroix’s Aikon collection has planted itself firmly at the forefront of the Swiss brand’s extensive portfolio, prized by enthusiasts for its sporty, avant-garde aesthetic, integrated-bracelet design, and value-proposition pricing. The Aikon Chronograph features all the hallmarks of the popular three-hand editions, including the hobnail-textured Clous de Paris motif and applied baton indexes on the dial, and six claw-like tabs on the circumference of the bezel. The white dial hosts a vertically oriented assortment of black, snailed subdials at 12, 9, and 6 o’clock, balanced by the day and date in a double rectangular window at 3 o’clock. Tha case, with its meticulous array of brushed and polished finishes, flows seamlessly into the supple link bracelet. The ETA-based ML112 automatic caliber beats inside, powering the time and calendar functions in addition to the stopwatch, activated by the button-shaped pushers flanking the octagonal screw-down crown.
Price: $3,950, Case Size: 42mm, Thickness: 14.3mm, Lug-to-Lug: 50.2mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Longines L898
Longines’ Conquest collection, established in 1954, was the Swiss brand’s first named product family and has undergone numerous changes in the decades since. The core Conquest collection, which had been defined by large Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 o’clock, was redesigned in 2023 to be even more streamlined and more versatile, with a 41mm case, a wider sloping bezel, elegantly curved crown guards, and a sunburst dial with thinner, tapered applied indexes and a discreet date window at 6 o’clock. The Conquest Chronographs followed quickly on the heels of the core three-hand Automatics, slightly larger at 42mm, with a ceramic tachymeter-scale bezel and a small but expanding array of high-contrast dials, including the matte-black-with-silvered-subdials "reverse panda" version above. The self-winding movement inside the 100-meter water-resistant case, made exclusively for Longines by ETA, beats at 28,800 vph and stores a 59-hour power reserve.
Price: $4,995, Case Size: 42mm, Case Height: 15.5mm, Strap Width: 20mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 50 meter, Movement: Automatic FC-760
Powered by an in-house movement developed specially for it, Frederique Constant’s Flyback Chronograph is inspired by models from the 1930s. The automatic Caliber FC-760 inside has an unconventional, star-shaped column wheel that governs the integrated stopwatch’s start, stop, and reset functions and works in unison with the operating lever to ensure the mechanism’s exceptionally smooth operation. The case measures 42mm in diameter and available in either stainless steel or rose-gold-plated steel. The tricompax dial, here in black-and-white “reverse panda” splendor, features subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock for the 30-minute chronograph counter, analog date display, and small seconds indicator, respectively. In another nod to its historical inspirations, the tachymeter scale appears on the dial’s periphery rather than on the bezel. A high complication at an amazing price point, this watch’s value is enhanced by the haute horlogerie decorations on the movement, visible through a sapphire caseback.
Price: $6,050, Case Size: 41mm, Case Thickness: 14.79mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 200 meters, Movement: Automatic Tudor Caliber MT5813
Tudor’s flagship Black Bay collection, which takes its cues from vintage models of the Rolex-owned brand’s Oyster Prince Submariner, welcomed its first chronographs in 2017 and added crowd-pleasing “panda” and “reverse panda” models in 2021. To develop the movement for the Black Bay Chronographs (see our review here), Tudor turned not to parent brand Rolex but to fellow Swiss sports-watch giant Breitling. The resulting Caliber MT5813, which uses Breitling’s self-winding B01 movement as a base, features an integrated chronograph powered by a column wheel, a 70-hour power reserve and a COSC chronometer certification. The anodized aluminum bezel on the Black Bay Chronograph’s 41mm steel case is inscribed with a tachymeter scale rather than the dive-time scale characteristic of the Black Bay family. The screw-down crown and chrono pushers help ensure the same 200-meter water resistance as the diving models.
Price: $7,250, Case Size: 39mm, Thickness: 13.9mm, Lug Width: 20.7mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic TAG Heuer TH20-00
The Carrera is TAG Heuer’s iconic racing chronograph, tracing its origin to 1964 and its name from a famously dangerous rally race, the Carrera Panamericana. In 2023, TAG Heuer re-engineered the modern version of the Carrera to bring it closer to its design roots. The new “glassbox” models (see our review here) derive their name from the vintage-inspired, domed sapphire crystal over the 39mm steel case, evoking the shape of the Hesalite crystals on the 1960s models. The crystal’s prominent curve flows seamlessly over the tachymeter scale at the dial’s edge, allowing it to be read legibly in a wider range of angles. The case’s pump-style pushers have also been carefully reshaped and repositioned to make them as user-friendly as possible. Inside is the TAG Heuer TH20-00 caliber, a re-engineered version of the Heuer 02 movement in the 42mm models, with a new bidirectional winding system meant to increase efficiency of the winding and to enable a longer, 80-hour power reserve. This panda-dial model with red highlights re-creates the style of the rare Ref. 7753 5N, a favorite of the Carrera’s designer, Jack Heuer.
Price: $8,900, Case Size: 42mm, Thickness: 15.1mm, Lug-to-Lug: 50.5mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Breitling Caliber B01
The most recent update of Breitling’s historical Chronomat collection takes inspiration from the fondly remembered 1980s models, resurrecting those watches’ ratcheting bezels with easy-to-grip rider tabs and adding a functional element: the tabs at 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock are interchangeable, which means the first 15-minute interval on the scale can be used for either counting up or counting down. The Chronomat B01 42 rolled off the runway in 2020, with a substantial but not overly imposing case diameter of 42mm and a profile slightly over 15mm. Its tricompax dial, here in a two-tone “panda” configuration, has subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock for chronograph minutes and hours and running seconds, respectively (you can see our guide here). The chronograph pushers flank a fluted crown that screws down securely into the case for a 200-meter water resistance. The timepiece contains the Breitling Caliber B01, which holds a lengthy 70-hour power reserve, and comes on a distinctive “Rouleaux” integrated bracelet, a retro element resurrected from earlier generations of Breitling watches.
Price: $15,100, Case Size: 40mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Movement: Automatic Rolex Caliber 4131
In 1962, Rolex became official timekeeper of the Daytona 500, and one year later it released the Ref. 6239 Cosmograph, nicknamed the “Daytona,” its now-famous racing-inspired chronograph watch. The Daytona famously nicknamed “Paul Newman” was indisputably one of the first and most famous “panda dial” watches, and its spirit lives on in the model released for the Daytona’s 60th birthday in 2023 (above), which is distinguished from its forebears by subtle refinements in the case for more pronounced light reflections; new dial colorways to harmoniously accentuate the contrast between dial, subdials, and subdial rings; and a new movement, Caliber 4131, an evolution of Caliber 4130 enhanced with Rolex’s energy-saving Chronergy escapement, a host of new decorative finishes, and a yellow-gold rotor. For the first time in the series, the Daytona proudly displays this high-octane horological engine behind a sapphire exhibition caseback.
Price: $13,900, Case Size: 38mm, Case Height: 13mm, Lug to Lug: 46mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 50 meters, Movement: Automatic El Primero 3610
Most watch aficionados know Zenith for its distinctively designed chronographs, equipped with the game-changing, high-frequency El Primero caliber, What many don’t know is that El Primero was designed from the beginning to be easily augmented with calendar and moon-phase functions in addition to its built-in stopwatch. The recently released Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar (see our review here), here in its “panda” version, uses the same 38mm steel case, bezel-less construction, and domed sapphire crystal as the never-released prototypes from 1970; in fact, the watch is based on the exact blueprint used for the original Ref. A386 El Primero model of 1969. The black subdials on the opaline white dial, for elapsed minutes and hours and running seconds, are joined by two unobtrusive, symmetrical windows for the day and month in the upper part of the dial, while the date takes its traditional position at 4:30 and a moon-phase display is elegantly integrated into the 60-minute chrono counter at 6 o’clock. The rose-gold-toned hands and hour markers echo the gold moon in the lunar disk. The movement inside is El Primero Caliber 3610, with a power reserve of 60 hours and accuracy to 1/10 second for the chronograph thanks to its lightning-quick 5-Hz frequency.
Price: $17,900, Case Size: 40mm x 40mm, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Caliber 37-02
Glashütte Original’s Seventies collection is one of the two pillars that make up the German maker’s Vintage series, which pays tribute to the distinctive designs of two seminal decades in watchmaking, the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas the Sixties branch of the family is notable for more traditional, rounded cases, the Seventies watches stand apart with their softly squared “TV”-style cases, a hallmark of timepieces from that eponymous decade. The recently launched Seventies ‘X’ Chronograph, the first edition exclusive to North America, commemorates 10 years for the collection, sporting a white-lacquer dial with black galvanized subdials and black-coated white-gold indexes for a stark and period-appropriate visual contrast. Limited to 100 pieces, the 40mm steel case contains the manufacture Caliber 37-02, a self-winding movement with a 70-hour power reserve in a single barrel that also incorporates a subtle indicator for that power reserve inside the small seconds subdial at 9 o'clock.
Price: $18,600, Case Size: 42mm, Thickness: 12.01mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Movement: Automatic Caliber GP03300
Introduced in 1975, and redesigned frequently over the years since, the Laureato returned to its elegantly simple sport-luxury roots in 2016, and expanded into chronograph versions in 2018. The octagonal bezel and clous de Paris checkerboard pattern on this model’s “panda” dial are mainstays of the original design, as are the baton hands and seamlessly integrated H-link bracelet with alternating brushed and polished surfaces. A keen eye will also note the octagonal shape of the chronograph subdials, two for the chronograph minutes and hours counters, the third for the running seconds display, echoing the look of the bezel. The larger model, in the 42-mm case, has its hour markers secured to the minutes circle features a clear sapphire caseback that provides a view of the in-house movement, the self-winding GP03300-01 caliber, with 63 jewels, a 28,800-vph frequency, and a 46-hour power reserve.
Price: $30,500, Case Size: 42mm, Thickness: 12.9mm, Water Resistance: 100 meter, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Caliber PF070
Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF collection is characterized by a purist aesthetic inspired by the Golden Ratio. The Tonda PF Sport Chronograph, introduced in 2024, is the successor to the Tonda GT, the collection’s first sport-oriented timepiece, with a refreshed look that brings these chronographs more in line with the original Tonda’s luxurious character. The 42-mm stainless steel case has a hand-knurled platinum bezel with more pronounced notches than the GT models, the large date is now absent to accommodate a more prominent “PF” applique at 12 o’clock, and the clou triangulaire textural motif on the dial (here in the panda-style “London Grey” colorway) is more discreet and subtly executed. The in-house, COSC-certified 5 Hz Caliber PF070 ticks inside the case, amassing 68 hours of power reserve and sporting a new, skeletonized rotor that is designed to resemble the steering wheel of a Ferrari 250 GTO.
Price: $37,100, Case Size: 42.5mm, Case Thickness: 13.7mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 150 meters, Movement: Automatic Vacheron Constantin Caliber 5200
Tracing its aesthetic roots to a fondly remembered sport-luxury watch that Vacheron Constantin released in the 1970s, the 222, the Overseas collection has become a versatile and popular cornerstone of the centuries-old Genevan manufacture’s current lineup. In early 2023, a new panda-dial version of the Overseas Chronograph made its debut, with a silver sunburst dial, black velvet-finished subdials, and a black minute track on the dial’s periphery. The 42.5mm steel case is topped by the hallmark six-sided bezel of the Overseas family, inspired by Vacheron’s Maltese Cross emblem, and mounted on either a rubber strap or a steel case with the same Maltese cross motif defining its shaped links. The in-house, self-winding Caliber 5200 powers the watch; its solid gold rotor, visible through a sapphire caseback, features a relief engraving of a wind rose, a nod to the model’s nautical inspiration.
Price: $34,100, Case Size: 42mm, Thickness: 13.2mm, Lug to Lug: 47.5mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 50 meters, Movement: Manual-winding Omega Caliber 3861
Omega’s Speedmaster gained renown as the first watch on the moon, and the Swiss maker celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in grand style in 2019 with the unveiling of a special tribute edition of the Speedmaster in a new precious metal called Moonshine Gold. Omega subsequently used the proprietary alloy, composed of yellow gold, silver and palladium, for the case of the Speedmaster “Gold Panda” edition in 2022, which features a dial made of the same material as the case and hosting three blackened subdials and indexes and a black ceramic tachymeter bezel. The watch is mounted on an integrated black rubber strap with a relief lunar-surface pattern on its inner side, a visual and tactile bonus for fans of the Moonwatch and its history. Purists will also appreciate the movement inside, Omega’s Caliber 3861, which is still manually wound, like the one that ticked on the moon back in the summer of '69, but has also been enhanced with a co-axial escapement, a silicon balance spring, 50 hours of power reserve and 15,000 gauss of antimagnetic resistance.
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2 Comments
I cannot find the Maurice Lacroix with black subdials anywhere. Does that actually exist?
Do you think the Longines Conquest Chronograph is worth a mention as a recognized chronograph watch?