The eye of the tiger is back in watchmaking
For years now, the watch media has been proclaiming that smaller perfect replica watches are back in vogue and anyone who wants a case size over 40mm would be mad. While there is a small amount of truth to that statement, one trend that has unmistakably been on the rise of late is the increased use of semi-precious stone dials. Made famous, and some say perfected, by Piaget in the ’60s and ’70s, the use of these highly coloured, decorative, and often fragile stones has been creeping back into watchmaking, and through perhaps the most creative avenue open to it: through new, young microbrands that have an abundance of creativity and a lack of shareholders restraining them.
But there is one particular stone that I want to focus on here, and it is tiger’s eye. Technically a mineral that belongs to the quartz family, it’s mainly made of silica and gets its golden-brown striations through the presence of an iron ore called limonite. While I’m unable to highlight the first use of this stone in a watch, I can comfortably say that some of its best uses came from Piaget and luxury copy Rolex. Piaget’s dress watches that feature the stone on the dial and even stretching out to the bezel show how creative the designers and jewellers of that house can be, while the best fake Rolex Datejust ref. 1601 with a tiger’s eye dial is a stone-cold killer (pun very much intended).
UK Online Replica Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116588TBR “Eye of the Tiger”
This is a polarising chronograph from high quality replica Rolex, featuring an entirely diamond-set bezel and an unusual dial pattern that has also been set with diamonds.
Thanks to the black and yellow tones of the dial, collectors have given this extremely rare cheap super clone watches the nickname “Eye of the Tiger, showing just how desirable it is. It’s so rare, that it isn’t shown.