« Rainbow Watches from U-Boat, Maurice Lacroix and Hublot »
If there is one designer who divides the watch world like no other, it is Italo Fontana: The Tuscan entrepreneur and head of the up-and-coming U-Boat brand is admired by many observers for his original, unconventional style, while others simply can't warm to the oversized models from Lucca. Besides U-Boat, Hublot, Maurice Lacroix and Zenith also offer rainbow watches.
The Italian brand, however, is the only one to have launched a large Rainbow collection for women. The series breaks with the Italian oversize tradition and conjures up a spectacular mother-of-pearl play of color on the wrists of vivacious wearers, one you won't find anywhere else. We've taken a close look at the U-Boat Rainbow and other rainbow watches for women for you.
Fashion Lover, Artist, Eccentric: The Mind Behind U-Boat
Unlike the prominent watch brands of Germany and Switzerland, U-Boat doesn't enjoy widespread fame in the watch world; even many enthusiasts who have nurtured their ticking passion for years have sometimes never heard of the Tuscan brand.
[box type="info" align="" class="" width=""]The short version of the company's history goes like this: In 1942, Italo Fontana's grandfather, Ivo Fontana, was commissioned by the Italian Navy to develop professional timepieces.[/box]But the war ended quickly, and the watchmaker's designs ended up in a drawer. 60 years later, his grandson found them again and decided to found his own watch brand based on those original designs. U-Boat was born – a name that, admittedly, gives no hint of its Italian origins. To this day, Italo Fontana personally designs every one of his company's timepieces.
Radically standing out from the crowd is the motto by which the eccentric fashion lover puts his best-known collections, Classico and Chimera, down on paper. Extreme diameters of up to 50 millimeters, huge pushers, crowns with protective guards and rusty-looking bronze designs define the image of this polarizing brand.
A Quartet with Surprisingly Slim Proportions
With its rainbow watch for women, U-Boat departs from its oversize course and presents four watches that are unusually slim by the brand's standards. A moderate 38-millimeter diameter was enough for Italo Fontana to create an unprecedented play of color. Did the artist's paper accidentally turn out smaller that day? We can only speculate.
[box type="success" align="" class="" width=""]Of the four editions of the rainbow watch, half feature a blue dial and the rest a pink one, each offered with a classic stainless steel case and a gold-plated version.[/box]Functionally, there are no differences within the quartet: Every women's rainbow watch is limited to hour and minute hands; you'll search in vain for a seconds hand or complications in this timeless approach. Power comes from the Swiss Ronda 712.3 quartz movement, which contributes significantly to the affordable price of the U-Boat Rainbow. Interestingly, every U-Boat Rainbow has a left-side crown, which makes it particularly appealing to left-handed women.
All versions are water-resistant to 50 meters and come in below the €1,000 mark. Among the rainbow watches of other premium and luxury brands, only the Maurice Lacroix Eliros Rainbow can compete on price. This 40mm quartz women's watch, hatched in rainbow hues and giving the colors absolute precedence, indeed has neither indices nor complications, and frames the rainbow – which seems to flow from the dial onto the strap – with nothing more than a charming rose gold edge. Never has a rainbow been more elegant. Restraint, as everyone knows, is not what expressive Hublot watches are about.
The Big Bang One Click Steel Rainbow 39 mm rainbow watch for women scores with extravagance and diamond setting. Naturally, admirers have to dig considerably deeper into their pockets for it. The brand's lineup also includes numerous Rainbow men's watches in the Big Bang collection and Spirit of Big Bang. Zenith's rainbow watch is also a men's watch.
Like a Pink Dolphin on Your Wrist
Have you heard of the Amazon river dolphin? Turning pink with age, this marine mammal is one of the most enchanting creatures on earth and seems almost otherworldly. The same goes for the pink versions of the U-Boat rainbow watch, which deliver a genuine wow factor on the wrist. The secret of references 8472 (classic stainless steel case) and 8473 (gold-plated stainless steel) lies in the combination of pink mother-of-pearl and a domed mineral crystal that is also tinted pink.
The two effects amplify each other, creating a true rainbow watch with countless shades of color. If you're looking for a change from the soft pink, you only need to change the lighting or viewing angle to spot green, yellow, orange and other accents. Skeleton watches come to life thanks to their visible mechanics; the Rainbow lives through its exotic world of color.
Caribbean Blue in the U-Boat Rainbow Watch
Besides the mysterious coloring, the unorthodox design of the 12-hour scale catches the eye. Although each hour gets its own applied index, the highlighting of the numerals could only have sprung from the mind of Italo Fontana: Three numerals are emphasized, with the 4 and the 8 appearing as Arabic numerals and the 12 in the brand's signature U shape.
[box type="note" align="" class="" width=""]All three "numerals" are set with diamonds, which considerably enhances the appeal of the rainbow watch – especially in the three-digit price range.[/box] The same dial layout applies unchanged to the blue versions of the U-Boat rainbow watch.
These blue versions, which include the stainless steel reference 8474 and the gold-plated 8475, look completely different on the wrist compared to the pink Rainbow. The intense, vibrant turquoise, which darkens to deep blue toward the edge, instantly reminds us of the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean or the Maldives. As with the pink version, the union of mother-of-pearl and blue-tinted mineral crystal guarantees a lively color spectacle capable of reproducing every hue of the rainbow, from green to red.
[box type="info" align="" class="" width=""]The wearer chooses whether to wear her Rainbow on a pink/turquoise leather strap or a steel Milanese mesh bracelet.[/box]Filled with Oil: The Rainbow Men's Watch
After the women's Rainbow made headlines in the watch world in summer 2020, a masculine version followed that same fall. The rainbow men's watch sports a more U-Boat-typical 44-millimeter diameter, bears reference 8469/MT and is part of the Capsoil collection, which is meant to showcase U-Boat's technical innovation.
And that innovation shouldn't be underestimated: The entire timepiece, including the quartz movement, is filled with a special oil that intensifies the color of the dial. To compensate for expansion during temperature fluctuations, the watch is not completely filled and shows a distinctive air bubble on the dial.
[box type="success" align="" class="" width=""]Like the women's rainbow watch, the masculine version is available in the three-digit price range and impresses us with a wild play of color from violet to orange.[/box]What Other Rainbow Watches Are There?
U-Boat isn't the only maker of luxury watches with a rainbow design. An icon of the colorful style is the Electro Watch from the Chanel J12 collection, which features a black ceramic case and lights up its numerals and indices in twelve neon rainbow colors.
The Breitling Superocean Heritage '57 Special Edition also knows how to cheerfully stand out from the crowd with colorful indices. Both watches make a point of still looking serious despite their exotic touch.
If you like things completely wild, stop by Hublot and discover the Big Bang Unico Titanium Rainbow, which achieves its rainbow colors through the generous use of various gemstones – and is therefore no bargain.
Alternatively, chronograph lovers can turn to Zenith for the Defy 21 Felipe Pantone Edition, which combines rainbow accents with the luxury brand's world-famous 1/100th-of-a-second timing.
