Charming associations, striking contrasts, an elegant black-and-white look: legendary timepieces like the Daytona "Paul Newman" from Rolex with a panda dial are appealing, but they're well beyond the budget of many watch lovers. The good news: other brands such as Breitling, Hamilton, Omega and Tudor offer their own takes on this popular design. Panda luxury watches are remarkably stylish, very much on trend and yet classically timeless. See for yourself.
An Elegant Style Statement from Breitling – Premier B01 Chronograph 42
For a long time, watchmakers' display cases were dominated by timepieces with largely single-color dials. That made the idea of designing higher-contrast wristwatches, which debuted around 60 years ago, all the more noteworthy. An early example of the design is Breitling's 1957 Superocean, which collectors regard as a panda pioneer. Even in only fair condition without papers or box, this rarity can fetch more than $16,000 at auction.
If you don't spend all your time around exclusive timepieces, you may be wondering at this point: what are panda watches? The term refers to an aesthetic with pronounced color contrast between the main dial and the subdials. On a "true panda," these so-called totalizers should be black and stand out against a white background. The Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph with a 42 mm stainless steel case is a fine example. It belongs to a watch family through which the prestigious brand aims to showcase its flair for pure elegance. The panda principle plays right into Breitling's hands on this mission:
Brilliant white contrasts with the black 30-minute counter and small seconds display. Both are circular and arranged horizontally side by side with a certain gap between them. Overall, the dial design resembles the face of the bamboo bear that gives the genre its name. Aesthetically, this men's watch is a triumph – especially paired with a black alligator leather strap. The same goes for what's inside: a high-precision self-winding manufacture caliber with a 70-hour power reserve.
Zenith Revival or Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Chrono
For some people, Breitling's Premier lacks a panda nose to really evoke a bear's face. If you're nodding along, you'll appreciate variants with three black subdials. Zenith, for example, picks up on this look with its Chronomaster Revival El Primero family. It pays tribute to the first automatic chronograph, which the manufacture developed in 1969. The retro style with three black totalizers on a pure white background suits it perfectly.
Hamilton also adds a generous dose of vintage to the American Classic Intra-Matic Chrono. It's a charming example of a reverse panda – the term collectors use for watches that invert the black-and-white design principle. The variation suits this hand-wound modern classic exceptionally well without losing any of its endearing effect. You get the feeling the watch is looking its owner in the eye whenever he checks the time.
Classic Contrasts with Modern Sporty Design – Tudor Black Bay Chrono
In the 1960s and 1970s, black-and-white wristwatches were in vogue, and Tudor, too, offered models with the panda layout. So it's no surprise that the design usually carries a hint of retro. If that appeals to you but you'd like a sportier statement on your wrist, you'll find this fusion of styles hard to resist:
With the hand design of the Black Bay Chrono, Tudor references its legendary Submariner dive watches, first introduced in 1954. The tachymeter scale on the bezel creates a link to motorsport, with which the Geneva manufacture has felt closely connected for decades. Tudor's first chronograph debuted in 1970. The panda dial represents this milestone in the brand's history.
These historical links can be taken as evidence of its well-engineered functionality: the rugged sports watch with its hand-finished manufacture movement is suitable for everyday wear, ready for dives to depths of up to 200 meters, and displays hours, minutes, seconds, date and chronograph functions with high precision.
Multifaceted and Highly Legible – Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph 43 mm
When the first panda watches debuted, manufacturers emphasized that the color contrasts made reading easier and thus offered mainly a practical benefit. Some watch experts question this argument and consider it more of a marketing claim. In the past, professional pilot's watches often embraced a single-color look without anyone criticizing their functionality. Still, contrast always helps when a dial is richly detailed.
The Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph with its 43 mm case is full of discoveries. Naturally, this masterpiece tells the exact time. The bezel ring features a tachymeter scale, joined by pulsometer and telemeter scales, among others. They recall the design of the 1940s and enrich the dial layout. The wealth of detail is anything but confusing – it's endlessly fascinating. The key is the two-tone look, with light totalizers standing out against the dark base tone of the dial.
Rolex Daytona - The Ultimate Panda
In 2017, the auction price of a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona shot up within minutes and had broken the $17 million mark by the time the hammer fell. Contributing to this record price, which made headlines worldwide, was the fact that the rarity had belonged to Paul Newman. If you're looking for a well-preserved counterpart, you'll find that these historic pieces are breathtakingly expensive even when they never graced the wrist of a legendary racing driver or actor.
By comparison, more recent interpretations of the legendary Rolex panda watch are bargains. White gold, Everose gold or meteorite: it's up to your personal taste which precious materials define this showpiece. The Rolex Daytona Cosmograph is an aesthetic and technical masterpiece of Swiss watchmaking. Whether the design matches the original pandas or counts as a semi-panda wristwatch becomes secondary. That's the term for high-contrast timepieces with the typical totalizer layout that depart from the black-and-white color scheme.
