Of all the watch collecting niches, few are more curious (and potentially divisive) than watches that are completely (or almost completely) without any markers and branding. In our hobby, legibility and a relative ease of use are often seen as high priorities, so what happens when a watchmaker decides to forego these things entirely in favor of pure artistic expression? 

We’ve noticed an increase in dials of this type from brands as diverse as Christopher Ward, Arcanaut, and H. Moser recently, and it’s interesting to consider what each is attempting to accomplish. These watches fly in the face of the idea as a watch as a practical tool, and lean toward a more overtly artistic style of watchmaking. But that doesn’t necessarily make them impractical. 

In this video, Zach Weiss and Zach Kazan look at a number of watches that prioritize the artistic vision of the maker by eschewing traditional markers, or other dial indicators that make it easy to precisely note the time at a glance.