Another Friday, another Top 5! This week, we take a step away from the pre-owned watches we have been covering lately. Earlier this week, IWC announced the first fully luminous ceramic watch. Watch spotters saw it on the wrist of Formula 1 driver and IWC ambassador Lewis Hamilton last weekend during the Monaco Grand Prix. The new IWC Ceralume concept watch inspired us to pick our favorite full-lume dial watches.
When IWC announced the new full-lume Pilot’s Chronograph 41, we immediately thought of the now-defunct brand Tockr. While a luminous ceramic watch might be new, a case that lights up in the dark is far from it. Tockr created multiple hydro-dipped versions of its Air Defender Chronograph that looked funky during the day and lit up like a Christmas tree at night. The new IWC concept watch is the next step in creating luminous watches, and it will be interesting to see how the brand will develop the technology. For now, we were inspired by that release and the unveiling of the new Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Pro-Diver with a full-lume dial, so we picked our five favorite current watches with full-lume dials this week. Let’s jump in.
TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Date Night Diver
Let’s kick this list off with a personal favorite. It’s been just less than three years since I reviewed TAG Heuer’s Aquaracer Night Diver. The stealthy-cased watch with its full-lume dial is still one of my favorite Aquaracers in the collection. I had a great time testing this modern version inspired by TAG Heuer’s Night Divers from the 1980s. The Heuer/TAG Heuer ref. 980.032L became famous for featuring a full-lume dial so that wearers could still read the watch in the dark. James Bond fans will undoubtedly remember the black PVD version of the watch (ref. 980.031) around the wrist of Timothy Dalton in the 1987 Bond movie The Living Daylights.
Those watches inspired the blacked-out TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 version with a Super-LumiNova-coated white dial that lights up green in the dark. The watch has a 43mm sandblasted stainless steel case with a black DLC coating. This case matches the Aquaracer’s 12-faceted unidirectional bezel, also executed in black. The matte black bezel insert features white numerals and markers, and the lumed triangle on it lights up blue in the dark, just like the minute hand and the tip of the seconds hand.
Still the best TAG Heuer Aquaracer
TAG Heuer equips the watch with its Calibre 5 based on the Sellita SW200-1. The automatic movement operates at 28,800vph and has 26 jewels and a 38-hour power reserve. Besides displaying the time, it also has a date function displayed at 6 o’clock. The watch comes with a curved-end black rubber strap with a folding clasp, making it super comfortable. Three years after the introduction, this is still my favorite version of the Aquaracer, which can be yours for €4,150.
Doxa Sub 300 Carbon Whitepearl
Our second pick is another modern version of a classic. I have explained my love for Doxa’s Whitepearl models a few times on Fratello. The white versions of the classic Doxa models are surprisingly crisp and atypical for the brand. Usually, we associate Doxa with colorful executions of its classic dive watches. However, the white versions brought a new perspective on those classics that I like a lot. The Sub 300 Carbon Whitepearl has an extra little trick up its sleeve in the form of a full-lume dial.
The watch features a 42.5mm × 45mm forged carbon case that is 13.4mm thick and water resistant to 300 meters. The case is matched with a forged carbon bezel with the two scales executed in white to match the dial. Contrasting the dial are the black markers and hands, which are treated with white Super-LumiNova. Just like on the TAG Heuer, the dial features two lume colors. The dial lights up green in the dark, and the hands and markers glow blue to create contrast.
The Doxa Sub 300 Carbon Whitepearl is the full package
As Nacho explained, the Sub 300 Carbon Whitepearl comes with a white rubber strap that balances the lightweight case nicely on the wrist. Inside it, Doxa uses the COSC-certified version of the automatic Sellita SW200-1 movement, offering 38 hours of power reserve. We have seen several remarkable versions of the Sub 300 after this Whitepearl model was released. But two years later, this €4,290 Sub 300 Carbon Whitepearl is still one of the coolest Doxa Sub 300 models.
Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Pro-Diver
Our next pick is the brand-new Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Pro-Diver with a full-lume dial. I reported on the watch this week following the release of a special RedBar edition announced two weeks earlier. The watch takes inspiration from the Night Divers from the 1980s with its pistachio-green dial that lights up blue in the dark. This Super Sea Wolf Pro-Diver has a 42mm stainless steel case that is 13mm thick and 49.8mm long with a 20mm lug spacing. As it is the Pro-Diver version of the Super Sea Wolf, the depth rating is increased from 200 to 300 meters.
The green dial is matched with a black ceramic bezel insert. The hour markers, hands, and markings on the ceramic bezel insert are white and light up green in the dark. As with the first two models on this list, this creates a glowing combination of blue and green lume.
Zodiac uses the COSC-certified STP 1-21 chronometer caliber inside the case. This movement is based on the famous ETA 2824 and operates at 28,800vph while offering a 40-hour power reserve. The watch comes on a seven-row stainless steel bracelet that gives it an extra injection of character. The new Super Sea Wolf Pro-Diver is available now for US$2,295. At the time of publishing, Zodiac even has the limited RedBar edition in stock for the same price. We can’t wait to get one of these in for a hands-on review.
Isotope HydiumX “Exit”
One of the most fun watches I had a chance to review in the last couple of years was the Isotope HydriumX “Will Return.” The watch’s design was inspired by the iconic “Will Return” clock/door sign that indicates when a shop will be open again. That watch with a full-lume dial sold out in no time back in 2021.
Two months ago, Isotope brought back the watch in a reverse color combination and added a full-lume wall clock. It was no surprise that those also sold out quickly. But the brand has another lume-dial version of its popular HydriumX, the “Exit.” The design for this timepiece takes inspiration from the potentially life-saving sign showing people where to exit from buildings.
The watch has a 40mm × 48mm micro-blasted stainless steel case that is 14.9mm thick. It also has a nice 22mm lug spacing and a 300m depth rating. The bezel features a glossy green insert with a lume pip as the only marker. The off-white dial features green Arabic numerals and is treated with Super-LumiNova that lights up bright green in the dark. At 4 o’clock, a little figure runs for the door, referring to the exit sign, just like the tiny arrow-shaped seconds hand.
The brand uses a Landeron automatic movement to power the watch. The caliber operates at 28,800vph, has 40 hours of power reserve, and is accurate to ±12 seconds per day. The watch looks super stylish on the white rubber strap and can be yours for right around €1,080. But be quick as there are only 100 pieces of this fun watch.
Citizen Promaster Aqualand Depth Meter ref. JP2007-17W
Our fifth and last pick is the Citizen Promaster Aqualand Depth Meter with full-lume dial. This version of this classic Citizen diver from the 1980s was fun to review. It took me back to the days when ana-digi watches were popular. But this quirky piece has more tricks up its sleeve. The original watch was launched in 1985 and was the first to incorporate an electronic digital depth gauge.
Image: Windup Watch Shop
This explains the weird case shape with the depth gauge on the left side. But that is not all. The stainless steel case has a gunmetal PVD coating, and the watch has a fully luminescent dial to create a design that stands out immediately.
Including the depth gauge, the case measures 50.7mm across, but that measurement is a bit misleading. Without it, the diameter is very wearable 42.5–43mm, and the watch is 14.8mm thick. With the 24mm lug spacing, its very comfortable polyurethane strap is very noticeable and balances out the watch nicely, which I like. The case is combined with a black bezel that slopes downward slightly toward the crystal. The full-lume dial features minute markers on the rehaut to make space for the large hour markers.
The lume on the dial glows yellow in the dark, while the markers glow bright blue. The digital display on the upper half of the dial shows a wide array of usable functions. These come courtesy of the quartz Citizen caliber C520, which is accurate to ±20 seconds per month. This ISO-compliant Promaster Aqualand diver offers great ’80s style and functionality with a full-lume dial for €449 and closes out our list this week.
Final thoughts on the top five currently available watches with full-lume dials
There you have it — our favorite full-lume dial watches in no particular order. We could have picked many more watches that would’ve suited this list perfectly. The bottom line is that we love watches with full-lume dials. As a little teaser, I can reveal that if you are interested in them too, you should keep an eye out for what’s to come here on Fratello. You might be in for a nice surprise soon! In the meantime, let us know in the comments section what your favorite full-lume-dial watch is, and we will see you next week for another Top 5 list!
