Complete your stealth wealth ensemble with these watches without logos

If you’ve got it, don’t flaunt it. This succinctly captures the current surge in the “quiet luxury” trend that is making its mark on the fashion landscape. Conspicuous brand names and logos are being dropped in favour of timeless designs in muted colours, where brands like The Row, Brunello Cucinelli, and Loro Piana shine.

Perhaps it's the apprehension fuelled by the spectre of an impending recession, or it could be attributed to the rising influence of HBO's Succession and its cast's discreet yet affluent style. Alternatively, it might signify a broader change in the post-pandemic luxury consumer's values  ̶  one that prioritises inclusivity and craftsmanship instead of exclusivity and showmanship. Whatever the case may be, there's a growing sentiment that people are now hoping to say more by showing less.

Adopting this trend is a more challenging endeavour for watchmakers, as they are confined to wrist-sized canvases to convey their brand identity. But there are a handful of brands that have bravely forgone putting their names on dials, preferring instead to use quality, reputation, and design as their distinctive calling cards.

H. MOSER: THE ART OF UNDERSTATEMENT

A lover of satire, H. Moser has regularly released tongue-in-cheek one-offs that get people talking. Examples include introducing a watch with a case crafted from cheese and another that humorously amalgamated signature design elements from six renowned watch brands, creating a hilarious Frankenstein of Swiss icons. And it was this attitude that inadvertently launched one of H. Moser’s most popular collections today.

In 2015, the brand decided that releasing a watch with absolutely nothing on the dial save for the hands would generate buzz. It did. The highly limited Endeavour Concept Watch Fume was so successful it paved the way for the permanent Endeavour Concept line, boasting beautiful fume dials with no text to distract from the elegant hands or complications.

For a twist on its signature smoky look, the Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel starts with a textured base plate. After applying three enamel pigments and firing it 12 times, the result is an arresting blue dial that sparkles like the surface of the ocean.

DE BETHUNE: KEEPING IT COOL

It’s not just Tiffany & Co that has become synonymous with a characteristic blue hue. De Bethune’s use of blued titanium, the result of a happy accident made by co-founder and watchmaker Denis Flageollet when experimenting with balance wheels in the lab, has been become so liberal that its Kind of Blue watches are unmistakably De Bethune. (And given how intensely blue they are, they can also be spotted from quite a distance.)

But even without the violently azure hue, De Bethune’s DB28 range easily distinguishes itself with its peculiar floating lugs, noon-position crown, and delta-shaped mainplate. De Bethune’s watches aren’t exactly subtle, and its newer releases — the DB28XP Kind of Blue and its complicated gem-set sibling, the DB28XP Kind of Blue Tourbillon Sapphire — seem to amplify the brand's maximalist approach to watchmaking.

SARPANEVA: LOOKS THAT THRILL

Finnish independent brand Sarpaneva already sets its watches apart from its peculiar scalloped “Korona” case, lance-shaped hands and heavily lumed dials, but it is the founder’s love of moon phases that have become a consistent feature in his watches. So much so that Stepan Sarpaneva uses his favourite facial expression on the brand’s famous “moon face”.

In the Sarpaneva X Nakki Blue Moon, that evocative moon glowers over a nakki (a mythological water spirit from Nordic lore) emerging from a lake at night. In low light conditions, the dial comes alive in a burst of coloured Super-Luminova shining through some 650 steel cutouts in a fairy tale-like scene.

PANERAI: WHISPERS OF NOSTALGIA

For a brand that consistently showcases its name prominently on watch dials, discovering one without it is a collector's delight. In the case of Panerai, such treasures come in the form of vintage Radiomirs featuring California dials. During World War II, to enhance visibility in low-light conditions, these dials incorporated a blend of Roman and Arabic numerals, making them distinctive and historically significant.

Panerai has, on occasion, released modern versions since, but its latest iteration is the first time one has come in a 45mm case rather than 47mm. The PAM01349 caters to modern trends with a grained green face and gradient finish on the edges but has a charmingly aged look thanks to its “Brunito eSteel” case. The case, made from recycled stainless steel, is given a thin layer of black DLC which is then carefully polished away to give it the impression of burnished metal.

KRAYON: CHARITY OVER VANITY

There are times when the significance of the message and cause outweighs the importance of branding. Krayon has crafted two unique versions of its Anywhere watch for the past two Only Watch charity auctions, where proceeds contribute to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. In both instances, the dials underwent exquisite transformations through the artistry of metiers d’art. In 2021, champleve enamel was employed to fashion a mosaic scene inspired by a Claude Monet painting, fetching four times its estimate at 320,000 CHF (S$496,000). The 2023 edition of the auction, though unfortunately postponed indefinitely, would have presented another masterpiece for auction. The dial, resembling the painting "Coastal Scene" by Belgian artist Theo van Rysselberghe, was recreated in miniature with a multitude of tiny brushstrokes.