Three precious-stone watches – more than just a very pretty face, each one is entirely unique

We’re into week three of my attempts to become Aquaman, and so far, if I say so myself, I think I’m nailing it. This might be the overconfidence of a middle class, 30-something privileged man talking, but I haven’t drowned yet and I’ve been in the deep end twice! My swimming teacher (henceforth referred to as Coach Buttons, to protect her identity) is of the opinion that I’m almost as good as some of the junior school kids she teaches. And that can only be taken as encourage­ment, right? Kids pick up things faster. And then there was that baby on the cover of the Nirvana album, which is probably relevant here somehow.

Anyway, more updates next time as Coach Buttons steps things up and, who knows, perhaps I’ll be using a dive watch for its intended purpose by the end of the summer!

On to the watches, and this week it’s all about the “precious”. Dated Lord of the Rings references aside, we’re looking at precious-stone dials, which have recently become a bit of a thing. Fancy dials aren’t new, lacquer and mother of pearl are quite common, but what is new-ish is that watch companies are using increasingly exotic and thus more colourful stone materials. One of the most striking is malachite, which gives the dial both a deep copper-green colour and a banded effect.

Several new watches have featured malachite in the past year, but my favourite is the Omega Seamaster 300 Malachite (above). It’s no secret that I think the Seamaster 300 is one of the finest watches on the market, but pairing it with the green of the stone and the yellow gold is just perfection for people who want their watch to draw attention but also have technical chops. Nominally a men’s watch, this is really a unisex timepiece as the case is 41mm, but wears smaller. There’s Omega’s proprietary Ceragold on the case, clasp, the bezel inlays and the indices and that’s compli­mented by the green leather strap. Inside is a cutting edge Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8913 movement and the watch is dive certified for 300 metres, but, let’s be honest, this watch will never even be taken in the shower. Still, it’s there if you need it. All of this goodness will cost you HK$216,900.

Next we have a more affordable but no less striking option, the Myku Sardonyx Gold. Priced at a bargain HK$4,298, it’s really hard to stop staring at the dial on this thing. With sardonyx, also known as red onyx, there’s a whole lot going on with the deep red, but browns, too, and milky white and the banding is unexpected.