Yellow gold is back with a bang.
Watchmakers are reconfiguring their portfolios to increase average prices, so steel-on-steel or steel-on-strap watches are being upgraded with the addition of gold — predominately yellow gold in 2022, and often in tandem with glossy black.
This is nothing new to watchmaking, and is a return to a trend seen most prominently in the 1970s, when the Lotus Formula 1 team used the colours of its cigarette sponsor, John Player Special and made black and gold super cool.
Rolex adopted yellow gold and black for its racy Daytona, and JPS versions of that watch are now selling for seven figures.
In 2020, for example, a rare 1969 Rolex Daytona JPS reference 6264 in 18-carat gold sold at Sotheby’s for £1,215,000, double its pre-sale estimate.
Several watchmakers are using black and gold this year.
Let’s start with De Bethune, which has chosen the colours for a version of its DB28GS in steel, titanium and zirconium.
Then there is the biggest beast, Rolex, delivering a Yacht-Master 42 in the JPS colours with a gold case and black bezel and Oysterflex strap.
Cartier, the world’s second largest luxury watchmaker, has always been a fan of yellow gold and black.
The combination works perfectly for a new Tank Chinoise watch housing a hand wound 430 MC movement.
And Tudor, of course, with its Black Bay Chronograph, pictured at the top, an homage to the aforementioned Daytona from its big brother Rolex.
