by Martin Green
A discussion with fellow collectors that is bound to elicit interesting responses is two-tone watches. People tend to either love them or hate them.
The lovers consider them the perfect mix between a sporty looking watch and a dress watch. People who don’t care for them may think of them as a weak compromise at best.

Two-tone Tudor Black Bay S&G
The 1990s was the heyday for two-tone watches; they were available before and also after, but this period seems to have produced a significant amount of bi-color metal watches.
What is two tone?
Perhaps I am kicking in an open door when I ask what exactly is a two-tone watch.
Like a surprising amount of terms used in the watch industry (ultra-slim to name an example), there is no exact definition of it.
“Two tone” relates to the coloring. In general, we use this description for steel combined with colored gold, but strictly speaking a great many other combinations can also claim the description.

Calibre de Cartier Diver (photo courtesy George Cramer)
Piaget, Rolex, and Cartier have combined yellow and white gold in watch designs. Omega has combined titanium with gold on the Seamaster Professional chronograph. And let’s not forget that Audemars Piguet has combined gold and tantalum to create a very attractive Royal Oak.
While many of the high-end Swiss brands use 18-karat gold for their two-tone watches, no law prevents a manufacturer from using gold plating to get the same effect, which is common practice among the more affordable brands.
If there is one thing that these timepieces make clear, it is that the power of two-tone watches can be found in the contrast of color. This is perhaps most evident in the combination of steel and gold: combining a precious metal with a not-so-precious metal changes the look and, yes, perhaps also the status of the watch.
Keeping up appearances?
Obviously, two-tone watches are priced higher than steel watches and lower than full gold varieties. They offer watch connoisseurs a middle ground, a dressier version of a favorite watch without having to pay the steep price for a gold model. Our editor-in-chief also relates that when she bought her first good watch in the early 1990s, she chose a stainless steel model with a pink gold bezel because from the top the steel was hardly discernible, but there was an enormous price difference; two-tone was at its height at the time.

Rolex Daytona Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph: gold and ceramic make for a special kind of two tone
For manufacturers this is also interesting as the premium one needs to pay for two-tone watches is often more than the addition of precious metal warrants. In return, the models get a distinct look. And as the watches in the segments we are discussing here are more purchases of passion, the not-so-major price increase also doesn’t make much of a difference to the consumer.
Those familiar with the hilarious comedy “Keeping up Appearances,” in which the middle-class Hyacinth Bucket tries to join the British upper crust, insisting that her last name is pronounced “bouquet,” might think that the same goes for two-tone watches. To an extent, there is truth in that thought.
From a design perspective, though, the two-tone elements need to work for the watch and not against it. It is almost the same as with cars: some cars are stunning as a coupe, but the convertible version looks like somebody took a chainsaw to it. The other way around (such as with the Aston Martin DB11 Volante) can also be the case, but is much rarer.
The two-tone great: 1990s Omega Constellation
Perhaps the best example of this is the Omega Constellation from the 1990s. While it was a beautiful watch in steel, it was in the two-tone version that this watch after its post-quartz redesign that showed off its distinct design features best with its distinctive claws, bezel engraved with Roman numerals, and of course the bracelet that alternated between brushed links and gold cylinders connecting them.

A two-tone yellow gold and steel Omega Constellation from the 1990s
While it is not everyone’s taste, this watch is a benchmark in how a well designed two-tone watch should look, displaying true synergy between the gold and the steel and making it look more impressive than the sum of its parts would typically warrant.
Another watch that can serve as a benchmark for two-tone watches is the Rolex Datejust. With its gold fluted bezel and Jubilee bracelet, it remains among the most popular two-tone watches, maintaining said popularity with ease for more than half a century.
Its design set the standard formula for many brands on how to create a two-tone watch: craft the inner links of the bracelet, the bezel, and the crown of the watch in gold and leave the rest in steel and you are good to go. For Rolex, this works not only with the Datejust (with either Jubilee or Oyster bracelet), but with its professional models such as the Submariner and the GMT-Master.

A two-tone ladies’ Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with diamond-set bezel from 2015
Two-tone watches became an important part of Cartier’s collection after Richemont transformed it from a family firm of three boutiques into a worldwide luxury sensation. Granted, many of La Maison’s designs were a near natural fit to be crafted in steel and gold.
Take, for example, the Santos: making the screws in its bracelet in yellow gold made the watch even more expressive than it already was. The same can be said of the Panthère, which was highly popular in the 1980s. Clients could even pick how many rows of the bracelet they wanted in gold.
Ironically, not all designs work as well in two tone as they do in full steel or all gold. The Pasha de Cartier was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s, but not in two-tone variations. The reason for this is evident as using the two colors almost seems to dilute the power of the design.
Omega also offered the Seamaster in two-tone in those days, and although very well executed the watch seemed to have to work too hard to pull off the color combination and it looks nowhere near as harmonious as the dual-color Constellation.
Faded, but far from forgotten
The popularity of two-tone watches has somewhat faded as we have moved further into the new millennium. Changes in style and fashion are evidently major influences on this.

Two-tone Calibre de Cartier Chronograph (photo courtesy George Cramer)
At the same time, two-tone watches are also a part of the watch world that will always remain.
Cartier, Omega, and Rolex still offer two-tone models in their collections – and Audemars Piguet even reintroduced a two-tone Royal Oak in 2015. Rolex surprised everyone at 2017’s Baselworld by not only introducing the Sky-Dweller in steel but also in a steel-gold constellation.

Two-tone Rolex Sky-Dweller from 2017
This is evidence that the category still carries some weight, but to like or not to like it, that remains a very personal question.
Quick Facts Rolex Sky-Dweller steel/gold
Case: Rolesor yellow gold and steel, 42 x 14.1 mm, rotating Ring Command bezel for function selection
Movement: automatic Caliber 9001, 33 x 8 mm, Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock absorption, C.O.S.C. certification
Functions: hours, minutes, sweep seconds; second time zone, annual calendar with date and month
Price: 16,300 Swiss francs
* This article was first published on November 15, 2017 at For The Love Of Two-Tone Watches.
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Mr. Green, you do yourself and your readership a disservice by the way you write. It’s awful. Your run on sentences, syntax, and use of the English language is appalling. And it results in my having to stop reading because your points become muddled due to your poor sentence construction.
Mr. Howard, at Quill & Pad we have a number of authors whose first languages are not English and we adore the varying points of view. We also welcome critique at Quill & Pad, but appreciate it more when it is imparted in a polite manner. If you do not care for the writing style of Mr. Green, whose native language is Dutch, then please do not read the articles he has authored. Comments like this are absolutely troll-worthy and certainly beneath your dignity.
Thank you for your comments, Mr. Howard. I must applaud your for not reading the article entirely, yet still take the time to scroll all the way down to let me know how you feel. You are probably happy to know that the feeling is entirely mutual.
You must have had a headache before you began reading . Nothing out of the ordinary going on here.
I think the writing style is passable. It is a bit choppy. However, I did not need to halt reading the piece to digest the writer’s meaning. [Note: I read the entire piece.]. If there is any criticism to be placed it is on an editor who did not polish the piece up a bit. The irony is that the writing style fits well with the gravamen of the piece since it was about two-tone watches. The subject of two-tone watches needed to address the frequent disparaging comments that they look like your grandpa’s watch from the 80’s. I think they do, but I am a grandpa myself, with no two-tone watches.
I don’t believe they have editors or even proof readers on any watch blog !
Nice article! I’m still on the hunt for a two-tone myself. Although I’m not a big Rolex fan myself, I think they are still THE two tone watch.
Oh just a correction: that picture of Constellation is not from the 90s. That’s a more modern one.
I like this article and many from Ms. Doer and Mr. Green. Its great to have contrary points of view and to provide constructive criticism. Trolling is just nasty. Be nice. The world and all of us will be the better for it.
Mr. Green, you are right about the Omega Constellation in steel and gold. I have a late eighties reference in steel and it’d be nicer with some gold.
I speak and write hillbillinese (hillbilly). I can’t criticize anyone’s writing or speech. I am not sure if Mr. Howard is grading an exam or is looking for a job. Seems like latter of the two.
Mr. Howard don’t be an anal retentive demagogue. You probably bag your own feces. Your opinions kills everyone’s time.
Mr. Green you are a genius. Keep writing and enjoy your passion.
God Bless