I was tempted to insert one other watch on this list, although, it didn’t technically fit the qualifications. That was the black leather strap copy Breitling SuperOcean ’57 Capsule Rainbow Edition: a single, limited edition watch (actually released twice this year – one with a black dial and the other with a blue dial) with a rainbow graduation on the hour markers and hands. This is a watch I have long wanted to see in the metal, and though it didn’t get released as a rainbow collection of best copy watches per se, the dial design at least deserved mention here.
I recall once reading a quote from Alan Moore – author of the now-classic graphic novel Watchmen – about how his own creation somewhat got away from him once it was released into the world. As he put it, “It was never my intention to start a trend for darkness. I’m not a particularly dark individual.” Such is the way of trends. We don’t often know where they begin (though we can do our best to surmise), and we likewise don’t know why they begin. In the watch world, there are trends aplenty. They aren’t always obvious right away, but they become more evident with time.
In the case of the rainbow watch, we can sort of trace the trend to the 2018 release of the rainbow bezel fake Rolex Daytona. Although Rolex had been making the Rainbow Daytona for years prior that, it was the 2018 version that really permeated both the watch enthusiast community, as well as celebrity culture. You can also check out noted Rolex collector John Mayer’s words on that watch in his second Talking Watches appearance – and let’s just say, he likes it a lot. In 2019, brands like AP, Hublot, and Parmigiani Fleurier joined the fray. Rolex was back again that year with the Rainbow Day-Date.
This year, however, the definition of “rainbow” has shifted. Instead of diamond-encrusted high-end watches, we have seen brands release pieces at lower price segments. The aforementioned waterproof copy Breitling Superocean ’57 is testament to that idea. But taking it a step further, we see the rainbow idea has turned, rather, to shaping entire collections into a rainbow, or multi-colored array, rather than confining this concept to a single piece. That trend, in particular, seems to be tied pretty exclusively to this year as we have seen from the list.
The interesting thing is how many brands released these multicolored collections, seemingly unbeknownst to one another. Maybe it was just one massive coincidence. On the other hand, maybe it was the product of a secret meeting held in Geneva (the kind that requires an even more secret handshake for entry) wherein it was decided, unequivocally, that this would be the year of colorful copy watches. Anyone not in compliance would be summarily dismissed and excommunicated from the group. Okay, I think coincidence is a cleaner explanation here, given the two options, though it leaves the “why” out of things. So while it looks like we won’t know the rainbow connection between all of these releases after all, maybe someday we’ll find it.
