Mark Moss thinks one of my favorite watch dials is "Marmite" (take it or leave it stuff) and that he falls on the side of leave it. This got me to thinking about dials and taste (ugh Marmite/Vegemite). Anyway I thought it might be interesting to see what our members' tastes in dials was like. Please post a photo of the favorite and hopefully least favorite Chrono dials you have owned.

I am going to take the liberty to first post some dials which show a bit of the Evolution of American dial taste.

This is perhaps the holy grail of American pocket watch dials. It was hand painted by Josiah Moorehouse as a custom order for E. Howard & Co Watch Company and is signed on the back "J. Moorehouse Feb 28, 1890, 7:30 PM".

This is the classic American railroad dial as designed by Webb C. Ball who as his own lobbyist, was influential in writing the laws governing RR watch design and inspection in the us at the turn of the century. Ball believed in simple/readable.

About the most decoration Ball believed in was putting a union logo on the dial. This dial is for the Brotherhood of RR Trainmen. These dials cost a bit extra and are quite scarce these days.

The RR watch business was big and lots of people tried to find a marketing edge to compete with Ball. A man named Montgomery designed the above dial with marginal minutes which he successfully licensed to many companies. Ball hated this dial and lobbied against it but there are a few rare examples of Ball Montgomery dials out there.

One of the wilder styles of RR dial is the above designed by a man named Ferguson. These are very collectable today but when I remember my dad junking them in the '60s because he thought they were ugly and difficult to read.

Now for my favorite and leas favorite Chrono dials!

My favorite right now is this classic simple Carrera dial. I love the early Speedmaster 2998 dials too. Rolex made a pre Daytona dial which is a lot like the Carrera dial but I like the Heuer better.

This is my least favorite dial of all of the dials I have owned. I loved the watch and it kept great time with no problems...but when I was wearing it I never knew what time it was.