Green over tan: how every car enthusiast’s favourite colour combo works perfectly for watches too
Jamie WeissWe all know that the Venn diagram between watch enthusiasts and car enthusiasts is pretty close to just one big circle: if you’re into one, you’re probably into the other. If you are into your cars, then you’re no doubt familiar with the cult of ‘green over tan’: first emerging on the PistonHeads forums and then popularised by the eponymous Instagram account, it’s the simple idea that green cars with tan interiors are the ideal spec. Green, of course – especially British Racing Green – is a colour steeped in motorsports history, too.
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Lately, however, I’ve noticed that there are more than a few watches on the market that also follow this green over tan colour scheme – and just as sports cars look best in green over tan, watches also look amazing with this colour combination. With that in mind, I’ve rounded up a few watches that do green over tan (or at least green over brown) very well, that if you’re anything like me, speak to the revhead in you.
Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium
Sir Lewis Hamilton’s known for driving silver cars rather than green ones (and these days drives a red car, having just made the move to Ferrari after all his years with Mercedes), but Hamilton the watch brand knows how to make a cracking green over tan watch. A more affordable proposition compared to most green over tan watches on the market, this Khaki Field Titanium features a surprisingly vibrant jade/khaki green dial combined with an ultra-comfy tan nubuck strap. Available in two sizes, the pops of orange found on the hand and above the hour markers give it a distinctly (motor)sporty feel, as does its sleek titanium case. Price: US$1,123 (38mm), US$1,205 (42mm) in the Time+Tide Shop
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date
Race car drivers are sometimes called “pilots” (plus, avgeeks and revheads are very much cut from the same cloth), so pilot’s watches also have a home in car culture. With its vintage yet fundamentally timeless aesthetic, this green over tan Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date would pair perfectly with an old BMW on gold BBS Super RS rims, or maybe something even older. Plus, its bronze case will age just as gracefully as an old grand tourer. Price: US$2,600
Longines Spirit
These days, Longines is better known for supporting horse racing rather than motor racing, but the Saint-Imier brand also has a long history of involvement with motorsport in rallying and Formula 1, having been the official timekeeper for the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix and the sport’s official timekeeper between 1982 and 1992. This retro-inspired Spirit is a great example of green over tan done right in a watch. Price: US$2,650 (40mm), US$2,750 (42mm)
Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Mustang
This one’s an obvious pick, even if I’m stretching the definition of tan a bit. A horological homage to the first-generation Ford Mustang – inarguably one of the most iconic cars of all time – this Breitling Top Time combines a green brushed dial with “squircle” subdials inspired by vintage car dashboards and a rally-style perforated leather strap. While it doesn’t come with one as standard, I’m sure the staff at your local Breitling boutique would be more than happy to swap a tan rally strap onto your Top Time. Price: US$7,650
anOrdain Model 2 Racing Green
As its name implies, this anOrdain Model 2 Racing Green features one of the Scottish brand’s famously delectable vitreous enamel dials in British Racing Green – the national British motor racing colour and the Platonic ideal shade for green over tan fanatics – on a brown shell cordovan strap. anOrdain make all their watches to order (it’s like speccing a car!), so you’ve got a few choices to make with this Model 2: a 36mm or 39.5mm case diameter; the type of strap you want on it (for proper green over tan, go for the brown shell cordovan); as well as the movement, either a hand-wound Sellita SW210 or an automatic La Joux-Perret G101, which you can also opt to be decorated for an extra fee. Price: from ~US$2,500 + VAT (36mm, SW210 movement)
Furlan Marri Disco Volante
Funnily enough, ‘Disco Volante’ (Italian for ‘Flying Saucer’) is a term that’s found usage in both the watch and car worlds, with it being used in the former to describe circular watches with large stepped or decorated bezels produced throughout the 20th century, and used in the latter in the name of some car models, notably by Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin. It’s only fitting, then, that Furlan Marri’s modern take on the Disco Volante finds a spot on this list. The ‘Disco Verde’ colourway of the watch comes with a beige leather strap as standard (does beige also push the definition of tan?) but I’d personally swap the caramel leather strap from the ‘Havana Disco’ colourway onto this green dial model as I think it better fits the green over tan brief. Regardless, you’re getting a stunning manually-wound dressy watch with a small seconds that feels distinctly rev counter-y. Price: US$3,400 in the Time+Tide Shop
Time+Tide Timeless Pick: Singer Flytrack Pulsometer
This one’s almost cheating. Singer is best known among car enthusiasts as perhaps the best Porsche 911 restorer and modifier in the world (and the green over tan cult is very Porsche-led), but they also make a great range of motorsports-inspired watches. And just as the Porsche 911 is arguably the most popular car among green over tan aficionados, it’s perhaps no surprise that Singer has a green over tan watch. This Flytrack Pulsometer combines a proprietary zero-reset flyback function with a unique handset combination, forgoing a typical hour hand in favour of an outer hour disc. This exact model with a green dial is sadly no longer in production – virtually all of Singer’s watches are very limited short-runs – but like with exotic car makers, we’re sure that if you really wanted a green over tan one, they’d do it for you, if the money was right.