For a hundred years after they were first issued, Hong Kong’s definitive stamps were modelled on the same design. But in 1962, new definitive stamps were issued that featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in military costume (instead of just her head). What’s more, all denominations up to $1 were printed in monochrome, but the five higher values were printed in the original colours of the portrait, making them the first full-colour Hong Kong stamp issues ever to be printed. In 1968, the bauhinia flower and Hong Kong’s coat of arms were incorporated in the designs of two denominations, which thus joined the select ranks of Hong Kong definitive stamps not to feature the portrait of the ruling sovereign as their main design.

Hong Kong definitive stamps continued to evolve over time: in 1973, the queen’s portrait began to appear in bas-relief, while the backgrounds of later issues included drawings of lions and dragons to represent Britain and China respectively, Hong Kong’s coastline and the Chinese characters for Hong Kong in cursive script. The lowest denomination increased to 10 cents in 1973, and the highest denomination to $20 in 1962 and $50 in 1982.