Best black watches

By Kim Parker

There’s just no getting around it: when it comes to watches, black really is the new black. As a bumper collection of midnight-hued new timepieces can attest, watchmakers truly have embraced their dark sides this season. And with a plethora of pitch-perfect new materials, hard stone embellishments and skeletonise dials in the mix, the mood is one of couture chic, rather than a fast fashion fix.

Audemars Piguet‘s monochromatic collaboration with the Florentine jeweller, Carolina Bucci, kicked off the trend earlier this year. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its iconic Royal Oak timepiece, the Swiss watchmaker tasked Bucci with creating a limited-edition version of its self-winding 34mm model. The result was a sleek, all black ceramic watch, embellished with rose gold detailing and a rainbow-effect sapphire dial, which highlighted the piece’s signature tapisserie detailing with myriad shimmering colours, like an oil slick.

Next came stealthily understated timepieces from the likes of Dior and Chanel, the latter staying true to its founder’s saying that “black has it all…white too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.”

Now, a swathe of all black watches has been launched, ideal for wintry wrist stacks that will still look stylish next year. Here, we round up the best to invest in right now.

Bulgari

Rado

Cartier

Chanel

Dior

Louis Vuitton

Hublot

Audemars Piguet

Seiko

Like this? Read more about Chanel’s revamped Première timepiece