By Rebecca Doulton
Like a shot of your favourite espresso, New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team or a sharp black tuxedo, black is the colour of character, power and sophistication. Men's watches are no exception and have succumbed to the powerful lure of black on black on dials.
When Omega watches found out that a model from its Speedmaster family had made the epic Moon landing on Buzz Aldrin's wrist in 1969, the lucrative and well-earned legend of the Moonwatch was born. The 44.25mm case of the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon watch in black ceramic alludes to the area of the Moon's surface where the Sun never shines. To relieve the darkness, white gold indices and hands bring an aura of Moonlight to this robust chronograph powered by an in-house Omega Co-Axial movement with a full four-year warranty.
For something totally out of the black, Grieb & Benzinger presents its sophisticated Pharos Centurion Imperial watch. This all-black handcrafted masterpiece from the elite German team of watchmakers is truly opulent, housed in a 43mm blackened palladium case. The bezel, set with 66 black princess-cut diamonds, frames the hand-guillochéd wavy black dial, which features Arabic numerals - the original ones - in the upper counter intersected by the small seconds counter. The movement has also been blackened and engraved by hand. As most precious bespoke objects that emerge from this atelier, be prepared to set aside a six-digit figure for this black beauty.
Panerai watches has forged a solid identity with its oversized timepieces inspired by the company's original mission of providing underwater timing devices with unparalleled luminescence for Italy's navy. The Tuttonero Luminor has been entirely crafted in matte black ceramic for an impeccably sleek and silky look. With a case diameter of 44mm, including Panerai watches' patented crown protecting device, this timepiece houses a self-winding in-house calibre giving life to the hours, minutes, small seconds, date, second time zone, power reserve indicator and a bullish power reserve of three days. Water resistant to 100m, there's no mistaking the provenance of the Tuttonero's (all black) stylish Italian design.
JeanRichard has even created a New Year's Eve Black Tie Selection of black-on-black timepieces, including this handsome 1681 JeanRichard watch with a sandblasted black DLC-coated stainless steel 44mm case and an in-house JR1000 self-winding movement.
Get in the stealth mode with these men's watches with dark dials and let the countdown for 2015 commence in style.
