When it comes to the colour of your watch, nothing says discretion and understated confidence quite like black. Think Karl Lagerfeld in the ’70s with his customised black-painted Audemars Piguet Royal Oak or the late Virgil Abloh with his all-black Patek Philippe Nautilus. It says practicality, recalling the dials of watches worn by the armed forces during the second world war; but it also says glamour – the perfect accessory to a black-tie suit or little black dress. 

The latest crop sees Victoire de Castellane dressing up the classic Dior La D de Dior in matte black for the first time, with a diamond-set bezel. Tom Ford gives a nod to military styling with the outsize luminous Arabic numerals of its latest release, while Hublot and Richard Mille make bold artistic statements – the former in its latest joint project with Takashi Murakami, encasing in black ceramic a dial that glitters with the artist’s trademark happy-flower emblem in a rainbow of jewels; the latter with a Carbon TPT heavy-metal inspired piece, complete with a skeletal gold hand making the devil’s horns gesture at the heart of a see-through dial. It’s time to bet on black.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa, £24,700

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa, £24,700

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche Orange Racing, £5,850

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Porsche Orange Racing, £5,850

Omega Speedmaster Super Racing, £10,700

Omega Speedmaster Super Racing, £10,700

Hublot Takashi Murakami Classic Fusion Black Ceramic Rainbow with unique NFT, £45,000

Hublot Takashi Murakami Classic Fusion Rainbow with unique NFT, £45,000

Dior La D de Dior Black Ultramatte with black diamonds, £4,100

Dior La D de Dior Black Ultramatte with black diamonds, £4,100

Hermès H08, £14,000

Hermès H08, £14,000

Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time Ref 5520P-001, £226,600

Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time Ref 5520P-001, £226,600

Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF, £18,500

Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF, £18,500

Richard Mille RM66 Flying Tourbillon, SFr985,000

Richard Mille RM66 Flying Tourbillon, SFr985,000 (about £874,739)

Tom Ford N002 Ocean Plastic Sport Camo, £1,020 (available from 17 April)

A Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk, $101,000 

A Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk, $101,000 

Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph, £7,200

Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph, £7,200

Panerai Luminor Razer Edition, £7,300

Panerai Luminor Razer Edition, £7,300

Longines Pilot Majetek, £3,500

Longines Pilot Majetek, £3,500

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4, SFr1,45mn (about £1.29mn)

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