The Best Black Watches for Men in 2021

Black is the new black. Classic. Stylish. Elegant. Timeless. For work and play a black watch is the watch for every occasion. 

Black is the universal colour that has, and still does, represent everything from grief to power to teenage rebellion. It embodies seriousness and rigour but at the same time is the personification of sophistication, eroticism and mystery. Black is strength. 

Black works with every skin tone and black wrist watches work with every body type. Black is fashion. Black is now. And, ultimately, black is cool.

“Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy — but mysterious. But above all black says this: I don’t bother you – don’t bother me” Yohji Yamamoto, fashion designer

Five of the Best Black Watches for Men

Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore Self-winding Chronograph

Audemars Piguet has been making watches since 1875. Based in Le Brassus, a small village in the Valley de Joux, north of Geneva, Switzerland they are Swiss Watchmaking royalty who have made watches under their own name as well as making them for other luxury brands like Tiffany, Bulgari and Cartier. The firm was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet and still remains an independent, family-owned company.

Introduced as part of the company’s celebration of the Royal Oak series. It’s water-resistant to 100m and includes high-tech ceramics which is harder than steel and very scratch resistant. A self-winding watch with stainless steel case, glare-proofed sapphire crystal and case back. 

Chronograph, hours, minutes small seconds and date. Black dial with “Méga Tapisserie” pattern, black counters, pink gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating and black inner bezel. Black rubber strap with titanium pin buckle. 

But be warned. This level of craftsmanship comes with a price to match. 

Uniform Wares M37

Uniform Wares’ unisex minimalist watches are notable for their contemporary and modern look. Clean and clear designs mean they are understated but not unforgettable.

The M37 is a three-hand watch in PVD black with a black nitrile rubber strap. A Swiss-made, modernist watch in Uniform Wares signature lug-less M-Line case design, 37mm in diameter. Water-resistant with diamond-cut hands and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.

Buy Uniform Wares M37 

Black Apple Watch Series 3

The ruler of the smartwatch world, Apple’s digital watch does all the basic watchy functions you’d expect, like tell the time, but has the added bonus of your phone functionality. Bluetooth, retina display, built-in health and wellness namely high, low and irregular heart rate notifications, water-resistant, speaker and microphone, Apple Pay, Ask Siri, texting. 

Then there’s all those apps plus fitness functionality including the new Activity app. Note though this is not strictly a pure black watch, the case is space grey aluminium, it makes our list simply because of its desirability.

Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Co‑Axial Chronograph Pitch Black

Rhapsodised, romanticised and analysed, the Moon has always enchanted us.

The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first people to see the dark side of the moon with their own eyes. It was their adventures and accomplishments that have inspired the all-black, ceramic Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon, but it is the mystique of the Earth’s nightlight and its ever-changing yet constant presence that has spurred the creation of the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon “Pitch Black”.

The black ceramic Co-Axial Speedmaster salutes their pioneering spirit and pays homage to the Speedmaster Professional chronographs worn by every Apollo astronaut.

This timepiece is the product of groundbreaking technologies: it is crafted from a single block of black zirconium oxide ceramic. The OMEGA Speedmaster “Dark Side of the Moon” redefines the iconic design of the Moonwatch and its name evokes the mysteriousness and allure of space.

This 44.25 mm Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon “Pitch Black” is distinguished by the Super-LumiNova that coats the indexes on its matt black ceramic dial. The ceramic timepiece has a polished and brushed casebody and a brushed ceramic bezel with a tachymeter scale also in Super-LumiNova. The matt black sub-dials have varnished hands.

Complete with an innovative column-wheel mechanism and Si14 silicon balance spring, the Omega Co-Axial calibre 9300 is the first of Omega’s exclusive in-house movements to incorporate a chronograph function. The 12-hour and 60-minute counter hands are placed on the same sub-dial at 3 o’clock allowing for intuitive reading of the recorded time.

The Pitch Black is presented on a black leather strap with ecru stitching and a ceramic foldover clasp.

Braun Gents Prestige Slim Watch BN0021

IN 1955 Braun hired Dieter Rams and together with his colleague, Dietrich Lubs, developed Braun’s iconic design language. Rams went on to be one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th Century.

Over the past 60 years, Braun has become an institution in the design community and a frequent reference point in the education of each new generation of creatives. That recognition also extends to the world’s most renowned design awards. Having received a total of 18 awards in the past 5 years these are a key indication that Braun watches and clocks are continuing that longstanding legacy. 

The Prestige Range

The Prestige Slim is based on the best selling, award-winning analogue Prestige BN0095. Its design, founded on Braun’s ‘less but better’ design philosophy, maintains the core qualities of the original while benefitting from the exact amount of restyling needed to create the slim version of the watch.

The Prestige Slim is built with a focus on quality and each element of the watch from the dial markers, strap and materials to the movement have been refined to achieve the best for ease of use, comfort and design. Water-resistant to 30m, stainless steel case and scratch-resistant mineral glass.

A contemporary interpretation of Braun’s iconic design, the award-winning Prestige range is comprised of innovative watches which have garnered global recognition from design experts around the world.

A short word on Wrist Size 

It’s important to get a watch that fits your wrist. However, there are no standard watch sizes just as there is no standard wrist size. Watch diameters tend to be in the 34-44mm range so if you have small wrists a case between 34-40mm should do the trick. Those with bigger wrists will likely find that cases up to 46mm should fit them.

It’s also worth noting that if you intend to use your watch for more formal occasions then slim watches of about 10mm thick will fit better under your cuff.

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