02 TRUE BLUE

Lots of brands have a healthy stock of blue-faced watches in their stable for those who want to deviate from white/black/silver dials with something that’s still elegant but just different enough to be interesting. But its popularity has hit somewhat of a peak this year, thanks to brands like IWC adopting the colour for half its 150th-anniversary collection, and Longines and Breitling pushing out several models in that hue.

Brands like Breguet and De Bethune have used the colour to celebrate renewal. For the former, its Marine models were revamped last year and white gold versions of this year’s Marine Ref. 5517 and Marine Chronograph Ref. 5527 come in a cool blue shade. The return of Zenith’s Defy collection was marked by the high-frequency Defy El Primero 21 chronograph and Defy Lab last year, but its latest addition is the entry-level time-only Defy Classic – a shrewd move to attract a wider audience to the collection.

Richard Mille is still busy trying to make watches that will eventually withstand the apocalypse – or something close to it – to dedicate a whole collection to one shade, but the RM 53-01 Tourbillon is doing its part. The ultimate polo watch has striking light blue accents that highlight the unusual suspended movement, with a matching crown and strap.