Two Broke Watch Snobs
The Best Blue Watches We’ve Ever Reviewed (That Don’t Suck)
Explore the best blue dial watches we've reviewed across various styles with hands-on picks by budget with real-world pros and cons.
4,680 articles · 522 videos found · page 82 of 174
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Explore the best blue dial watches we've reviewed across various styles with hands-on picks by budget with real-world pros and cons.
Time+Tide
Evoking opulence, the "big-eye" monopusher chronograph features distinctive dial tones and textures, in true Studio Underd0g style.The post Studio Underd0g and Massena LAB serve up a luxury pairing with the Champagne & Caviar 03SERIES appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
In just four short years the Tissot PRX has become a runaway success, spawning variants in almost every imaginable size and colour, but the new PRX 38 mm in Damascus steel stands apart. The patterned case and dial give it a tactile, almost artisanal quality rarely seen at this price point, with randomised striations that make each watch unique. Priced at a reasonable premium compared to the standard model, the Damascus steel case and dial of the new PRX are the result of forging and folding multiple steel alloys, which are then etched with acid to reveal a distinctive texture. Initial thoughts The PRX has proven to be widely successful for Tissot, and is now available in countless sizes, colours, and materials. Many are forgettable, but a few stand out. The Damascus steel variant is among the latter. The new PRX in Damascus Steel is one of the best yet, especially in the nearly perfect 38 mm size that will fit well on just about every wrist, big or small. The patterned grey texture found on the case and dial is immediately appealing, and while a full Damascus steel bracelet would have been even better, the leather strap helps keep costs in check and avoids the trap of looking too busy. Like other PRX models, the Damascus steel edition features the Swatch Group’s signature Powermatic 80 movement, which offers a convenient 80 hour power reserve, which should last through the weekend for all but the most sedentary lifestyles. It’s not much to look at, but that’s alright...
Monochrome
At MONOCHROME, we have a soft spot for… well, monochrome. The balance of light and shadow on a dial, the quiet elegance of a perfect photograph… something about removing colour to reveal form, texture, and contrast that we find so immensely appealing. So when we learned that Elka Watch Co., the young Swiss brand known […]
Deployant
We take the latest Seiko Prosptx Alpinist for a spin. This release is a Thong Sia Group Exvclusive, with a beautiful snowy white dial.
Video
Monochrome
A Chinese brand founded by two Frenchmen, Atelier Wen, has come a long way since introducing its first watches in 2018. After a break to redefine their brand, the founders launched Perception, a unique combination of a guilloché dial inside an integrated, sporty-chic watch proudly made in China. This collection has given the brand quite some visibility. It’s now time […]
Deployant
Yet another Louis Erard partnership, this time with the Astro Boy. And now in the new 2340 case and a very atrractive dial. Nostalgia on the wrist.
Deployant
Sartory-Billard releases the SB04-E Tantoster, with a tantalum ghilloché dial in a steel watch. This is possibly the first tantalum dial we have ever seen.
WatchAdvice
A forgotten 1970s prototype finally brought to life, the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Lapis Lazuli is Zenith at its poetic best. A celestial twist on a historic design, this is a watch that feels as timeless as the night sky it represents! What We Love The Lapis Lazuli stone dial is genuinely stunning. A vibrant, rich, and ever-changing under light, perfectly capturing Zenith’s celestial identity. The El Primero 3610 movement keeps the brand’s DNA alive with that iconic 36,000 vph beat and flawless integration of the triple calendar and moon-phase. Despite the dial’s visual complexity, the blue-and-white contrast and colour-matched calendar wheels keep everything clean, legible, and refined. What We Don’t The straight lugs don’t curve down enough, meaning the case can sit slightly proud on smaller wrists. At 14 mm, it’s not overly chunky, but some may find it a little tall, especially under tighter cuffs. As a complete calendar, it still requires five manual date changes a year, not a deal-breaker, but something to note for practicality. Overall Rating: 8.9/10 Value for money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Build quality: 9/10 The story of the Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar is a fabled one, as it is about a timepiece that never made it to production, up until almost 54 years later, when Zenith went through their archives and found the original plans for this timepiece. While we can say that Zenith might’ve missed out on an incred...
SJX Watches
Farer has managed to carve out its own niche in the new wave of British-founded, Swiss-made brands, with playful (and skillful) use of colour and accessible pricing. Two new additions to the Moonphase collection continue that pattern: the Stratton and Burbidge feature Farer’s signature cushion-shaped case and crisp detailing that gives them an unmistakably contemporary feel despite their traditional inspiration. The Stratton is the second Farer model to feature a natural stone dial, this time in Eisenkiesel quartz, while the Burbidge, limited to just 100 pieces, flaunts trendy Eastern Arabic numerals and a playful blue-and-pink palette. Initial thoughts Farer’s brand identity is rooted in British design and Swiss production; in this respect it’s similar to Christopher Ward and Fears. The brand offers a playful, and often colourful, twist on traditional tool watch motifs. The Moonphase collection is among the brand’s dressier offerings, and the Stratton and Burbidge are each interesting in their own right. The most eye-catching of the pair is the limited edition Burbidge with Eastern Arabic numerals for the dial and date wheel. The blue and pink colourway is charming and the exotic numerals will likely prove to be something of a ‘secret handshake’ among those who are up-to-date with collector culture. The Stratton, named for British astronomer Frederick Stratton OBE, sticks to regular numerals but features a natural stone dial made of Eisenkiesel. The thickness...
Video
Time+Tide
The GPHG-winning Chinese firm celebrates the world's tallest mountain with a techy tourbillon piece with a dial made from Everest itself.The post CIGA design’s Everest Summit frames a central tourbillon with real Everest bedrock appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
Parmigiani releases a new variant to their popular Tonda PF Micro-rotor collection with a rendition in stainless steel and rose gold with a stone blue dial.
Deployant
Sinn releases a new variant of their U50 dive watch, now in a blue dial with 3 strap options, and now feature a beautiful matt-blue dial.
Time+Tide
Möels & Co has updated its striking offset TV dial dress piece with aesthetic and technical refinements, including a La Joux-Perret movement.The post Are you ready to binge-watch with Möels & Co’s TV-cased 528 Series 2? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Monochrome
A beautiful product is nothing without a good package, and the same goes for watches. You can design the most stunning dial, back it up with a stellar mechanical movement, but put it in a case that doesn’t match, and it all falls flat. And it’s a real challenge for watchmakers and brands to get […]
Video
Monochrome
Born from the French Ministry of Defence’s Type 20 brief in the mid-1950s, the Type 20 Chronograph watches featured a black dial, a flyback (retour en vol) function, a rotating bezel, and pilot-proof robustness. Alongside fellow suppliers like Breguet, Mathey-Tissot, and Auricoste, Airain’s Type 20 quickly became one of the most recognisable field chronographs. A […]
SJX Watches
Thin and time only, the Vanguard Slim is Franck Muller’s take on a modern dress watch. It’s been reimagined by the brand’s distributor in Mexico, Raconli Group, which tapped Marcos Cojab, an architect who’s also a sculptor working under the moniker Alquimiamc. The result is the Vanguard Alquimiamc clad in bronze – the case and dial are aged bronze, brushed by hand. The 15-piece edition is made up of two variants, one in the familiar Vanguard configuration, and another with a minimalist dial free of numerals. Thanks to the styling and materials, both versions are intriguing designs that depart from the usual Franck Muller style. Initial thoughts The Vanguard Slim is one of Franck Muller’s most appealing current models. While the typical Franck Muller is oversized and sometimes over designed, the Vanguard Slim is the opposite – the curved case is under 10 mm high, giving it an elegant profile, while the dial is cleaner thanks to just two hands. Earlier versions of the Vanguard Slim were already simple, but the Alquimiamc goes even further, with less obvious branding, though the version with numerals is still recognisable as the Vanguard. Instead the Alquimiamc emphasises the texture and shading of the aged bronze, which gives it an unusual appeal. Bronze inside and out The Alquimiamc edition is derived from the Vanguard Slim (also known as the Line Cut), a sleek time-only version of Franck Muller’s bestselling model. While the brand is best known for its ext...
Fratello
Watch brands are great at celebrating their milestones. It usually leads to one or multiple limited releases commemorating the different events. However, RZE decided to celebrate its fifth anniversary differently. The brand is not releasing a limited edition with a new dial color or another variation of an existing watch. No, for this occasion, RZE […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Versatile RZE Resolute 36 to read the full article.
Deployant
Jaeger-LeCoultre releases a new Reverso Classic Monoface Small Seconds, now in a stainless steel case and leather strap, with a guilloche dial.
Fratello
When a watch with hands looks alien, it must be an Urwerk. Recently, the brand introduced a non-digital watch that measures time and space with traditional hands on a round dial while still managing to make your watch brain feel weightless. I was spacing out with the Urwerk UR-10 Spacemeter when it was still under […] Visit Spacing Out With The New Urwerk UR-10 Spacemeter - A Watch That Measures Time And Space to read the full article.
Video
Time+Tide
This flyback chronograph dive watch's panda dial was inspired by the optical effect that cinema screens used to use for maxmium legibility.The post Glashütte Original takes unexpected inspiration from the world of cinema with the SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
It took a while, but Audemars Piguet’s Code 11.59 has matured enough that the new debuts are more likely to be interesting than not. The Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon 38 mm with stone dials aren’t a novel proposition, but they are a trio of good looking watches that use the dial design of the Code 11.59 to maximum effect, while also scaling down the case to 38 mm and relying on the impressively constructed cal. 2968. Audemars Piguet (AP) has experimented with various unusual materials for the Code 11.59 dial – the onyx version was launched three years ago – all of which have evidently been commercially successful, explaining the three new models with dials in mineral stones of red ruby root, blue sodalite, and green malachite, respectively. Initial thoughts The Code 11.59 was widely panned at launch in 2019, occasionally unfairly, but it’s evolved in the right direction since. The new tourbillon line-up illustrates this. The wide, relatively deep-set dial of the Code 11.59 makes it a good platform to show off dial patterns and textures, especially when executed in a minimalist way as it is done here. Mineral stone dials are recent fad, so the new Code 11.59 tourbillons aren’t revolutionary, but they look good. The three watches are each in a different colour of gold, but share the same case dimensions of 38 mm by 9.6 mm, making them smaller and thinner than the original, 41 mm version of the Code 11.59 tourbillon. The downsizing gives the case a sur...
Fratello
Andy Warhol once said, “Art is what you can get away with.” Does Piaget get away with the art watch you see here? In collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation, the Piaget Andy Warhol “Collage” Limited Edition bursts onto the scene. The watch is a limited edition of 50 pieces, each featuring a dial crafted […] Visit A Hands-On Introduction To The Piaget Andy Warhol “Collage” Limited Edition to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Piaget pays tribute to the pop-art pioneer and prolific watch collector with the Andy Warhol Watch Collage Limited Edition in the best way it knows how – with an exotic stone dial. Like the watch owned by Warhol himself, the Collage has a black onyx dial, but in between the onyx is yellow serpentine, pink opal, and green chrysoprase, forming a precious stone puzzle carefully assembled by hand. To bring things full circle, this 50 piece limited edition has a yellow gold case, the same alloy Warhol himself wore, and a metal that’s absent from the regular production Any Warhol lineup. Initial Thoughts The first Swiss quartz watches hit the market mere months after the Seiko Astron, powered by the CEH Beta 21 – a large and rectangular movement that gave the oversized watches it powered a distinctive look that I am fond of. Piaget’s ref. 15101, launched in 1972, was one of the most appealing Beta 21 designs by my reckoning. The renowned American artist must have agreed with that assessment as he purchased one in 1973, which Piaget bought back at auction after Warhol’s death. It is also worth noting that Yves Piaget, president of Piaget since 1980, knew Warhol personally. Andy Warhol with Yves Piaget. Image – Piaget The marquetry dial of the Collage puts Piaget’s expertise to good use. It is surprisingly creative, and is not based on a specific Warhol work as already done many times before. Rather, Piaget attempted to recreate Warhol’s process to create a new wor...
Time+Tide
Limited to just 50 pieces, this Andy Warhol Watch features a marquetry stone dial based upon one of the artist's most famous self-portraits.The post A pop art performance from Piaget: introducing the Andy Warhol “Collage” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Video
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.