Let your true colors shine through
When it comes to watches, there tends to be a huge amount of variety in design, shape, size, and movement type, but not so much variety in color. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing! The reason watches tend to come overwhelmingly in steel, yellow gold, or rose gold with a white, black, or gold dial is because that sort of simple sophistication pairs well with a broader range of aesthetics, lifestyles, and tastes. But, as we’ve mentioned in other articles, this past year has been all about subverting expectations. Runways at 2022’s Spring Fashion week featured a slew of highly detailed, brightly colored, and ornately patterned designs paired with bold, expressive jewelry. Bring that very same explosion of color and personality from the catwalk to your block by pairing your daily look with a playful colorful statement watch.
Colorful Tudor watches
Tudor watches have become famous worldwide for three main reasons: their fantastic construction, which uses both Tudor-unique technology as well as watch technology developed from its older sister brand; their fantastic value, which provides ground-breaking design and technical excellence at a great price; and their fantastic style, where the classic designs of vintage watches meet modern tastes. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of a Tudor watch is that it is designed to function with all the speed and reliability of a high-end tool watch while having all the class and sophistication of a high-end dress watch. Tudor today is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, as the brand looks back on some of its most iconic designs and reinterprets them for modern use. In particular, Tudor draws a great deal of inspiration from their iconic divers’ watches of the 1960s and the 1970s. These Swiss-made watches were large and in-charge and featured fun and fabulous color accents.
If you want to experience the combination of all these factors and invest in a luxury watch that is absolutely bursting with color, personality, elegance, and a distinctly retro-meets-modern feel, your first stop should be the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue 42mm Steel. Inspired by the 1974 release of the Tudor 7169, often referred to as the Tudor Monte-Carlo, this chronograph adopts the same nautical theme that made its ancestor so famous. Fabric straps like the one on this blue watch were enormously popular in the 1970s, especially in the blue, orange, and red colors favored by the various Navies that used Tudor watches. The nautical blue and orange striped fabric strap adds an extra element of vintage vibes to the watch, while the blue dial with orange and taupe numerals and accents emulates the casino roulette wheel that the Tudor Monte-Carlo got its nickname from. The rotating bezel of the original vintage Tudor watch has been improved upon, with a bidirectional element being introduced for a second timezone display. Bevelling on the case edges gives the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue watch even more of a high-end feel, and improvements on the classic Monte-Carlo design give the watch a cleaner, more streamlined look while still being true to its inspiration. All in all, this Swiss-made chronograph scores 10s across the board in terms of design, technology, wearability, and uniqueness. It’s time to set sail, Captain!
On the other hand—pun not intended—the multi-colored aspect of the Heritage Chrono isn’t for everyone. You can still express just as much of your personality and sense of style with a more toned-down colorful watch like the Black Bay 41mm Steel in Burgundy. As an iteration of the Black Bay line, this dive watch revives the world-famous design of the 1950s Tudor Submariner. Featuring iconic Submariner details like a big crown and snowflake hands, Tudor’s chronograph watch continues the brand’s spirited celebration of its storied past. Waterproof to 660 feet and showcasing Tudor’s first Manufacture caliber movement—the Manufacture Caliber MT5602—this diving watch takes on the appearance of a sophisticated dress watch with the smooth, clean lines of the design. The simple sophistication of the chronograph is elevated by pops of color, as the black, gold, and taupe dial contrasts gorgeously with the burgundy bezel and the black-and-burgundy fabric strap. Introduce color and vivacity into your look with this burgundy watch. Are you red-y for it?
Colorful Cartier watches
Cartier also has a long and illustrious history, having once been named by King Edward VII: “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers.” With over a century’s experience in luxury watchmaking, Cartier and the world-renown watches the brand produces have both become synonymous with luxury. Cartier’s 1917 debut of the Tank watch has even been credited with single-handedly popularizing the wristwatch among the masses, as it occurred during the peak of World War I; until that point, soldiers in the trenches had been fastening their pocketwatches haphazardly to strips of fabric and wearing them around their wrist. The Cartier Tank has gone on to become the single most popular watch design in history, bringing along with it the legacy of Cartier’s lasting impact on world history, its signature blocky shape being preserved as a solemn acknowledgment of the wars and the military tanks that necessitated its creation. That iconic design was then reimagined with the Tank Must de Cartier watch. The name of this addition to the Tank watch line comes from a significant moment in watchmaking history: the introduction of quartz battery watches. Until the 1970s, all watches had been operated by expensive movements, and the creation of less expensive quartz battery movements shook up the entire world of watches. To keep up with the times, and to also introduce a more budget-friendly option to their collections, Cartier took their oldest and most famous design and paired it with the newest technology of the time. The reason this specific path was chosen is evident in the name of the collection: Must de Cartier; this translates roughly to “Cartier—it’s a must.” Poetic, isn’t it? And just one look at the Cartier Tank Must de Cartier Watch is all the proof you need for the notion that a Cartier watch is a must-have. The distinctive slim silhouette of the Cartier Tank meets bright, bold colors in this statement watch. Available in green, blue, and red, the breathtaking jewel-toned hues of these Cartier watches emulate the deep, dazzling shades of precious gemstones like emerald, sapphire, and ruby, respectively. Pair one of these Swiss-made watches with a monochromatic black look for some extra pizzazz, or use it to break up the monotony of your everyday suit-and-tie look at the office. You’ve got to—it’s a must-have, remember?
Photo by Jess Bailey Designs on Pexels