Celebrating Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year With Blue Dial Watches

ARTICLE DATE 12/24/2019

Pantone recently announced that the 2020 Color of the Year is Classic Blue, which means we can expect plenty of blue-colored products to come out next year. Yet, for fans of luxury watches, Classic Blue is a very familiar shade. In fact, blue dial watches have been popular for decades, offering a nice change of pace from muted tones like silver or black. In honor of next year’s color of the year, here are some of our favorite watches with blue dials.

Pantone 2020 Blue Dial Watches

Classic Blue is the Color of the Year for 2020

Rolex Datejust 41

We start with a classic; the quintessential every luxury watch–the Rolex Datejust. This particular version, the Rolex Datejust ref. 126300, is the larger edition of Rolex’s flagship time and date timepiece, which sports a 41mm steel Oyster case.

Blue Dial Watches: Rolex Datejust 41 126300

The Rolex Datejust 41 126300 With a Blue Dial

Matching the case is the iconic three-link stainless steel Oyster bracelet, complete with the Easylink 5mm extension system. But what makes this watch sing, is the beautiful blue dial, which is home to hand-applied white gold baton indexes filled with luminescence and the famed date window at 3 o’clock.

Breitling Chronomat GMT

For something sportier and bigger, we turn to the Breitling Chronomat GMT AB0410, featuring a hefty 47mm stainless steel case. In true Chronomat fashion, the watch includes the signature rider-tab bezel engraved with 60-minute markers along with the characteristic onion-style winding crown flanked by two screw-down chronograph pushers.

Blue Dial Watches: Breitling Chronomat

This Breitling Chronomat GMT combines a steel exterior with a vibrant blue dial

What makes this Chronomat even better is the addition of the practical GMT function, whereby the additional time zone is indicated via the red-tipped 24-hour hand sweeping around the 24-hour scale on the periphery of the dial. And that dial is simply striking, comprised of different shades of blue with the trio of subdials in a darker hue than the main dial plate.

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar

If you’re a fan of high-complication timepieces with blue dials, then the IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar IW503401 is one to see. The 44.2mm case is crafted from 18k white gold and is fitted with an elegant black leather strap with a white gold deployant clasp.

IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar

The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar in white gold

The rich blue dial is packed with information but beautifully balanced. Featuring displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits, and moon phase (for the northern and southern hemisphere), this IWC watch boasts seven-days of power reserve. What’s more, as a perpetual calendar watch, the calendar indications will (as long as it runs) continue to display correctly almost forever–until 2100 when the leap year is skipped.

Breguet Type XX Aeronavale

While Breguet’s famed vintage military-inspired chronograph typically comes fitted with dark dials, this limited-edition Breguet Type XX Aeronavale 3807 (made for the Japanese market) flaunts a bright blue dial instead.

Breguet Type XX Aeronavale 3807

The Breguet Type XX Aeronavale with a limited edition blue dial

The rest of the watch, from the 39.5mm steel case to the Breguet link bracelet, and the retro pilot-style Arabic numerals to the vintage-style pump chronograph pushers, remains true to the collection. An uncharacteristically colorful watch from the generally conservative and traditional Breguet manufacutre, this limited edition Aeronavale with a blue dial is a head-turner.

Classic Blue is the Color of the Year for 2020 - a blue luxury watch is a great way to wear it

One of the best ways to wear 2020’s Classic Blue is on a luxury watch

So, if you don’t have any blue dial watches in your collection, perhaps 2020 is the decade to pick up one. More dynamic than neutral silver or black dials but still perfectly appropriate to wear with almost anything, a luxury watch with a blue dial is a great choice. Browse our collection of pre-owned fine timepieces at Gray and Sons, where we have plenty of blue dials watches for sale at fantastic prices.

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