14 of the best blue dial watches proving it’s still the colour to have

Borna Bošnjak

Even though the classic blue dial has lost some ground in terms of popularity due to the rise of other colours (most notably green and pink), it’s still arguably the most popular choice for any watch. This, of cours,e excludes black and white, but since they’re not actually colours, my point stands. Within the vast number of options, we sought to pick out some of the very best blue dials currently available, offering everything from hue and texture to value proposition and craftsmanship.

Monbrey MB2 Kenkyū Starry Blue

Great, affordable watches are no longer a rarity thanks to the numerous microbrands that are around these days, but every once in a while, something really special crops up. The Monbrey MB2 Kenkyū, especially in the “jewel steel” dial variant, brings so much gritty texture and depth of colour that its price point is hard to believe, especially once you also consider the Miyota 9000 movement and well-finished case. It’s the small touches like the faceted hands and indices that play well with the texture of the dial, without looking gimmicky, that earn the Kenkyū a spot on the list. Price: US$649

anOrdain Model 1 Blue Fumé

Often, when looking at the best of the best, it’s easy to lose sight of the value proposition. That’s a bit of a shame because you risk missing out on gems like anOrdain’s Model 1. Its fumé enamel dial was an accidental discovery, resulting from a warped silver dial blank that was sanded down to reveal the stunning gradient and grained pattern. The entire painstaking process is recounted here, even more impressive considering it’s all made in-house in anOrdain’s Glasgow workshop, rightfully gaining the brand a place on our best of British list. Price: £2,595

Grand Seiko Evolution 9 SLGA025 Atera Valley

No list of best dials would be complete without a Grand Seiko. Regardless of the frankly ridiculous number of new releases the brand pumps out, they still manage to come up with beautiful designs – any one of the Omiwatari, Kishun, or even the new Ice Forest U.F.A. models are worthy contenders. There is one design that has stood out, and that’s the relatively new Evolution 9 Atera Blue, or Atera Valley. Whatever you prefer to call it, it’s undeniable that its soft gradient dial evokes the clear streams of the Atera River flowing through the South Nagano region.

The SLGA025 is an absolute smokeshow of a dial, no doubt about it, but if you don’t mind scouring the secondary market, check out the SBGP017 Iwao Sea of Clouds. It long held the Grand Seiko spot on this list, but as the limited edition is now sold out, it means it technically no longer qualifies. Not that such details make it any less beautiful, mind you. Its subtle brushstrokes of baby blue reflect in the highly polished, faceted ingot-like indices, and the blued seconds hand and applied GS logo are icing on the cake. As if the SBGP017 needed to be any cooler, it also sports a display caseback showing off the Grand Seiko-level decoration of its quartz movement. Price: US$3,800 (retail, sold out), ~US$4,000 (secondary market)

Tudor Black Bay Ceramic “Blue”

Blue is something of a signature dial colour for Tudor, but the most overtly blue dial they have in their current range belongs to the appropriately titled Black Bay Ceramic “Blue”, better known as the team watch for Formula 1 team Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team. Tudor’s partnership with VCARB represents a long-anticipated return to the world of motorsport and also represents one of the sportiest watches in Tudor’s catalogue, housing a solid electric blue dial in a black ceramic case paired with a blue-stitched hybrid strap. Price: US$5,300

H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel

Moser’s Streamliner was always a left-field take on an integrated-bracelet sports watch, so why not slap a grand feu enamel dial on it as well? A similarly textured dial was previously available on the Endeavour Perpetual Calendar, but there’s just something about the juxtaposition of a sporty, water-resistant case, and a traditional enamel dial that works for me. The best thing about it for me, though, is that Moser is so confident in the look that it didn’t bother putting a logo on the dial, something the brand has become known for over the years. That kind of confidence (or cockiness) is rare in watchmaking, and a breath of fresh air. Price: CHF 29,900

F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu

In a list of the best, it’s difficult to pick just one, but this would be it for me. If you can believe it, F.P. Journe’s Chronomètre Bleu used to be an under-the-radar piece just a few years ago, before artificial scarcity of other, more popular watches caused its demand to skyrocket. Availability woes aside, the Chronomètre Bleu sports a bluish-grey tantalum case, solid 18k gold movement and the best blue dial in the business. Numerous layers of blue lacquer are mirror-polished and hand-applied, and depending on the light, results in an inky black or electric blue. The off-centre small seconds are finished with azurage, showing off the full range of the blue colour in its sunburst execution. Price: US$42,420

Zenith G.F.J.

Blue was a general theme for Zenith at Watches and Wonders 2025, culminating in this – the release of the G.F.J. and the revival of the legendary Calibre 135, named after brand founder Georges Favre-Jacot. For a watch that houses such a historically important movement, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zenith gave it a plain dial to make the calibre the star of the show. The Le Locle company did quite the contrary, giving the G.F.J. a complex, tri-material dial in stunning shades of blue.

For the outer perimeter, the G.F.J. sports a basketweave guilloché pattern, surrounding a central section made of lapis lazuli, which then steps down to a blue-dyed mother-of-pearl subdial. According to Buffy, our resident gemology aficionado, the grade of stone is especially notable for its low calcite content, reducing the white inclusions you’d normally see in ordinary lapis. Price: US$49,900

Credor Eichi II Ruri

Released to honour Seiko’s 140th anniversary, the Eichi II Ruri is a special edition of Credor’s minimalist masterpiece. Its dial is made of fragile porcelain, glazed in blue lacquer that gives it an ethereal glow around the edges and centre pinion, with plunging depths elsewhere. The logo and indices are all hand-painted, seemingly suspended above the dial. Here comes the all-important and overused trope – you really have to experience this one in person. Admittedly, even though its exquisite Spring Drive movement is finished by the Micro Artist Studio, nearly A$100k for a time-only watch is a ridiculous sum of money, no question about it. However… I think I’ve been charmed by this glowing blue wonder enough to think it might make sense. Price: £50,000

Berneron Mirage 34 Lapis Lazuli

I tried to stay away from dials that are only made from natural stone, as their beauty is mostly dependent on the colour of the stone itself rather than the artistry of the brand that used it. That said, I couldn’t help but include the Mirage 34, as it not only distils a potentially overcomplicated, distorted sector dial of the larger Mirage into a simpler format but also shows off Berneron’s quality. Instead of being made of two pieces, as pretty much any other stone dial with a sub-dial would be, for the Mirage 34, the artist will meticulously carve out the sunken portion of the small seconds from the single piece used for the rest of the dial. I couldn’t tell you what the failure rates for these are, but I certainly can tell you that it’s drop-dead gorgeous. Price: CHF 54,000

Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon

Of the long list of iconic integrated bracelet sports watches with blue dials, picking the Alpine Eagle to be among them is a bold choice. The swirling texture of its Aletsch Blue dial, inspired by the pattern of an eagle’s iris, makes for a stunning display in any light condition. My favourite of the lot is the dial of Chopard’s Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon, with the pattern emanating from the tourbillon cage rather than the centre pinion. Price: US$112,000

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Titanium

The Alpine Eagle’s swirling iris is beautiful, but the original under-the-radar piece with an incredible blue dial was the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. While the time-only variants popularised the model, it’s the high-end pieces that make the most of the plunging depths of the blue lacquer. This is especially true with the titanium-cased Overseas Tourbillon. Vacheron did a great job of polishing the metal, which is known to be difficult to finish, but its inherent darker grey hue makes the electric blue highlights of the dial stand out even more. Price: on request

Louis Vuitton Voyager Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Plique-à-jour

There are some amazing blue dials on this list, but if it’s the finest of handicrafts that you’re looking for, the Louis Vuitton Voyager Flying Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Plique-à-jour (and breathe) has it in spades. For starters, the movement has Geneva Seal certification, which means excellent finishing throughout, but the real treat is that plique-à-jour enamel dial. We’ve done an overview of enamelling techniques in our finishing guide, but to summarise plique-à-jour, think of it as a miniaturised stained glass window. The enamel is suspended in the lattice-like structure, with no backing material to hold it in place, creating wonderful airiness. The most impressive piece is undoubtedly the small metal cylinder that allows the pinion to pass through, sitting perfectly centred in an enamel disc. Price: CHF 297,000

Time+Tide Timeless Pick: Czapek Promenade Goutte d’Eau

Czapek has been pushing out iterations of their popular Antarctique for some time now, but the debut of the Promenade collection at Watches & Wonders 2024 was headlined by the stunning Goutte d’Eau. It achieves the water droplet effect that gives it its name by layering translucent grand feu enamel onto a three-dimensional base until the whole thing is flat. Czapek are transparent about its work with Donzé Cadrans which manufactured the dial, showing how important hiring the best of the best can be. The piece is limited to 100 units, and by the time of writing has already sold out. That’s wholly unsurprising, considering the rest of the watch is quite brilliant, too, but the dial is obviously the star of the show.