The best watches to wear with black – Part 2, featuring Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Tudor and Bulgari

Andrew McUtchen

You could argue that matching watches with a black outfit is the easiest of all scenarios — any watch you choose is hardly going to clash. But while it’s safe, it’s also an opportunity, because when it’s done well, it can be unforgettable. When we put the question to you, our readers and followers — What do you wear when you go back to black like Keanu in his recent Saint Laurent campaign? — the options came thick and fast. This is Part 2 of what watches to wear with black.

Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight

@wilcoombes — Of course Keanu would have a BB58, even just to show that he can. What dealer is going to laugh in the face of John Wick when he asks to go on a waiting list? A brave one. A dead one? Aesthetically, it’s a match, and the flashes of the red and gold accents would stand out very nicely indeed.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15400 (2 votes)

@mdypei – Total power move, played to perfection. Going a 15400 over a ROO is the key, and the combination of flashing steel in the reptilian bracelet and the riveted bezel with the matt tapisserie black dial … it’s everything, really. Not a watch that demands to be seen, until it’s on all-black. Then it’s hi, girl.

Breitling Premier Norton Edition (2 votes)

@kamran.ank – Adding a warm vintage lining to your all-black, this choice keeps it very classy. The panda bi-compax dial with contrasting white chapter ring will add dimensions to your black, and the distressed leather strap a little bit of history.

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Black Ceramic (7 votes)

@youreterrific1 – It had the most votes of all, and for good reason. Wearing black still has a rebel, devil-may-care air to it, and few watches truck less with convention than the watch-of-the-moment, Bulgari Octo Finissimo. Black ceramic is the obvious fit here, for its stealthy but still sculptured lines, though the original grey would also work splendidly.

Rolex GMT-Master II Root Beer in Oystersteel and Everose ref. 126711CHNR

@watchlad – The weirdest call of the day, for sure, but before we run the lad out of town with pitchforks, let’s hold up a moment. Because I think I see it. This watch has so much going on – the hot tonal mess of rose gold, silver and black – that the only backdrop you can really put it on is a neutral one. A white T and jeans, or all black. Fair play @watchlad, I can see this one secretly stealing the show.

Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Dark Side of the Moon

@jarrrrett – It’s probably the most famous black watch of the last decade, for the simple reason that it didn’t go half-in. All black everything, from dial to bezel to bracelet.

TAG Heuer Monza Calibre 17

@sakthishan3 – Keanu’s a straight-out motorhead kind of dude. Cars. Bikes. Buses. Bombs. Therefore, the Monza, which jumpstarts the brand’s automotive history with some modern touches, is going to look sexy as hell with all black. Another straight-out winner.