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Being raised in the New York area, I can tell you confidently that the favorite non-color of most residents of that particular metropolis (as well as a few others around the globe) is black. You see men, re-inspired recently by Regis Philbin, dressed in mono-chromatic outfits of black pants, black shirts and black blazers, while women sport black boots beneath black mini-skirts (or skorts, in some cases) with black negligee-esque shirts worn beneath black silk jackets. One thing about black - it’s timeless.

In the past couple of years the watch industry has been taking note of this desirable uh, “color” and finding ways to incorporate it into the look of the Portable Timepiece. Initially, glossy black straps on watches with black dials were the easiest way to fulfill the criterion, “I want a black watch.” Lately, however, the industry has been finding ever-more creative ways to mix metals with various alloys to reach the desired shade.

    The inexpensive way to do it is to cover the watch case and bracelet with an ion-plating or black PVD coating. For the uninitiated, PVD means “Physical Vapor Deposition,” and refers to a process by which gold (or other materials, like Zirconium) can be applied to certain metals. This is usually how PVD is used. Here, instead of gold, titanium nitride, ceramic or aluminum, titanium nitride (depending on the color desired) is applied. PVD, in a nutshell, gives a watch with gold-plating a wearability similar to that of watches plated with gold to a depth of between 10 and 20 microns. The only downside is that, like all plating, PVD can rub off over time, particularly at the points that have the most contact with other surfaces.

   Another way of making the material black is to mix carbon with the primary metal, which makes steel or titanium permanently black instead of silver or gun-metal gray. The benefit of this is in the long-term look of the product. Black steel or black titanium can be re-polished, re-brushed or re-sandblasted to make the piece look new again. Doing so is best done by the manufacturer so that the movement can be removed and all seals replaced. The end result, however, is that your watch can return to you looking exactly like the day it was purchased.

    Since the black look is really about that – “the look,” we’ll look at six of the hottest pieces available on the market right now. Sit back, take your sunglasses off, and enjoy a walk on the dark side.

Breitling Avenger Skyland Blacksteel
When Breitling released its Chrono Avenger in titanium in 1999, the “bigger is better” mindset was just beginning to take root. At 44 millimeters, the Chrono Avenger put off a few clients initially. However, it wasn’t long before men would put it on, feel its weight (30% lighter than steel), and be won over.

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Breitling Avenger Skyland Blacksteel

After eight years, Breitling has decided to retire the titanium model in favor of a 45 millimeter steel version called the Avenger Skyland. Breitling has found that many of its loyalists are fond not only of size but of weight. Simultaneous to the release of the new watch is a limited edition black steel version that has already received rave reviews by those who beheld the prototypes while in Basel, and by those few lucky enough to have seen one in a shop window.

One of the striking features of the watch is the white stencil numerals lying on the dial just below the oversized white hands. Time read-off is crisp and instant. Being first and foremost a maker of chronographs, Breitling has equipped the Avenger Skyland Blacksteel with Breitling’s Caliber 13, a.k.a.: the ValJoux 7750, one of the industry’s most competent workhorses. To make the subdials more discernible, Breitling chose red hands for the 30-minute, 60-second continuous sweep and 12-hour totalizers, along with the tip of the chronograph’s 60-seconds counter.  Ample amounts of Super-LumiNova guarantee good legibility at night.
Breitling chose not to offer a bracelet for this model, but instead mounted the head on a Breitling’s Diver Pro rubber strap - the only strap devoid of Breitling’s signature white stitching (which this author thinks would look pretty sharp with the white numerals - or, better yet, a black strap with red stitch).

Endowing the Avenger Skyland Blacksteel with 1,000 feet of water resistance ensures that a diver can comfortably take this model to any reasonable depth.
Lastly, as with all Breitlings, a thick sapphire crystal is coated on both sides with an anti-reflective coating, making the dial very easy to read, no matter the lighting conditions.

    The Avenger Skyland Blacksteel on rubber is sure to be a hot piece since the fan base is large, and the piece is limited to 2,000 pieces worldwide.

Ulysse Nardin “Innovision”
If there are any brands in this new Millennium that have clearly led the way in terms of technical competence and show-stopping products, they would be Ulysse Nardin and Jaeger-LeCoultre, both of which offer a watch that fits the criterion required for this article.

Ulysse Nardin Innovision

In 2001, Ulysse Nardin stunned the watch world and ushered in the new century by releasing the Freak. Considered the first lubricant-free escapement, the Freak is a masterpiece of aesthetic design and material use.  It has no “hands” to speak of, but rather a 60-minute carousel tourbillon (instead of the standard 60-second tourbillon) which points to the minutes, and a gear that causes a lower, secondary part of the movement to revolve around the dial once every twelve hours.

Beyond this, the Freak has no true case, technically speaking. The crystal and the bezel are actually part of the movement. The Freak also has no crown, and it contains fewer parts than the simplest watch. By simply winding the bezel on the back of the watch, the humongous mainspring can be contracted fully, giving the watch a full seven days of autonomy. By turning the front bezel, the time can be set.

Year after year, Rolf Schnyder and his team of wunderkinds - led by Dr. Ludwig Oechslin and Pierre Gygax - continue to amaze all high-mech junkies by using the Freak as a showcase for each new innovation. The Innovision brings together 10 technological innovations in one piece to showcase Ulysse Nardin’s vision of the future of mechanical watchmaking. For the high-mech gear-heads among us, they are listed as:

1. Using 96 balls, non-lubricated ball bearings guide the barrel both vertically and laterally.
2. Ulysse Nardin’s “Dual Ulysse” escapement doesn’t need any lubrication.
3. Lubrication-free bearings in silicium are fitted into the brass plate, which require no oil in the recesses.
4. The escapement bridge, made in solid silicium, benefits from the high precision of DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) photolithographic process, which can produce silicium parts to very tight tolerances.
5. The silicium bridge is reinforced with a bi-material of silicium and nickel.
6. UN developed a revolutionary shock absorber bearing into the balance wheel shaft, which pivots in the center of the silicium disc. This elastic spiral shaped disc deforms when subjected to extreme shocks and returns to its original shape after absorbing the shock.
7. Silicium hairspring.
8. Roller and pin made of one precise component.
9. Stopper fork and security pin made as a single component (previously a multi-part unit) which requires no assembly and no decoration.
10. The escapement wheel and pinion are also made in one single piece.

A number of the above inventions were created by Sigatec, a joint venture in cooperation with Mimotec and Ulysse Nardin. They have made it possible to offer what was previously thought impossible through the use of silicium. Other brands are only now beginning to think of implementing some of these, even though they are expensive. Ulysse Nardin, on the other hand, spared no expense in looking to create its continuously evolving masterpiece.
 
Hublot Black Magic Big Bang
When Jean-Claude Biver chose to come out of retirement, he did so with a passion. The marketing genius, who only 20 years earlier had resurrected Blancpain, knew that of all the brands on the market, the most unique and the one with the greatest potential was Hublot. Founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco, it was the first brand to fuse steel, gold and rubber.

Hublot Black Magic Big Bang

What at first looked like an interesting novelty, soon became the forerunner of a whole new genre. What Hublot lacked after 20+ years was something new and dynamic. What Jean-Claude Biver had was a vision.

In 2005, Hublot launched the “Big Bang.” This was a watch which, like the original Hublot, would launch an entirely new alchemy of watch design, as well as set a new precedent for marketing focus. The first Big Bang fused rubber, ceramic, Kevlar and rose gold into a case that was 44.5 millimeters in diameter and featured a Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement converted into a tri-compax layout by LaJoux-Perret.

The concentrated marketing of the watch - long before it was ever available - only whetted the public’s appetite for it all the more. So when the watches hit retailers, they were gobbled up as fast as they could be put into showcases. Although Mr. Biver talked about how he wanted to see the Big Bang released into various different formats, and even referred to a “black magic” version, it wasn’t until 2006 that it was actually unveiled.

For the Black Magic, the case is made of polished and brushed black ceramic - a material with the innate ability to resist any scratching under normal day-to-day abuse. The dial, itself, is black as well, making it all the more striking, since it is still mounted on a black rubber strap with a steel buckle coated in black PVD.

Hublot presents the Big Bang series in a 100-meter water resistant case, making it the perfect watch for everyday/everywhere wearability. Its AR-coated sapphire crystal guarantees good legibility and ensures that this Big Bang will look good for a long time…possibly forever.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Aston Martin 2
Like a show of fireworks, the Grande Maison, as JLC has come to be known, continues to amaze watch fans with new technical innovations year-after-year. In the fall of 2005, to continue its partnership with Aston Martin, JLC unveiled the AmVox2 Racing Chronograph, the second piece in this co-branding series. Like Aston Martin’s cars, JLC chose to make this chronograph sexy and different from the rest of the pack.

Most chronographs are operated by pressing on push-pieces which protrude from the side of the case. JLC has become the first company to do away with lateral triggers by offering a vertical trigger. Invented by one of JLC’s youngest team members, Francis Cretin, the entire watch case pivots from top to bottom across the center (running between 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock). This allows all chronograph functions to be operated as easily as starting an Aston Martin ignition, which is push-button activated. Jaeger-LeCoultre opted to use its new in-house self-winding chronograph 751. Because of the vertical trigger operation, this movement is designated 751B, to differentiate it from the chronograph movement housed in the Master Compressor Chronograph.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Aston Martin 2

To begin timing an event, say the start of a race, one simply pushes down on the watch at the top of the dial, at 12 o’clock. If a pause is necessary, simply pressing the top of the dial downwards towards the wrist again stops the chronograph - the same way pressing the “A” button on a traditional chronograph (the pusher at 2 o’clock) starts and stops the mechanism. Once stopped, all one needs to do to reset the chronograph is to press on the crystal at the 6 o’clock position and the hands and counters jump back to “zero.”

When initially released, the watch was offered in a limited edition of 750 pieces in titanium and 200 pieces in platinum. JLC, then, decided to give the watch a distinct new look by offering it in steel and titanium in a limited run of 250 pieces. What makes this combination so unique is that the steel and titanium case is covered in a slick black coating of titanium oxide sealed with silicium oxide.

On the dial, the 270 degree arc is reminiscent of Jaeger instrumentation from a by-gone era, when Jaeger supplied dashboard gauges to high-end automobiles in England. One will immediately notice the cut-outs at the bottom of the dial. These, like sexy negligee, scantily reveal the chronograph’s reset mechanism - the only place on the dial that does so. At the 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions of the dial, the 30-minute and 12-hour totalizers peak out from below the main time-dial, and are themselves luminescent. This is a tribute to the dials on a dashboard illuminating at night.

On the side of the case is a lever that slides forwards, backwards or remains in the middle, depending on the desired function. If the user wishes to start and stop the chronograph, but not allow it to accidentally reset, sliding it forward blocks the reset mechanism. If full functionality of the chronograph’s features is desired, one simply leaves the slide in the middle position. If the user wants to wear the watch and ensure that the chronograph will not accidentally be activated at all, the lever needs only to be slid to the back position and the dial is blocked from pivoting in the case.

Mounted on a waterproof black calfskin strap with double-blade deployment buckle (a recent transition for Jaeger-LeCoultre from single blade deployments), the strap fits well to almost any size wrist - even though the head is 44 millimeters in diameter. All-in-all, the AmVox2 is definitely the most original chronograph on the market and has enough uber-cool functionality to attract a consumer interest that far exceeds the supply.

Girard-Perregaux Laureato USA 98
In 1975, Girard-Perragaux launched Il Laureato, a sport-elegant watch featuring an octagonal bezel. It featured an integrated head and bracelet and was set in steel and 18kt gold. The name was suggested by the Italian GP brand manager, and was the translated title of the famous Mike Nichols film “The Graduate” (Il Laureato).

Girard-Perregaux Laureato USA 98

In 1984, the first evolution of the Laureato was unveiled, which featured an “H” shaped link which was polished to match the polished octagonal bezel. These featured new complications with astronomic indications, and they paved the way for GP’s rise back into the mechanical forefront. In 1995, the second evolution of the Laureato debuted. It was made with a head which was a little wider and flatter to showcase the new GP3000 in-house movement, a platform the manufacturer would build on in the new millennium (as well as supplying to other brands, like EBEL).

2003 brought to light the Evo3, the third evolution of the Laureato. It was instantly recognizable as a member of the Laureato family by its very pronounced octagonal bezel, but now it featured GP’s new chronograph movement. The case had been enlarged, and the lines had been softened somewhat. New complications came along, and the Evo3 morphed from a dress watch to a sport watch as straps - particularly rubber straps - began to be the dominant presentation.

For 2007, the Laureato has been expanded to include a limited edition (150 pieces) in titanium with a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating. This process coats the underlying material with an extremely hard and almost scratch-proof finish. The case itself is 46 millimeters across, which seems to be the recently accepted breadth for “super sport” watches being offered by other “manufacturers.” The upper portion of the bezel, pushers and strap are made of vulcanized rubber.

Finally, GP has placed within this housing the GP033C0 Flyback chronograph with automatic winding, a useful complication for any man on the go.

Zenith Defy Xtreme Stealth
When Zenith decided to re-launch the Defy line in 2004, it was totally unlike the one discontinued in the second-half of the ’90s. Gone were the quartz movements. Gone were the pieces of 18kt gold which were attached to the steel. Like many other manufacturers who had given in to the temptation to do things “on the cheap side,” Zenith had put out some products at that time which were designed to fill a niche, but which didn’t really showcase the brand’s full potential. Those products met consumers where they were at, rather than inviting the consumer to elevate himself to a new level of horological sophistication.

Zenith Defy Xtreme Stealth

The new Defy series was bold and beautiful. The first of the series were released in stainless steel and came in either 43 or 46.5 millimeter cases. Zenith’s follow-up to the Defy series was the Defy Xtreme series, which mixed black titanium with stainless steel, included Kevlar inserts in the bracelet, and featured new technological innovations in movement materials.

Zenith wanted to enhance the ruggedness of the watch by increasing the movement’s ability to handle shocks, so after much research, the brand created a new alloy titled “Zenithium.” The bridges of movement 4021SX have been formed out of this new material, which reinforces the balance wheel and other gear-bearing recesses, and overall gives this ebauche the ability to withstand blows on the Z-axis. Most movements have a spacer ring around the movement, and aside from fitting the movement snuggly in place, that ring helps to protect the watch from jarring on the X- or Y-axis. However, very few watches can actually handle a blow from straight down on the dial-side. The Defy Xtreme has been built to withstand 10,000 G’s!!!

The look of the Xtreme is probably the coolest one in this lineup, owing largely to the dial. At 10 o’clock is a large, eye-catching design of a helical display, which mimics the smaller 30-minute totalizer at the 3 o’clock position. Although this large one is aesthetic in nature only, it speaks volumes of the personality of the watch. The next eye-catching detail is that of the Reserve de-Marche which sweeps across the bottom of the dial from 7 o’clock to 5 o’clock. Above all of these details, the hour and minute hands hover over the carbon-fiber cross-stitching. All of the silver colored details against a backdrop of black make this piece unmistakable. One thing is for sure: the Xtreme Stealth is a watch that will stand out and attract attention.
As an added accolade, the Defy Xtreme Stealth won the “Public’s Prize” for favorite new watch at the Geneva Grand Prix, the watch world’s equivalent to Hollywood’s Academy Awards.

Conclusion…
In the world of fashion, the black look doesn’t appear to be getting any weaker. With watches being the preferred accessory of choice for men, the industry is responding with a broad selection to choose from. I must confess, after trying on and wearing black watches, there is a seductive allure to the distinctive look that only an all-black watch provides. If you’re considering adding one to your watch wardrobe, I’d like to remind you of the words of Darth Vader, “Don’t underestimate the power of the dark side.” Like steel sport watches, one probably will not be enough.

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