THE JOURNAL
3 MINUTE READ
Five “Blue Steel” Watches For Any Situation
Words by Ms Laura McCreddie-Doak
21 March 2022
Not some weird new trend where you pout at your watch, nor insider collector jargon: we are literally talking about blue-dialled steel watches. Because like Hall and Oates, oysters and Guinness and Starsky and Hutch, blue dials and steel bracelets present a classic pairing, where two individual quantities are brought together and turned into something extraordinary. This look is so ubiquitous you’ve probably forgotten a time when it wasn’t a thing, but the truth is this winning combo has only risen to dominance in the past few years. We’ve rounded up five watches that show how it’s done.
01.
NOMOS Glashütte Club Sport Neomatik
NOMOS Glashütte is known for drawing on the design codes set out by the Bauhaus movement. But what it isn’t known for is taking that lovely legible typography and careful use of colour and boosting it into 42mm cases with three-link steel bracelets. Well, not until now, anyway. This is the NOMOS watch that bigger wrists have been waiting for. It’s powered by the in-house DUW 6101 movement, designed to ensure that the date window sits on the edge of the dial, which is where these German perfectionists believe is the only place it should be.
02.
IWC Schaffhausen Pilot Automatic Chronograph
IWC Schaffhausen first launched its Pilot’s watch back in 1936, however it didn’t get a chronograph edition until the 1990s. Despite the 60-year gap, this design, updated for Watches and Wonders 2021, has vintage flair in spades. The dial resembles a cockpit instrument and also has the triangle with two dots at 12 o’clock – a detail used on military watches so pilots could recognise the upward orientation of the dial during a night flight. Its 14.5mm thick case means there’s no way it will slip elegantly under a shirt cuff – but who’d want to hide this away?
03.
Baume & Mercier Riviera
This is the quintessence of the sports-luxe steel watch that dominated the 1970s. But this isn’t just a slavish copy: the Riviera has provenance seeing as it was launched in 1973, just a year after a certain other porthole-inspired design from Audemars Piguet. It has all the check points – the multi-sided bezel with screws, the integrated bracelet, case and bracelet in steel. The dial is a rather interesting twist on the usual sun-brushed option synonymous with this type of watch: it’s translucent enough to let you admire the in-house Baumatic movement without having to turn the timepiece over.
04.
Chopard Alpine Eagle
The Alpine Eagle was first born in 1980 as a modern interpretation of the Chopard St Moritz, a watch, as the name suggests, aimed at those with jet-set lifestyles and bank accounts to match. This updated iteration is a more wholesome celebration of the Alps, with the emphasis on natural beauty – hence the pattern on the dial emulates the iris of an eagle’s eye while the case and bracelet are made from the brand’s proprietary, recycled Lucent steel, which apparently represents the strength of the mountains. While you might leave it at home when you hit the slopes, it’s the ideal après-ski companion.
05.
Cartier Ballon Bleu
Launched in 2007, the Ballon Bleu has become one of Cartier’s biggest success stories. This being Cartier, the Ballon Bleu takes the idea of a round watch to extremes – there is hardly a straight line to be found. The case’s pebble-like form is emphasised by the short lugs and smooth steel bezel, and the otherwise simple dial is remarkable for the intrusion of the crown, pushing the minute track in like a bubble. It’s not the stereotypical steel bracelet watch – even at Cartier, the Pasha and Santos are probably more obvious – but you can’t deny it works.
