Dress Up Time: Black Tie, Black Watch

This is it, the last week of the year! It’s time to say farewell to 2018 and usher in the New Year in style. If your calendar is full of fancy festivities over the next few days, then look to one of these four formal black watches to complement any black tie dress code.

A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Outsize Date 

From its well-proportioned 38.5 mm white gold case to its deep black dial to the familiar big date aperture, the 2018 A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Outsize Date is exactly what we want out of a men’s dress watch. As is expected from the revered German watchmaker, the face of the timepiece is perfectly balanced with the running seconds subdial taking up the bottom portion of the dial, while the transparent caseback offers a view of the Caliber L086.8 automatic movement. Contributing to the formality of the Saxonia Outsize Date is the matching black alligator strap fitted with a white gold buckle.

Rolex Cellini Time

For a little extra shine to go with your black tie, there’s the Everose gold Rolex Cellini Time, topped with a diamond-set bezel, along with additional diamond hour markers on the black dial. As Rolex’s dress watch range, all the timepieces in the modern Cellini collection don restrained 39 mm cases, exclusively in gold. The Cellini Time is the simplest of all the models, housing three center hands—powered by the Caliber 3132 self-winding movement—that point to the inner minute track. Completing the look of this fine black watch by Rolex is a black stitched alligator leather strap.

Patek Philippe Calatrava

The Calatrava line from Patek Philippe is the brand’s well-known collection of classical watches. However, the Calatrava ref. 6006G offers an intriguing dial design that is not typical of dress watches. Inspired by the 1990’s Calatrava, the ebony black dial (flaunting a slew of distinct finishes) of the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6006G includes a date indicator outer ring, followed by the hour markers, and finally an off-centered seconds subdial. With its 39 mm white gold case, black alligator band, and famous Caliber 240 automatic movement, this is an ideal timepiece when you want a dressy(ish) black watch with a bolder style.

H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept

When only the darkest material on earth will do, Vantablack has you covered thanks to a proprietary process that uses carbon nanotubes to absorb 99.965% light. And H. Moser & Cie used Vantablack on the dial of the new Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept watch, which is a striking contrast to the perpetual moon phase at 6 o’clock, the highly polished center hands, and the 42 mm steel case that houses it. Powering the watch (limited to only 50 pieces) is the hand-wound Caliber HMC 801 movement, which, in addition to a seven-day power reserve, includes one of the most precise moon phases available, boasting a one-day deviation every 1,027 years.