Big blue: three watches that exemplify the season’s coolest hue

It’s hard to avoid the silliness, especially on social media, but this week, I’ve tried my damnedest to put my phone down. Instead, I cracked open my laptop and looked at some new watches (don’t hate me, I just can’t live without a screen in front of me). Checking in on the latest trends, it’s hard not to notice the slew of blue watches on the market. Blue has been a solid trend in watches for a couple of years now and it doesn’t seem like it will be going away any time soon.

Watchmakers have been adding blue in various ways, from the dial and accents to the strap or a combination of any of those. However, blue on blue, that is, blue dials with blue cases, have, thankfully, been rare to non-existent (a bit of blue is good but a lot, well, it doesn’t really work and I suspect it won’t age well). The blue dial is increasingly ubiquitous and this IWC Portofino Hand Wound Eight Days is a wonderful example.

This watch is a new addition to the excellent Portofino line, and it retains all the DNA of the collection including the classic, simple styling and the large roman numeral at the 12 o’clock position. The blue dial, of course, is the eye-catcher here and it sits inside a large 45mm steel case. Features include date indication, power-reserve meter and a small seconds dial. Inside is the monster 59210 movement that has an impressive eight days of power reserve, as referenced in the name. The watch comes with an on trend, and very apt Milanese steel mesh bracelet, which doubles up on the Italian design cues. It is priced at HK$83,900.