The watch Tom Hardy wore in Dunkirk, plus three others in trendy blue

These timepieces from Hublot, Maurice Lacroix and Baume & Mercier show why blue is a winner

Published: 8:02am, 10 Aug 2017

Before we get in to this week’s watches, I have an update on Tom Hardy’s Omega that features so prominently – for me, at least – in new blockbuster movie Dunkirk. Drum roll, please. It’s a CK2129, which was the most common Omega worn by the Royal Air Force during the second world war, with 2,000 models being delivered to Britain’s Ministry of Defence at the start of the conflict. Pilots used the rotating bezel to time bombing raids.

Full disclosure: I didn’t spend hours and hours on the internet researching all of this. Well, maybe a couple of hours. Luckily, Omega’s marketing department figured that nerds like me might be interested, and sent out the info. Anyway, I have closure now, even if I lost an afternoon of my largely empty life.

Right, enough faffing! Let’s talk about the three timepieces that tickled my fancy this week. The theme is blue, the colour that seems to be a strong trend in watches at the moment.

While black on black, bronze and grey have been overtly masculine colour trends in watches, blue – for me – is less in your face and more playful, and the Hublot Classic Fusion Berluti is the perfect example of this.

Decked in a vivid blue, the highlight of this timepiece is the wondrous Venezia leather strap from Berluti that artfully plays with the clean blue dial. The case is on the large side, at 45mm, and is made of titanium. A simple watch, the emphasis here is on the colour scheme rather than features. Inside is a HUB1100 movement with 48 hours of power reserve, and water resistance is a respectable 50 metres, but – for the love of everything that’s holy – be sure to swap the leather strap for a rubber one if you go for a dip. Limited to 500 pieces, the Classic Fusion Berluti is priced at HK$102,500.

Next we have the blue-on-blue eyeful that is the Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Chronograph Skeleton. It’s an obvious point, but the blue colour here (on the case, dial and strap) is at service to the skeleton face rather than the main feature, but you don’t often see this colour combination, so it’s a real plus.

Like the Classic Fusion Berluti, the Masterpiece is a large 45mm, but the case comes in steel, so the price is a much more tempting proposition at HK$68,000. The watch features an ML206 movement with 48 hours of power, and the strap is made of blue alligator leather. Even rendered in more traditional colours, this would make a great dress watch, but in blue it really is a winner.

Baume & Mercier blue-dialled Clifton Club Shelby Cobra CSX2299

Finally, we have a limited-edition gem from Baume & Mercier. The blue-dialled Clifton Club Shelby Cobra CSX2299 is inspired by the beast of a car that won Le Mans in 1964, and even has design input from Peter Brock, who, alongside Carroll Shelby, created one of the most iconic automobiles ever.

This watch is all about aggression and features a 44mm steel case and a sporty, dashboard-influenced dial in Daytona blue. There’s a lot to love about this watch but my favourite feature is the Cobra logo on the shorter tip of the seconds hand. Priced at HK$59,500, the Clifton Club Shelby Cobra is limited to 1,964 pieces and comes in a presentation box with a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe model car.

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