The 25 Sexiest Black Minimalist Watches for Men

Black. Murdery black. Black so black that people fall into a hole, not realizing it’s an actual hole. The fact is that the trend of black dials in the watch world has been around for a long time. A subset of this trend has been the black-on-black look that exploded onto the world of horological design about a decade ago and has remained one of the more contemporary design directions for a lot of minimalist watch brands. While we love that look and have featured many black-on-black designs in our previous piece, the 70 best minimalist watches, the work we put into discovering the timepieces featured here wasn’t limited to just that subset design trends. So buckle-up and get ready for some of the most excellent minimalist watches for men in some shade of murdery black.

When I first laid my eyes on this astoundingly beautiful watch, I knew I had to own it. Produced by Danish watchmaker Nordgreen and designed by Jakob Wagner, this Scandinavian Chronograph has clean lines throughout the entirety of its beautiful design. This means that the clean and minimalist dial strikes all the right notes when it comes to balancing the info presented by a chronograph without cluttering it. Inspired by the fact that Denmark is a global pioneer in clean energy technology and production, this watch has small but significant details related to its inspiration. For example, the red tips found on the Chronograph second hand represent the same coloured tips found on wind turbines in its country of origin. Made of the super-high quality materials our readers have come to expect from watches we feature here, the Pioneer watch is available in three dial colours: blue, black and white. To top that off, it is also available in three case colours – super sexy gunmetal, silver and rose gold. A genuinely superb men’s minimalist black watch!

If you want to know about what I think about this watch, check out my review.

With a Russian sounding name, you’d think that this brand comes from the deep-frozen tundra of Siberia or some industrial city just outside of Moscow. But alas, the opposite is true, as the Tsovet brand was founded in 2008 in California. The brainchild of the founder who also started a little company called Vestal Watches, Tsovet pieces are inspired by a variety of design cultures, but somehow are almost always informed by retro motor gauges, avionics instruments, and other industrial tools. What I like about this particular, maybe not entirely minimalist watch is its bold use of typography. 

There’s never a shortage of beautiful watches to pick from MVMT’s collection. After all, they pride themselves on having an array of affordable watches for almost any look. That’s why more than a few of their timekeepers land on this list of black minimalist timepieces. The wonderfully named Atlas has some really fantastic standout features including the polished rose gold hands, beautifully minimalist and polished hour markers, as well as perfectly matched leather strap. Affordable, stylish and dripping with minimalism, we absolutely love the combination of excellent this watch brings with it.

Nixon is well known in the watch world for their design prowess, but also the absolutely ginormous timepieces they’re capable of producing, that honestly can feel like you’re walking around with a battleship attached to your wrist. The Corporal SS is a beast. With a 48 mm case size, it’s definitely a commanding presence. There’s no pretense with this watch. It’s black and bold and definitely built to last.

I lied. This isn’t an exclusively men’s watch. It’s a unisex watch that has managed to mix a harkening back to the design of the 1950s and a re-imagining of what a minimalist watch should look like in today’s day and age. One of the best things about this watch is its interplay of materials and surfaces. First, the glass is shaped in a very pleasing domed curve that creates an almost futuristic UFO shape when viewed in profile. Then there’s the mix of brushed and polished stainless steel, which we’ve definitely seen before, but somehow is used to significant effect here.

And we finally get around to the dial. The Germans certainly have a proclivity for creating bold dials. Whether it’s fine automobiles or minimalist watches, there’s always a bold flair that makes you wonder how they pushed the envelope on what would look good without completely destroying the aesthetic. At around $1,200, this indeed is not the cheapest watch you’ll find on this list. But then again, Porsches aren’t exactly the most economical cars around, are they?

I think what I like most about the TID No.1 Black is that in a few places it has thrown convention to the wind. It may not seem radical to the average person, but there are a few design flairs whoever decided to include in this watch that you just don’t often see, not even on watches that trend minimal. First, there’s the left-handed placement of the crown, simple, yet nice change. Then there’s the nicely balanced finish of matte & gloss on the case and the bold difference in thickness of the hour, minute and second hand. And while some manufacturers on this list have figured out a way to include their brand or logo mark tastefully within the dial of the watch, for the sake of simplicity, TID have done away with the logo entirely.

At a very blue-collar friendly price of $99, the Winston Regal All Black watch from Komono is actually a pretty amazing looking watch. It’s beautifully inset, and sleek dial conveys a sense of class that can quickly go with any casual or more refined outfit. Inspired by the art deco era, this timepiece will likely get mistaken for something much more expensive. And if you’re really not into the black look (though really, why would you be reading this article), it also comes in three other color options.

Bezel-less smartphones are all the rage these days. And depending on when in time you’ve managed to arrive at this blog piece, you may be asking yourself, what the hell is a Bezel? As of 2020 (yes I updated this article recently), bezels on most smartwatches are still around, albeit shrinking fast. The MVMT Blacktop Caviar  watch seems to be taking design cues from that idea. The edge of the watch, at least from a head-on perspective is almost indistinguishable from the dial of the watch, and that alone gives this watch a highly cultivated character.

I can’t quite decide whether there is more gunmetal grey or black in this watch. Nevertheless, at 42mm, the rather large Movado BOLD watch earns its name. My only quibble with Movado watches is I wish they would just get rid of that small logo at the bottom of the dial. Still, Movado has taken great care in producing a timepiece whose elements seem to feed off each other with one complimenting another in an endless loop of purity.

Taking a novel approach to categorizing their product lineup, The 5th (odd name, I know), has grouped their watches into lists named after world-class cities such as London, New York, Melbourne, and others. This particular watch as you may have surmised at this point comes from the Melbourne range and is billed as: “a watch that forgoes a complicated watch face” What I like most about this watch is the singular treatment of the “5” on the watches dial written in Roman numeral. A clever but useful design trick.

All you need to know about this watch is that I own one of these. Not the exact color combination, but close. As a result, I can tell you that this is less of a watch and more of a wrist-clock if such a category of timepieces were to exist. At 51mm, it’s probably more apt to call this a black and foreboding battleship. So if you’ve got any level of thin or weak programmer arms, I suggest you don’t even look at this watch, because honestly, wearing it all day is kind of exhausting. Made out of some psychotically Mjölnir-like heavy metal, you may as well be wearing a barbell on your wrist. If all that sounds like a challenge to your manly beefcake ambitions, it kind of is. To wear this thing you have got to have some sort of masochistic tendencies, and excellent taste in black semi-minimalist watches. It’s a real thing of beauty.

There’s probably some unwritten rule that defines a chronograph as decidedly not minimalist, but you know what, there’s too much to like about this black watch to have it omitted here. That said, this Swiss made piece features Uniform Wares typical lugless design which adds a level of refinement not often seen. Detailed and defined, the M42 Chronograph touches down in the more expensive end-zone of watches listed here, but I think for any serious collector is a watch to covet.

Designed in Glasgow, the K-100 is a great example of what happens when a watch is conceptualized with inspiration from mid-century design. Redolent of famous 20th-century furniture designers such as Eames, Jacobsen, and Bertoia, this timepiece is simple, bold and delicate at the same time.

What I love about this watch is that the dial reminds me more of a fancy car’s speedometer than a watch dial. And while the silver bezel and lugs could maybe work better in black, I actually don’t mind the choice of color here that surrounds the watch. Of-course the unusual crown design is another nice signature mark of the Miansai brand.

Bruce Wayne wouldn’t wear this watch. But Batman would. The beautiful non-glossy, flat black design of the case is both classy and somehow makes you wonder what kind of insane gadgets it has stored inside to lend a hand in fighting crime in the dark recesses of Gotham City. Like most MVMT watches, it is no doubt well built and should, so-to-speak, stand the test of time.  Just don’t forget that at 45 mm, it’s a pretty hefty sized watch.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for watches with black steel mesh (also known as Milanese) straps, but this finely crafted 3-hand movement watch with a sandblasted dial is both affordable and stylish. Like most of the watches on this list, the Jorn can be easily combined with outfits both wild and sensible. And if you’re a big fan of watches with think profiles, you’re in luck as this Skagen is a mere 8mm thick.

Look, when a watch meres an almost 200-word write-up, it tends to catch your attention. But wordsmithing wasn’t the only reason why the Struktur Standard turned my head. There’s something incredibly proportional and symmetrical about this minimalistic German-made watch which is characterized by its ultra-thin stainless steel case of only 6.6mm. The markers on the dial, both for minute and hour are drawn with equal line weight which produces a striking result.

Are you tired of seeing Bulbul watches on lists of austere timepieces? I’m not. So here’s the Bulbul ORE 10, a circular watch that reduces the idea of telling time to its ancient origins of what the Egyptians would use. Mind you, their version, with giant obelisks that tracked the movement of the sun, was a tad bigger, but nevertheless, the simplicity transcends both. Stripped of any ornamentation and even fewer color differentiation, the ORE 10 is made with premium materials that will likely make this watch last a long time.

By default, this watch is not adorned in black, but given its highly customizable nature and semi-astronomical price tag, the Ochs & Junior Date watch can be turned into a genuinely obsidian masterpiece. The analog date display is more readable than most watches, and that is in fact at the core of the design philosophy of this remarkable piece of engineering. And if none of that is enough, just consider the fact that Ochs & Junior only manufacturers about 10 of these per year. That’s rarefied air when it comes to the watch collecting world.

No fuss and no muss is the operative phrase that comes to mind when describing the Tsovet SVT-CN38 watch which features a somewhat throwback yet still contemporary design. With a beautiful satin finish on the dial and traditional markings, this Tsovet is typically adorned with the trademarked “0” at the 10 o’clock position that has become the signature standout on Tsovet timekeeping devices.

If the budget is really tight right now, yet you still have a hankering for some good old black minimalist goodness sprucing up your wrist, the Matte Black Walt Black Mesh is a good choice. Did you know that mesh watch straps were first worn in Milan, Italy in the 13th century? Neither did I, and yet it’s true. There’s not much else to say about this watch except that for its price point it’s a rather handsome piece.

Even more premium-priced than usual, the Ultra Slim from Movado comes in at a diminutive 6.3mm thin and features a fantastic dial with the Movado signature dot. The markers are on this watch are so thin and so subtly contrasted that they nearly disappear into the dial. I mean who really needs to tell time at a glance when you have this kind of beauty on your hand.

There’s a reason that Nixon watches appear on this index of black stainless steel goodness. That is to say, they seem to have a real knack for taking steel and wringing out absolutely sensational watches. That’s where this mid-century inspired watch comes in. The Rollo 42mm has a nicely stamped dial for a multi-dimensional, ala 3D appearance.

Hailing from Amsterdam, Cluse watches lineup of products has an unmistakable air of femininity. So it comes with a bit of a surprise that I came across this more male tainted watch in the Minuit Mesh Full Black. While still rather small at only 33mm, I have every confidence in saying that you could easily get away with calling this a Unisex watch. So if you feel like you’re more into the featherweight type of black on black magnificence, this timepiece is worth your consideration.

Another chronograph to grace this list may be venturing into the dark realm of sacrilege when it comes to minimalist watches, but given the fact that it’s the final watch on our list, we thought you’d make an exception. While some reviewers complain of readability in direct sunlight, this battery-powered 6 hand chronograph hits all the right shades of grey and black.