Apart from perhaps black, white and silver, blue is probably the next most popular watch dial colour choice. However, whereas you can pretty much pick whatever strap colour you like for those other watches knowing it will suit, there is more trepidation about what watch strap colour might suit a blue dial watch.
In this article we look into what the most popular watch strap colours are for, what type of events are best suited for and what colours the fashion industry generally say suits, a blue dial watch.
Check you and your blue dial watch out!
But hold on just one minute...
Is that the standard issue stainless steel band I see you wearing? Where is the individualism? Where is the excitement? Where is the passion? We jest of course - you can wear whatever strap you like with your watch - that’s one of the beauties of owning and wearing watches. But you know what, picking a new watch strap for your watch can be difficult - so many colours, so many materials, so many styles, so many choices.
If you are looking for some inspiration to help you choose an alternative watch strap that will go well with your beautiful blue dial watch, you are in the right place! We are often asked for our advice here at The Thrifty Gentleman on what watch strap pairs perfectly with specific watches and today we will give you the advice you need to choose the ideal watch strap for your blue dial watch.
You may be thinking it is going to be difficult to match a blue dial with a specific strap colour, but, really, there are plenty of options on the market and that’s where we come in - we are here to help.
So, to today's question - what kind of watch strap options are there for your watch? Let’s find out.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED THE MOST POPULAR WATCH STRAP COLOUR FOR A BLUE DIAL WATCH?
So good news first - when picking out a strap, you can keep in mind that there are actually quite a lot of options to experiment with when picking a watch strap for a blue dial watch.
You will often find when you buy a blue dial watch that it will come with either a stainless steel bracelet or a blue strap. However, for a lot of watch wearers that might seem rather “meh” and not the way to individualise or experiment with your look. Thankfully, a blue dial watch works really well with a variety of colours.
Aside from a complementary blue watch strap if you’re going for a full on “smurf” look, general consensus is that a blue dial watch will also look great with a black or brown watch strap.
But what about colours that generally don’t match so well? Are there some colours that don’t work so well with a blue dial watch? Absolutely… but within reason!
You probably want to be wary of straps with the other primary colours - yellow and red. Now, we’ll be honest, we have seen some super blue watches with gorgeous yellow and red straps - it’s just a bit trickier to make them work. Generally if they do, there will be a pop of yellow or red on the watch dial and these colours tend to match better when the strap is multi-coloured, I.e. blue and yellow or blue and red.
The success of green is also very much dependant on the shade and style of the watch and strap. It can clash awfully but equally you can find shades that really hit the mark.
CAN YOU WEAR YOUR BLUE DIAL WATCH TO A WEDDING OR FORMAL EVENT?
In an earlier article we assessed what watch and watch strap would be best to wear to a wedding (or any other formal event for that matter). We identified that, very high level, the simpler the watch and watch strap style the better.
A blue dial watch is fine - just be careful with any complexities of the dial. Let's take a look at the watch strap itself - again our recommendation would be to keep it simple - nothing too extravagant or garish.
When it comes to formal situations, it makes a lot of sense to opt for a matching leather watch strap to go with your blue dial watch. However, as we said in our earlier article - wear what you feel most comfortable wearing - ultimately it’s your choice!
WHAT COLOURS DO THE FASHION INDUSTRY SUGGEST LOOK GREAT WITH BLUE?
If we look at fashion trends in general, there are definitely some similarities with what we have said above in regards to our watch strap choices.
It’s no surprise that with jeans being such a popular clothing item that blue is one of the most popular and fashionable colour choices you have available to you. To quote GQ, blue is a great choice because “every man looks good in it”. Ladies too!
Another great thing about the colour blue in fashion, which is easily replicable in watch accessorising, is that you can play around with the hue and successfully combine different shades of blue to superb effect. Therefore, don’t feel you have to match the blue of your dial with the blue of your watch strap exactly. Go wild! Mix those hues up a bit.
Blue on blue? Sure. But even with that seemingly simple combination you have a huge variety of shades of blue to pick from.
What about different colours that complement blue? In order to do this we need to look a little closer at the colour spectrum.
- Wear colour shades that are next to each other on the colour wheel together;
- Wear colours together that are opposite each other on the colour wheel;
- Wear the same colours together, i.e. blue and blue; and
- Ignore colour (black, white and greyscale) all together and focus on combining patterns.
Based on these recommendations, in addition to the more obvious colours (black and brown) outlined above, we can also add the colour opposite to blue on the colour wheel - orange.
At a push, depending on the blue hue, we could also consider shades of yellow and red - although keep the advice above in mind if doing so.
IN CONCLUSION, WHAT ARE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS?
Finding the best watch strap for a blue dial can take a bit of trial and error however with that in mind, there are a plethora of options to consider. It all comes down to the style that you have in mind and that you’re trying to create.
But, to help answer the original question “what is the best colour watch strap for a blue dial watch?”, we have outlined our Top 3 watch strap colour suggestions for your watch below.
Top 3 Colour Choices
- Blue - don’t fear the blue on blue - for a bit of variety why not try having a different shade of blue on the dial than that of the strap. Check out our Zulu NATO Watch Strap in Dark Blue.
- Black / Brown - for a more formal/sensible option definitely go for brown or black - these classic watch strap colours will always go fantastically well with a blue dial watch. Check out our Smooth Grain Leather White Stitched Watch Strap in Dark Brown.
- Orange - based on the colour wheel, orange is your friend. For an added bit of individualism don’t fear the “different”! Check out out Ribbed NATO Watch Strap in Orange.
In closing, there is no denying that you can create a huge variety of looks with your blue dial watch and there are a number of different watch strap colour choices out there. If you’re wanting to really “test the possible” yellows and reds are interesting choices too.
And remember, it’s not just the colours that you can mix and match with your blue dial watch but also the materials. As highlighted earlier, depending on the style of your watch, you will find some fantastic leather watch straps and nylon NATO watch straps to perfectly complement your blue dial watch.
We would love to get your thoughts in the comment. What have you tried with your blue dial watch that has worked really well? And what not so well?
And that just leaves us to say one last thing - happy experimenting!