Bernhardt Captain Nocturne — 38mm Automatic Purple Guilloché Dress Watch
The watch
The Bernhardt Captain Nocturne is a 38mm dress watch with a dark purple guilloché dial, powered by a Miyota 9039 automatic movement. Highlights include a slim 9.55mm profile that slips under a shirt cuff and a sapphire crystal. It belongs to Hour I, Minimalist Dress, in our Boardroom season: a natural choice for client meetings, weddings and evenings that call for a jacket.
Captain, by Bernhardt
The Captain is Bernhardt’s refined dress watch: slim, polished, automatic, and built around beautifully textured guilloché dials. The latest addition to the collection launches in two references:
Each Captain features a 38mm case, sapphire crystal, applied numerals, a premium U.S.-made leather strap, and the Miyota 9039 automatic movement, regulated in-house by Bernhardt.
At just 9.55mm thick with a compact 45mm lug-to-lug, Captain was designed around proportion. It wears cleanly under a cuff, sits comfortably across a wide range of wrists, and brings enough polish for dress occasions while remaining easy to wear every day.
Good to know
It runs on a Miyota 9039 automatic movement, regulated in-house by Bernhardt. It winds itself from the motion of your wrist, so there is no battery to replace.
The case measures 38mm (9.55mm thick, 45mm lug-to-lug) — a classic, understated size that suits small to average wrists (roughly 15-17.5 cm / 6-6.9 in). Our watch size guide (/pages/watch-size-guide) explains how to measure your wrist.
The 38mm case is just 9.55mm thick with a 45mm lug-to-lug span, slim enough to slide under a shirt cuff. The Miyota 9039 automatic inside is regulated in-house by Bernhardt.
On the ChronoSeasons dial it sits at Hour I — Minimalist Dress, part of the Boardroom season, and suits client meetings, weddings and evenings that call for a jacket.
Yes. It ships brand-new and boxed from the brand's verified channel. Unworn watches can be returned within 30 days of delivery.
From the journal
Owners say
Bought this for my younger brother's 40th birthday. He has a collection of black and blue divers, so the dark purple guilloche dial on the steel bracelet gave him something totally different for dressy nights.
I hesitated for two weeks because I thought a purple dial might look like a novelty watch. Couldn't have been more wrong. It is a dark, moody plum with sharp guilloche texture, real sapphire glass, and soft U.S. Leather that fit my wrist out of the box.
We hear that hesitation a lot before people see the Nocturne in person, Drew! Glad the dark plum tone and American leather strap won you over.
Website pictures don't quite capture how dark and rich this purple is in person. Wore it to a wedding last weekend and got two compliments during cocktail hour. Fits my wrist well.
Wears super light on my wrist. Purple guilloche on brown leather looks sharp.
I usually gravitate toward aviation chronographs with busy sub-registers, but this clean 28,800 bph sweep caught my eye. The purple guilloche is understated and classy. My only wish is that the butterfly clasp had half-links, as the bracelet fit gets slightly snug on humid Tennessee afternoons.
Appreciate the honest feedback, Alan! Butterfly clasps keep a low profile on a dress bracelet, though we understand half-links help fine-tune the fit in humid southern summers. Glad you're enjoying that purple guilloche dial!
Picked this up for client dinners. Everyone asks about the dark purple dial when the restaurant lights catch it. Very comfortable on my wrist.
At 38mm by 45mm lug-to-lug and 9.55mm thin, the Captain Nocturne hits the sweet spot for my wrist. Bernhardt regulating the Miyota 9039 in-house makes a real difference; I tracked it against NIST time in Fort Collins for a week and saw less than 2 seconds of daily drift. The sapphire crystal is clear and the deep purple guilloche dial has serious depth on the steel bracelet.
Even on an 8" wrist, a classic dress watch should sit trim rather than sprawling like a dinner plate. The 38mm case and 45mm lug-to-lug wear with vintage proportions, and the 9.55mm thickness is only possible because of the thin Miyota 9039 caliber. Mine has held +4 sec/day over ten days. The dark purple guilloche stamping is crisp under a loupe and pairs nicely with the brown American leather.
I wear button-downs to project review meetings and wanted something less boring than black or white. Under office lighting the dial reads almost charcoal, then shifts to deep aubergine by a window. The 9.55mm case clears my cuffs easily.
Thanks so much, Jason! That shift from dark charcoal indoors to rich purple in natural light is our favorite part of the Captain Nocturne guilloche dial. Enjoy wearing it!
When I'm off shift and not out fishing on Lake Worth with a beater diver, I wanted something distinctive for dinner with my wife. This dark purple dial on brown leather is subtle indoors and only shows its plum color when direct light hits the sapphire crystal.
