Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT Watch Review
Cyrus, a brand with a penchant for showcasing exposed mechanisms, has recently introduced the Dominion Lapis Blue GMT, a watch featuring a solid dial crafted from natural lapis lazuli. Behind its bewitching smile, the model is equipped with the self-winding CYR708 calibre, developed by master watchmaker Jean-François Mojon. Nina Scally provides an overview of this highly exclusive watch, limited to just 28 unique pieces.
Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT – an alternative approach
There is a reason the world’s most prestigious restaurants rarely offer a view of the kitchen from the dining area. Watching a weary cook sweat over a flame or a sous-chef bark orders over the clatter of steel pans may make for gripping reality television, but it can mar a fine dining experience. In the world of haute cuisine, when a meal is served, beautifully presented and fragrant, its true sophistication lies in the nobility of the dish. One is not asked to witness the labour behind the craft, just to relish every mouthful of the result.
For years, Cyrus has invited us into the ‘kitchen’ of horology, proving its mettle as a master of transparency by showing numerous gears, pivots and springs through a multitude of intricate, openworked dials. From the cleverly layered Klepcys GMT to the technical audacity of the Klepcys DICE (a unique double chronograph), the high-end watch brand invites the wearer to peer deep into the very soul of an intricately engineered movement. The new Dominion Lapis Blue GMT, however, takes a different approach, favouring a solid canvas of lapis lazuli. It serves to demonstrate that sometimes the most interesting timepieces are those that leave little to the imagination.
When we consider Cyrus’s product portfolio, the design language errs towards the avant-garde. We’re accustomed to seeing bold, almost industrial-like architecture, kinetic displays and modern expressions of horological voyeurism laid bare for all to see. The Dominion collection, however, has always felt slightly different. Indeed, where the Klepcys is the extrovert of the two, the Dominion is the quieter, sharply tailored sophisticate. Indeed, it favours a more traditional round housing, measuring 42 mm in diameter, and is offered in a choice of 5N rose gold or Grade 5 titanium.
Yet, even within the confines of the Dominion family, the Maison has made a deliberate pivot from its customary openworked architecture. In a departure from its usual transparency, this latest iteration is the first to embrace an uninterrupted expanse of lapis lazuli, marking the collection’s inaugural foray into solid dial territory. There is a newfound intimacy here. The dial of the Dominion Lapis Blue GMT now brings a contemplative dimension to the collection, inviting the wearer to lose themselves within a world of natural pyrite inclusions. By concealing the mechanics beneath a veil of precious imperial blue stone, Cyrus shifts the focus from the complexity of the calibre to the tactile and visual appeal of natural materials and organic textures.
Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT – the case
Upholding Dominion convention, the Lapis Blue GMT is housed in a 42 mm round case, but on this occasion, crafted in lightweight Grade 5 titanium. This alloy is hypoallergenic and possesses an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Furthermore, its low thermal conductivity spares the wearer any metallic chills when attaching the watch to the wrist on a crisp wintry morning. The architecture of the case retains the established Dominion collection codes. It is endowed with a mix of polished and satin-brushed surfaces, delivering a seemly blend of gleam and soft lustre. Anyone familiar with case manufacturing will attest that polishing Grade 5 titanium is challenging due to its hardness; however, Cyrus has repeatedly demonstrated its mastery at working with the metal and the Lapis Blue GMT proves no exception.
The twin-crown layout is a characteristic common to all of Cyrus’s watches. This approach imbues each design with a symmetrical appearance, but also provides a tactile and user-friendly interface with the movement. The 3 o’clock crown tensions the mainspring and sets the prevailing hour and minutes. A pusher located within the crown at 9 o’clock provides an intuitive means of advancing the local time in 1-hour increments, while leaving the home time unchanged. The Swiss brand has imbued the crown with a combination of polished and satin-brushed finishes, while the vertical flank of the crown bears the Cyrus logo. Furthermore, the presence of slanted grooves aids grip and adds a final, decorative flourish to the exterior.
The bezel of the Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT has been tastefully pared back, its slender profile acting as a refined frame, opening the stage for the magnificent blue dial. The watch has a water resistance of 100 metres and is presented with a black alligator leather strap, paired with a polished titanium pin buckle.
Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT – the dial
The defining characteristic of this new reference is, without question, the transition from Cyrus’s familiar openworked displays to a solid dial. The selected material is genuine lapis lazuli, a complex aggregate primarily composed of the blue mineral lazurite with naturally occurring inclusions of golden pyrite that imbue the stone with a distinct character. Because these inclusions are formed organically, no two dials across the 28-piece production run will be identical. By adopting a solid dial, Cyrus has naturally had to revise its graphic language to ensure optimum legibility.
Openworked hour and minute hands, treated with white Super-LumiNova, are combined with facetted, rhodium-plated hour markers which point inwards towards the fulcrum of the dial, replacing the Arabic numerals found on the existing Dominion`GMT models. This transition yields a notably leaner, more restrained aesthetic, allowing the intricate lapis lazuli dial to sing in full voice.
The GMT complication and small seconds sit along the north-south axis, granting symmetry. A small hand, featuring a luminescent triangular tip, works in concert with a 24-hour arcing track, while a running seconds display is positioned below. Both the tracks for the GMT and small seconds display are executed in matt white lacquer, framed with a rhodium-plated border, and incorporate blue indices in Pantone 286C. Cyrus has obsessed over the smallest of details and it shows. For example, the seconds hand has been redesigned and is now much finer and incorporates a small logo-inspired counterweight.
Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT – the movement
Cyrus has equipped the Dominion Lapis Blue GMT with the self-winding Calibre CYR708, developed by the highly regarded master watchmaker Jean-François Mojon. Manufactured in-house in Le Locle, it comprises 278 components, operates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) and has a power reserve of 55 hours. The standout complication is, of course, the retrograde 24-hour GMT function, which operates with crisp precision.
When viewing the movement through the sapphire crystal exhibition caseback, the eyes are met by a series of refined Haute Horlogerie finishes, but executed in a fresh, contemporary style. The bridges have undergone a NAC treatment, imbuing them with a neoteric anthracite appearance, and are adorned with a curved sunray pattern. This interplay of alternating brushed and microbillé textures plays with contrasts and imbues the composition with an overriding sense of refinement.
The blue openworked oscillating weight echoes the hue of various dial details and, once again, is executed in the Pantone 286C shade. In addition, the rotor bears the engraved motto, ‘The Conquest of Innovation’, a nod to the brand’s mechanical ambitions.
Closing Thoughts
For a manufacturer that has built its reputation on revealing many mechanical thought processes usually hidden from view, producing a watch with a solid stone dial represents a new direction. The Dominion Lapis Blue GMT is a highly capable and simple-to-use travel watch that caters to collectors who not only appreciate the independent, avant-garde spirit of Cyrus, but who also desire a timepiece with a slightly more understated, classical disposition. Each of the 28 lapis lazuli slivers chosen for this model acts as an azure curtain, concealing a fine Jean-François Mojon calibre within. Indeed, while the mechanics are no longer invited to perform centre stage, the horological substance remains profoundly intact, residing underneath the dial’s imperial blue veneer, unseen but undeniably present.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Cyrus Dominion Lapis Blue GMT
- Reference: 528. 507.TT.SP.A
- Case: Grade 5 titanium, diameter 42 mm, height 16.73 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 metres), sapphire crystal to the front and an exhibition case back
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, 24-hour second time zone with retrograde hand
- Movement: Calibre CYR708, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 41 jewels, power reserve 55 hours, 278 components
- Strap: black alligator leather with a titanium pin buckle
- Price: CHF: 28,000 excluding taxes (RRP as of 20.5.2026)
- Limited Edition: 28 pieces