When you want to buy a watch, it frequently begins with a broad question: sport watch or dress watch? If it’s a sports watch, the possibilities are endless, as in a choose-your-own-adventure novel. Dive, pilot, and motorsport watches, as well as military watches and others, are clearly defined sport watch genres, each with its own sub-genres.

It seems to make sense to identify a watch by its intended use in this context, yet this results in dress watches apparently solely for “dressing up” being bundled together into a single ill-defined mass, despite their diversity.

Aside from its pragmatism and simplicity, the style and aesthetics of a dress watch are what distinguishes it, you can tell a dress watch when you see one. Of course, this is subjective, since timepieces designed for activity in the past may now be considered “dressy.” There are a variety of dress watches available today, and knowing the most prevalent classic styles can aid any potential purchase in narrowing down your search.

Classical Dress Watches

Classical Dress Watches

Discover: Chopard L.U.C XP

If a dive watch is rock-n-roll, then a classical style dress watch is a string quartet playing Bach: the sense is quite conservative and possibly even of another time. Roman numbers or simple stick indices, slender hands, monochrome hues, and classic ornamental methods like guilloche are also common features.

Complicated Dress Watches

Discover: Jaeger-LeCoultre the Master Ultra Thin Moon

Many dress watches are known for their simplicity, although this isn’t always the case. Dress watches may contain a variety of complexities, functions, and information if they are designed elegantly, and this creates a whole new wearing experience. Calendars and moon phase indicators are common features, although chronographs are also acceptable.

Rectangular Dress Watches

Discover: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One Duetto

Square and rectangular watches were previously quite popular, but the great majority of them are now restricted to formal use. Remember that these timepieces wear larger than their diameter would imply when it comes to achieving a suitable fit. Thin cases also help, and the appearance is as classic as it gets when the proportions are just perfect.

So, there are three kinds of dress watches that are available in today’s market. Which one fits you the most? If you want to find out more, visit The Time Place boutique.