MY IDEA OF A DRESS WATCH

I am probably a bit odd but my idea of a dress watch would be this :



i have never really subscribed as to what makes a dress watch, but it would seem a plain date less dial in a small ish case on a leather strap is the most popular option, but i do wonder if this is more to do with the type of watches that were readily available when "dress watches" first became a "thing"........no offence to anyone who wears a Dress watch, i am just interested to see others idea of a dress watch

This is my current dress watch



My Longines Hydroconquest Quartz.

SeikoJohn wrote:This is my current dress watch



My Longines Hydroconquest Quartz.

ah see now you are of the same thinking as me others would faint at the very thought
its a smart posh watch so ticks all the boxes for me anyway

I really admire some of Daff62 's watches he has some what I would call proper dress watches but they would just not suit my wrist I prefer a bigger watch , although if we are discussing proper dress watches then I do think depending on what you are wearing ie a waistcoat then th ultimate dress watch is a pocket watch



I wore these two at a wedding last year

Apologies for not contributing to this thread sooner.........

I think all types of vintage watches could be considered to be suitable as dress watches. In the past the expression could have been used for someone’s special watch which wasn’t worn every day and was kept for best. 

It could have been a gold watch or a watch purchased to mark a special event. While gold watches were expensive gold plated watches looked just as good but at a lower cost.

Modern day watches can be and also look special with my only reservation being size. Some of the larger models may not sit neatly on the wrist under the cuff. That wouldn’t be sufficient quantification though to dismiss them being suitable as dress watches. Personal taste varies enormously and beauty is inevitably in the eye of the beholder. 

Here are a few examples of mine that I would describe as dress watches. 








Given they are at most 35mm or under they wouldn’t be for 
everyone specially if they are used to much larger watches. 

i suppose i could class this as a dress watch being a disguised chronograph



its not huge at 40mm wide not including the crown and only about 11mm deep............i really dont wear it enough

i was going to photograph all what i would class as dress watches, but then that would be about 90% of what i have as the vast majority are small vintage dress watch types [ that i dont ever wear ]

domecurb wrote:i suppose i could class this as a dress watch being a disguised chronograph



its not huge at 40mm wide not including the crown and only about 11mm deep............i really dont wear it enough

i was going to photograph all what i would class as dress watches, but then that would be about 90% of what i have as the vast majority are small vintage dress watch types [ that i dont ever wear ]

That watch would be quite dressy and I love something that is
a bit different and well designed. 

I’m in a state of shock though with the “vast majority are small 
vintage dress watch types (that I don’t ever wear)”. 

I just presumed the majority of your collection was the larger,
chunkier type of watches. Would be definitely nice to see some
pictures. Even if just to make me . 

daff62 wrote:

domecurb wrote:i suppose i could class this as a dress watch being a disguised chronograph



its not huge at 40mm wide not including the crown and only about 11mm deep............i really dont wear it enough

i was going to photograph all what i would class as dress watches, but then that would be about 90% of what i have as the vast majority are small vintage dress watch types [ that i dont ever wear ]

That watch would be quite dressy and I love something that is
a bit different and well designed. 

I’m in a state of shock though with the “vast majority are small 
vintage dress watch types (that I don’t ever wear)”. 

I just presumed the majority of your collection was the larger,
chunkier type of watches. Would be definitely nice to see some
pictures. Even if just to make me . 

you have to remember i have been collecting since i was 8.thats 4+ decades, apart from pocket watches most watches were small

domecurb wrote:

you have to remember i have been collecting since i was 8.thats 4+ decades, apart from pocket watches most watches were small

You started younger than me but looking back I have been 
collecting for 40 years now. Initially with pocket watches and then just by chance onto wrist watches. While loving 
watches I also collected lots of other things which, when you get to this stage in life, gets labelled as clutter. 

You must have a fascinating cross section of watches from 
different eras. While they are mainly too small for your 
current tastes hopefully they still give a lot of pleasure for what they are, their history and their link to different stages in your life when you bought them. 

" hopefully they still give a lot of pleasure for what they are, their history and their link to different stages in your life when you bought them"

i am a collector, but i am also a hoarder, i have a very vague recollection of what is in "the hoard" some do stick in the memory.IE there is 60's Rolex in there somewhere. trouble is i used to buy a watch, clean and repair if needed then it was shoved to the side when another arrived and thats what i have done since i started, there is little rhyme or reason to the collection other than i like watches and its maybe only only the last 20 years that i have concentrated on movements as a reason to buy ....like rare quartz or the first electrics etc and now i am into boutique and rare divers as well, occasionally i will open a box and have no clue where the contents came from and usualy cant remember even owning the watches in there

To think I was begining to panic as I thought my 30+ watches was getting to be too many . I need not worry now . I have being collecting for roughly 3 years now and I am glad I decided to concentrate on Seiko and Diver style watches by doing this it has restricted me slightly .

SeikoJohn wrote:To think I was begining to panic as I thought my 30+ watches was getting to be too many . I need not worry now . I have being collecting for roughly 3 years now and I am glad I decided to concentrate on Seiko and Diver style watches by doing this it has restricted me slightly .

If you have roughly 30 Watches after 3 years of collecting that would equate to around 390 Watches after 40 years.  

daff62 wrote:

SeikoJohn wrote:To think I was begining to panic as I thought my 30+ watches was getting to be too many . I need not worry now . I have being collecting for roughly 3 years now and I am glad I decided to concentrate on Seiko and Diver style watches by doing this it has restricted me slightly .

If you have roughly 30 Watches after 3 years of collecting that would equate to around 390 Watches after 40 years.  

oh.....i am WAY WAY WAY beyond that