Let me mention again all this is just a basic guide to dress watches although not just on the basics. It is intended for people who are graduating to manhood and past the young adult phase; it doesn’t matter if you lagged behind a bit.
It is a complete rumor that you need to know things about watch repair and be a bit of a mechanic but you must consider certain factors for the overall good health of your watch, which shall increase its longevity. This will take care of avoiding complicated, time-consuming tests and procedures and watch repairing is that complicated. Or, you may go the hard way: Learn escapement adjustment, become an expert in friction jewelling and re-bushing and spend the next few years becoming a master at pivoting, staffing and lathe work. It will save you the service charges to put back your watch in a working condition.
I guess that’s enough jib-a-jab; let’s get started.
The very basic purpose that justifies a dress watch is it shows your outlook towards the time. It’s not the basic functional purpose, which is – other watches alike – telling the time, though usually not under extreme or urgent circumstances. So readability, low-light conditions and durability are less important factors; being just reliably accurate is acceptable. But that’s outside the clean and classic category; with slim hands, markers (or Roman numerals) and a typical black/gold or black/white, there’s little to mistake. Gold/white combinations are not always welcome; they are for the extremely classy and formal settings.
Aaaaaaaaaaannnddd…………..
The metal!
Good old stainless steel is just that – good all the way – but neither titanium, or tungsten or cobalt or anything of that sort must make way into a classic dress watch; they are welcome in corporate/business dress watches. White gold – yes; rose gold, yellow gold – yes again; platinum – they are well suited for either but gold mostly goes better in the night. Go if you can afford them solid; else, good quality PVD coating on stainless steel looks just as good and shiny and lasts over years.
It will take some more time to cover all the aspects of the dress watch, but that’s what one of the few – and the most important – accessory demands as an introduction. I’m sure there are elites who would further bridge the gap between the watch and cufflinks, belt buckles, eyeglasses, tie pins and the signet rings; one rule of thumb is keep them same color. We’ll get to the next part soon.
