Dress Watch

[DNX]

I would like to gauge opinion on this:

I am currently looking to rationalise my collection...

I have selected which watches I am keeping, so I have a vintage, I have a daily, and I have a beater all selected - the rest I am going to move on, but I need to select a dress watch from my current collection or from the market... would I / can one get away with a SpeedMaster Pro as a Dress watch, mine is the Rising Sun variant - otherwise perhaps looking at keeping my Seamaster 300 in Steel & Rose, or getting a JLC Master Ultra Thin as a dress...

 

[vbrad26]

I think you could get away with the Speedy being used as a dress watch, but traditionally I don't think it is considered to be one...no chrono really for that matter. At least that has been my understanding. Probably a little easier to pull of with that variation of Seamaster though.
However If you want something that is no doubt a "dress watch" get the JLC

 

[eternalover]

Personally JLC master ultra thin is the modern dress for me. I think your rising sun is the opposite of a dress watch, although it is a handsome piece.

 

[Butik]

Even though I am Omega freak, when I look at your proposal of choice I would definietly go with JLC as a classic dress piece.Speedy is far away from this category, so is Semaster, although a bit closer, but still not there.

 

[Donn Chambers]

DNX

I would like to gauge opinion on this:

I am currently looking to rationalise my collection...

I have selected which watches I am keeping, so I have a vintage, I have a daily, and I have a beater all selected - the rest I am going to move on, but I need to select a dress watch from my current collection or from the market... would I / can one get away with a SpeedMaster Pro as a Dress watch, mine is the Rising Sun variant - otherwise perhaps looking at keeping my Seamaster 300 in Steel & Rose, or getting a JLC Master Ultra Thin as a dress...

If I was dressing up every single day in a suit and tie, I would get the JLC (or another classic three-hand watch). Personally, I do not dress up every day and I have worn my Speedmaster FOiS on a croc strap with a tuxedo to an event and I still had the nicest watch of anyone else there. I also will sometimes wear my Bond Seamaster with a suit. I have a colleague who DOES wear a suit every day to work and is considered a rather dapper dresser. He also wears a Bond Seamaster every day.

In short, your Speedmaster will probably be better than 90% of the watches you will see for men wearing suits. No need to buy a new watch unless you want to.

 

[kristal]

Speedmaster is a great watch with rich history but IMHO definetely not a dress watch..
JLC gets my vote for a dressier option

 

[SkunkPrince]

In my opinion the whole "dress watch" thing is really just personal taste these days. I certainly would not hesitate to wear my rose gold Lemania with jeans or a Seamaster Professional with a suit. Unless you're trying to impress someone with your Rolex President, most people see watches as a commodity, if they even wear them at all.

So whatever you have picked out for your "vintage" is likely close to "dress" anyways.

 

[w@tcher]

My favorite Speedy = Fois, is also my ideal dress watch...

Edited: Feb 3, 2021

 

[rcb]

If you truly want a dress watch, the JLC is the only thing on your list that comes close.

 

[Bp1000]

You can wear whatever you like. Don’t have to stick to tradition.

However, having worn both for dressier occasions, I do prefer and normally pick the MUT

 

[Dan S]

You can wear whatever you want as a dress watch, but in my subjective opinion your Speedmaster and Seamaster 300 are not dress watches at all. Even within the chronograph category, a Speedmaster is on the sporty end of the spectrum, and obviously a dive watch is a tool watch, the antithesis of a dress watch.

 

[Alfista88]

The term "dress watch" often gets used very broadly these days to mean a watch for office wear, or to pair with a suit or smart casual on an outing to a fine dining venue. In that context, a sport watch like any Speedmaster range, Seamaster, Royal Oak, Overseas, Datejust, Reverso, are all perfectly suitable options.

But if by "dress watch", you're referring the more narrow definition of a watch to pair with formal wear (white tie, morning dress), then I would leave the Speedmaster at home. It's far too bulky / utilitarian to go with a morning coat, or tails. I'd opt for something very thin and austere, with either just 2 hands, or 2 hands and small seconds. But preferably a pocket watch, or no watch at all.

Thankfully, the dressiest I ever get 364 days a year is the former category. And by that more broad definition of a 'dress watch', any old sports activity watch like a Speedmaster is perfectly fine. You'd have to go really big (think Proplof, Big Pilot, or a 50mm mall watch with skeleton dial and chrome/gold plating) before others think you're making a faux pax on your choice of watch for either the office or for an elegant night out.

 

[gbesq]

JLC.

 

[pw92676]

Once you define define what “dress” means to you, you can better identify “dress watch.”

 

[mrbreen]

A lot of people will rock a Speedmaster or a sportier Rolex at a formal event but I often assume they are one watch owners who care more about a label then sartorial conventions. Nothing wrong with that per se, but I vote JLC all day.

 

[rbob99]

The MUT is a wonderful dress watch that would also work fine for more casual wear IMO. Every iteration is very nice, but in18K gold it is really something else.

 

[DNX]

My vintage is an 1969 Omega Geneve in Rose Gold with Cream Dial on a Cognac strap - so could be used as a dress watch I suppose, but this was my fathers and is more of a heirloom (not in value, but in sentiment).

My classification for daily is smart casual and office wear - for which I have a modern Submariner.

My beater is a SS Black wave dial Seamaster Pro 300m Diver Quartz.

For the Dress watch - my definition of Dress is weddings, formal events for work such as awards ceremonies, black-tie (which I only do once a year or so) - so before buying a JLC and selling off my Speedmaster Pro Rising Sun (which is visually fantastic), a Seamaster 300MC in Rose and Steel, a Rolex OP 39 in Red Grape, a Speedmaster FOIS, a Tudor BB58 Blue - I wondered if one of those could fit the bill as a dress watch - the Speedy with Red Bezel does pop in formal situations, but the others I am thinking of purchasing as a replacement (only one of the following) are JLC Master Ultra Thin, the Vacheron 56 or Overseas Gen 3, or a DateJust 41 - to be honest I just can't decide and suppose I would regret selling the 2 Speedies.

 

[MtnMarine]

1 more vote for the JLC. Very classy. A step above the rest in the dress category, in my opinion.

 

[Dan S]

A rose gold Geneve sounds like a dress watch to me.

 

[Hamish02]

This is a common dilemma I have too and try to work my collection around what I'm wearing and when - its also a case of probably thinking about it too much, maybe...!

If it helps, here's a few from my collection and when I wear them (also an excuse to share some photos...)

Seamaster 2576 on leather which I wear almost exclusively for weddings:


Same Seamaster but on BOR, quite versatile for office smart or casual day to day:


FOiS I generally save for the office or a night out smart/casual, I probably wouldn't use it as a proper dress watch:


SM300mc in general day to day rotation usually just casual:


Vintage 28mm I would generally only wear every so often at work:


Sorry for the picture heavy post 😀

Its good to have options but I like how you've set specific watches for specific categories; dress, vintage, daily etc - like me it helps keep the OCD at bay! Good luck on the hunt for a dress watch.

Edited: Mar 15, 2021