Watches & Attire - Rules & Counsel

[ShockMister]

The best traditional watch is a classic design gold case. From Timex (carefully chosen) to Patek Phillipe. I like the white/light dial with a burgundy leather strap. Or metal bracelet. If it's a black dial, the leather strap would need to be black. As long as it's not too "dressy" this watch is even good for casual wear. The only option I don't like is the black dial with silver case. To me, that style looks better as a field/dive watch because it looks more military. But that's just my own opinion. (I think Paul Reiser wore a watch like this in Mad About You, but I never liked that style.) ...And I'm only half sold on white metal with the white dial.

Dive watches and field watches have become more popular in the last 10 to 15 years, so these are more and more acceptable today.

In the 80's many suit-wearers wore basic Casio digitals, like the F91 or similar. Now there are a lot more options in case design and colors. But if it's with a suit it should be black. Otherwise it might look like a kid's watch.

I think even some G-Shocks are acceptable with business wear. But it shouldn't be too "stealth" looking. It would be better to have metal around the bezel.

[Coler]

No. Do you fly a plane for a living?

Ridiculous.

By this eh 'logic' the only people who can ever wear Pilot watches are Pilots, and that only when they are flying an aeroplane.

That's not to say a Pilot watch in style terms amounts to a dress watch. Just that an attempt to restrict watch choices to those that are relevant to one's profession is nonsense.

[Rogue310]

Here's a sartorial conundrum. I wear two-button-cuff shirts - i.e. the buttons fasten one after another to button the cuff from upper to lower wrist, English-style. This makes a nice line when not wearing a watch - it helps keep the cuffs and sleeves looking slim - but when wearing a watch, after buttoning both buttons I have the choice of shoehorning my watch under the cuffs and wrestling it out when I need to check it, or leaving one button unbuttoned so it can move in and out of the sleeve.

Slovenly or practical?

[Raza]

Here's a sartorial conundrum. I wear two-button-cuff shirts - i.e. the buttons fasten one after another to button the cuff from upper to lower wrist, English-style. This makes a nice line when not wearing a watch - it helps keep the cuffs and sleeves looking slim - but when wearing a watch, after buttoning both buttons I have the choice of shoehorning my watch under the cuffs and wrestling it out when I need to check it, or leaving one button unbuttoned so it can move in and out of the sleeve.

Slovenly or practical?

So if I read this right, you have two buttons on the cuff, in line, one closer to the hand and one closer to the wrist, both of which are fastened.

Leaving one unbuttoned would look slovenly, unless you unbutton one on the off wrist as well, as if some sort of fashion statement. There are times when I wear my cuffs unbuttoned (usually under a sweater) but I don't roll the sleeves up because I like the look.

[var]

From this thread, I came to the following two threads :
U.S. Attitudes/ Sales Regarding Swiss Watches
Swiss Are Looking To Revive Luxury Watch Sales in U.S.

And I have to say that I learned a lot.

So here are my lessons learned:

1. The only true authority on what you should wear is the people who you want to impress. If you are everybody's boss, then you probably don't belong to our reality and people will allow you to do pretty much everything you want to do.
2. Your watch represents you. In a sense, you are your watch. Wear it with responsibility. Hence, it makes sense to know the established etiquette for wearing your watch. Doing so will put you in a state of knowledgeability. And true authority stems from knowledgability, not position. Being ignorant of the established etiquette will only, next time someone passes judgment on you because of the watch you wear, put you in a state of confusion over what you did wrong. Choosing to deviate, it is far more preferable to be a rebel than an ignorant.
3. You are entitled to your own opinions. You can fight for what you believe in.

Having stated that. Wow. This is a great thread.

[SAM2]

Chronopolis, Look what you started.
Are we forgetting that some visitors to this forum are women? We tend to shun fashion watches on this forum but for some it is as much a part of watch ownership as is the nuts and bolts. I wouldn't condone excluding any topic that is of interest to just one person regardless of gender. If the topic is not your bailiwick, move on and stop hijacking a valid discussion.
We can't all be a "Phileas Fogg" but every gentleman must live by rules and a dress code is just one. What is considered acceptable in Silicon Valley would be unthinkable in a boardroom on Wall Street. When in Rome... Mr. Fogg was a man who had his act together. I'll bet he had a matching umbrella but by contrast, Passepartout looked more like a Missouri used car dealer. You may be a free spirit and just doing your thing but take it from this old dude, a gentleman would do well to dress for success. Next time you get invited to the White House, follow some simple rules.
I can think of numerous watches that work well for almost any occasion. Just match the strap to your outfit. That's what they make speed pins for. The same rule that applies to the correct choice of shoes and belt also applies to your watch strap. Brown and gray, maybe. Brown and black, never. Exception: Cordovan (dark cherry) works with gray slacks and a sport coat but black is better with a suit.
If your only watch is one of those plastic things on a NATO strap, just put in your pocket.
And finally, if in doubt, ask your wife or significant other. She will know. I Garontee!


I'll go to my room now.

[var]

...
And finally, if in doubt, ask your wife or significant other. She will know. I Garontee!


I'll go to my room now.

You'll go to your room now? That sounds like a legit order from your mom. Is she the significant other you were talking about?

I don't know. If my significant other, or if any girl for that matter, asks me what watch to wear with her suit or dress, all I would be able to say while looking awed is, "You look good no matter what you wear. Mom."

[SAM2]

This is a test


The combined threads had me cornfused at first but now I'm getting the hang of it. Will future posts be tacked onto the end or will they end up someplace in the middle?

[SAM2]

Removed duplicate.

[SAM2]

These combined threads are hard to navigate but gave me much to sleep on. I must have been dreaming about the men that I have admired and respected during my sixty-seven years. Now wide awake and having had my second cup of coffee, I had one question to ask of my aging memory. Did they even wear a watch and if so what? Were they tools or fashion statements. I have my fathers 1962 Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, the story of which I have written on another forum. Before the Memovox, he had a relatively inexpensive Swiss Incabloc that I used until my wife thought I needed another. What did my grandfathers have on their wrists? No memories have surfaced. Both men were products of the Great Depression and probably couldn't afford a watch. How did they get to work on time? I haven't a clue. Auntie married a wealthy housing developer in St. Louis after the war and I will never forget his watch. It was a diamond encrusted gold Rolex that you could see from a mile away. An obvious fashion statement. Auntie was a nurse and wore a Wittnauer pendent watch in a heart shaped case. As a kid, I always marveled at the fact that the movement was mounted upside down. Uncle Ed was a railroad engineer and wore a Rolex, also purchased in 1962. Fashion statement or tool watch? Perhaps a little of both.
I just heard the whistle blow and that brings me to thoughts about the history of the watchmaker's art going back two centuries and more to a time before the wristwatch. You see, I live in a small railroad town where they still blow a whistle three times a day so that the men can set their watches. These days, it is unnecessary and never on time but tradition mandates that they make the effort. It is hard to hang around hear (the forum) very long without knowing about the advent of the wristwatch but I refer to an earlier time when a watch was a man's most valuable possession and a man carried it, well protected in his vest pocket. How could that be a fashion statement you ask? Well, when you hang it from a solid gold or sterling chain with a filigrene fob, it becomes a statement of some kind. Could be that Butch Cassidy just needed to know when the next train was due? Somehow, I think it was more than that.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...tchcassidy.jpg
Do vests still have a watch pocket? If so, shouldn't a well dressed man have one and a pocket watch to go with it or is the vest pocket just a convenient place to stash a cell phone?
Must stop now before I hurt my little grey cells.