Men’s dress watches are a staple for any male professional’s wardrobe. In fact, it’s said that a proper dress watch completes an outfit rather than overpower it.
The general guideline for a dress watch is a thin case (so not to get caught on the cuff of your suit) with a leather band. A good dress watch consists of timeless style and a classic look that won’t go out of fashion even as trends change. Hence, we present a breakdown of the top seven best men’s dress-watches and provide options costing around $10,000 to over $20,000.
Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece
This watch is a great example of what a classic dress watch should be. Roman numeral numbers surround the face and sharply crafted hands move around the dial. With a black leather alligator strap and a fresh white dial, this watch is accented nicely without being overly flashy.
For under a thousand dollars, you can get a watch that looks like it could cost over ten thousand. So buy this one for a price of only $895.
Cartier Ronde de Solo
In 2008, Cartier stepped up their watchmaking process in a big way by opening a watch manufacturing facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In line with that, it produced the Cartier Ronde de Solo.
This watch has an in-house Cartier Calibre 115A quartz movement with a date function. Other features include a dial with bold roman numerals as well as a sapphire glass covering the watch hands and winding crown.
The super clean black and white look of the watch combined with the signature Cartier sapphire crown is stunning. At a price range of about $3,000, this is a professional’s best friend.
Nomos Club
Elegant simplicity is what makes this watch one of our favourites on this list. This watch is casual enough for the weekends and classy enough to be dressed-up with a business suit. Besides being meticulously finished, the polished case pairs nicely with the stained leather band. At its current price, this is a fantastic option for an all-around dress watch.
The price point and style that you get from the Nomos Club is a rare combination. When you look at this watch it looks like it could cost for a $10,000+. Nonetheless, having a watch like this for under three grand is a huge plus. Overall, this is a watch you can wear every day without overworrying about scuffing up, which is what you likely would do with a $10,000 or $15,000+ watch.
Meistersinger Pangea Day Date
This watch is more out of the ordinary as compared to the other watches we’ve explored. In fact, it’s one of the few watches that uses just one hand to tell time. On its back is a sapphire glass that lets you see into the automatic movement of the watch, thereby keeping the watch understated but extremely fascinating.
Using original methods of telling time, the Meistersinger Pangea Day Date utilizes 12-hour dials divided by 144 markers, with each marker representing 5 minutes. What’s more, the combination of the 15, 30, and 45-minute markers and the prominent needle pointer make time tracking so much easier.
Rolex Submariner
It’s hard to not include such a classic piece as the Rolex Submariner. After all, it was Sean Connery’s iconic Bond watch. Constructed of ultra-strong space grade 904L stainless steel case hermetically sealed for impregnability, the Submariner boasts an amazing 1000-meter depth rating. This is truly an amazing timepiece that makes just the right statement when paired with a perfectly tailored tuxedo.
The bold metal band and black dial on the Submariner add to its classy look. Because of its simple and unchanged desigs, this watch is one of the few “dive” watches that you can wear to a formal function.
Patek Philippe Calatrava
This watch is the benchmark for what a dress watch for the modern man should be. Powered by an automatic winding movement, it features a simple face with hours, minutes, seconds, and the date. There are no numbers on the watch, with simple bars acting as placeholders for each hour. A clean black alligator leather strap finishes off its professional look.
Flip the watch over and the expedition back gives you a glimpse into its inner workings. With an estimated price of around $20,000 and upwards, this watch is highly understated and gives you everything you would want from a dress watch.
This is a great gift watch which offers ample space for engravings. Its exquisite simple design makes for a great heirloom as well as a perfect timeless accessory.
Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars
For more than 140 years, Audemar Piguet has been mastering the conception, construction and production of watch complications. Made in Le Brassus, Switzerland, each of its watches is a masterpiece in and of itself.
The Jules Audemars is an exceptional piece that portrays the brand’s elegant style and pursuit of perfection. With a simple watch face powered by an automatic winding movement, this watch is the perfect watch for business professionals looking to upgrade their wardrobe.
This watch can be worn daily or saved for important meetings or events. Such a classic watch can be easily dressed-up or dressed-down depending on the occasion. The stunning simple beauty of this watch speaks for itself without taking away from your overall outfit.
We hope you enjoyed this article. For another fruitful watch experience, check out 5 Best Skeleton Watches from Hublot.
