With the holiday season just around the corner, we’ve started to get more and more questions about what to look for in a timepiece. Last week we talked about what to look for in a Swiss-made watch and a few weeks ago we talked about the five watches we we’re loving at that moment.
This #TimepieceTuesday we decided to slow things down a bit, and go into more detail about the differences between the five most common watch types that you’d come across in your holiday horological hunt.
1. Dress Watches:
Understated and subtle, dress watch category are specially designed to evoke the most elegance and sophistication to the wearer’s formal or semi-formal attire. Dress watches are usually lacking in extravagances like complications, jewel adornments, or overly-showy faces, and are made to with more streamlined designs. Generally dress watches are made of simply constructed 18-karat white, yellow, and rose gold, as well as silver and high-grade platinum.
Our Dress Watch Pick: Frederique Constant Slimline Automatic (Model #FC-306MR4S6)
Frederique Constant, a relative newcomer to the Swiss watch game (they were founded in 1988), has always been one of our favorite timepiece designers. The Slimline Automatic shown above is no exception. Its streamlined, no frills design is subtle enough to complement any outfit, while at the same time distinct enough to make a lasting impression.
2. Diving Watches:
Made to be worn deep in the ocean, diving watches a a popular choice in the timepiece world due to their rugged construction, water resistance, and movable bezel used to time a diver’s remaining time underwater.
And if diving isn’t so much your speed, diving watches have become popular among non-divers. This is due the watches’ bold face, easy-to-read dials, water-resistance, glowing easy-to-read hands, as well as their hearty and long-lasting construction.
Our Diver’s Watch Pick: Ulysse Nardin Marine (Model #1503-150 62)
Similar to Frederique Constant’s Slimline Automatic, the Ulysse Nardin Marine timepiece fulfills a few roles. Firstly, this watch is slim and fashionable enough to be worn on a wearer’s day on land, while its rotating bezel, large numbers, and water resistance makes it ideal for taking any nautical adventure.
-
Aviator Watches:
Similar to diving watches, aviator watches (sometimes called a pilot’s watch) were made to especially appeal to the needs and wants of the pilots of the burgeoning aviation industry at the turn of the 20th century. Originally made to be read in low-light situations, today’s aviator watches feature a selection of complications that often include tachymeters, 12 and 24-hour bezels, as well as an array of additional faces and dials.
Our Aviator Watch Pick: Zenith Pilot Type 20 Annual Calendar Watch (Model #87.2430.4054_21.C721)
This entirely Swiss-made pilot watch by Zenith is one of our faves. It features an array of information on the face including, date, day, and chronograph without appearing too cramped or crowded. Additionally, this watch displays Zenith’s trademark screw-lock oversized crown.
-
Driving Watches:
Usually of a more streamlined design than diver or pilot watches, drivers’ watches are built to last. Made popular by auto-enthusiasts, such as Steve McQueen and, salad dressing pioneer, Paul Newman, most driving watches feature tachymeters, stopwatch functions, two or three subdials, as well a multitude of buttons and colors made to resemble an automobile themselves.
Our Driving Watch Pick: TAG Heuer Carrera Watch
Inspired by classic racing legends, the Carrera line of watches by Tag Heuer features chronograph, minutes, seconds, hours subdials, and a tachymeter bezel, as well as a special anti-reflective treatment for optimal face readability.
Fashion & Smart Watches:
More simple and more stylish than a dress watch, today’s fashion watches combine modern minimalist design elements with straightforward colors, faces, and designs, to create stylish and one-of-a-kind timepieces.
Also extremely popular today, are smart watches which are made to sync with smart phones to track a wearer’s daily routine, as well as to keep track of messages, calls, emails, etc. Since their release, smart watches have become extremely fashionable, and are now nearly indistinguishable from their fashion, dress, and other watch counterparts.
Our Fashion/Smart Watch Pick: Frederique Constant Smart Watch (Model #FC-285B5B6)
Who said that a smart watch had to be boxy? Lately the Swiss timepiece masters at Frederique Constant have been making smart watches that are a combination of the fashion watches and dress watches that are already loved so well. This particular watch tracks the wearer’s daily steps, calories burned, and distance traveled, while also features notifications when the wearer receives a call, text message, or other digital update.
Show Us Yours!
What are some of your favorite watch styles?! Comment, or hit us up on our Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, and show off your favorite watch! ~~Heather