Heading into the biggest celebration week of the year, Tracey Llewellyn picks out some top party wristwear that will see you through to 2023 and beyond.
Once upon a time, the description of a dress watch was set in stone: three hands from the centre (at a push, a seconds sub-dial or date may be allowed), muted colors, gold or steel case and a leather strap.
Similarly for a cocktail watch: small, discreet and smothered in diamonds. But all that has changed and today, the right watch is an essential accessory for the smartest — or flashiest — party outfit.
With the selection here, we have tried to maintain a touch of tradition, avoiding the behemoth kitchen sink complications that belong in a safe deposit box and the sports-first styles that should stay on the race track or out in the ocean.
However, rules are made to be broken — or at least tweaked — so a date indication, a moonphase, an unobtrusive calendar function, and even a tasteful chronograph have all managed to sneak in.
As for why anyone needs a dedicated dress watch in the 21st century, the Telegraph’s Men’s Style Editor Stephen Doig says: “The delicious thing about a dress watch is just how wonderfully unnecessary it is, which of course makes it all the more special. Men don’t have the dress-up joy of jewelry, so a dress watch lends that sense of occasion and sets the mood. There’s nothing more refined when you’re reaching a cocktail to your lips than the glimpse of, for example, a Cartier Tank. Men don’t tend to get the chance to put on the ritz that often, but a dress watch is an elegant, discreet way to do it.”
And speaking for the cocktail set, freelance luxury editor specialising in watches and jewellery, Kim Parker, agrees, saying: “Cocktail watches, or at least bejeweled watches made to party in, are a way of injecting instant glamour to your look. Cocktail attire, as opposed to formal dress, evolved as a specific way to have fun and show off our personalities and social status. It is good-time garb designed to dazzle and delight both ourselves and onlookers… and for that a delicate, gem-set watch, which would may be impractical in any other setting, is the perfect accompaniment.”
So on that note, it’s time to party!
Pure and Simple
A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1, 41mm white gold, alange-soehne.com, £41,700.
Chaumet Dandy, 38mm steel, chaumet.com, £5,240.
Fears Brunswick Champagne, 38mm steel, fearswatches.com, £3,350.
Longines Master Collection 190th Anniversary, 40mm pink gold, longines.com, £10,190.
MeisterSinger Lunascope, 40mm steel, meistersinger.com, £3,790.
Montblanc Tradition Automatic Date, 40mm steel and gold, montblanc.com, £3,840.
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony, 36.5mm white gold, vacheron-constantin.com, £27,000.
Zenith Elite Calssic, 40.5mm steel case, zenith.com, £5,000.
Golden Hour
Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon Chronograph, 41mm ceramic and pink gold, audemarspiguet.com, price on application.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skelton 8 Days, 40mm satin-polished rose gold, bulgari.com, £31,700.
Cartier Tank Louis Small, 29.5 x 22mm, rose gold and diamond, cartier.com, £35,900.
Citizen Series-8 Mechanical, 40mm steel, citizenwatch-global.com, £695.
Czapek Quai Des Bergues No.33bis, 42.5mm red gold, czapek.com, £36,800.
Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon ‘A Secret’ Eternity Edition, 43mm pink gold, girard-perregaux.com, £346,000.
Piaget Polo Date, 42mm rose gold, piaget.com, £25,300.
Reservoir Longbridge Club, 42mm rose gold, reservoir-watch.com, £16,500.
Looks Complicated
Bucherer BLUE H.Moser & Cie Streamliner, 40mm steel and sapphire, bucherer.com, price on application.
Gerald Charles Maestro 8.0 Squelette Gem-Set, 39 x 41mm steel and sapphire, geraldcharles.com, price on application.
Junghans Meister Chronoscope, 40.7mm rose-gold PVD, junghans.de, £2,140.
Muhle Glashutte Teutonia IV Chronograph, 39mm steel, muehle-glashuette.de, £3,350.
Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Gravity, 43mm stainless steel, mauricelacroix.com, £9,950.
Patek Philippe Calatrava Annual Calendar Travel Time, 41mm white gold, patek.com, £61,910.
Pierre DeRoche Grandcliff Annual Calendar, 41mm steel, pierrederoche.com, £9,400.
Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Dual Time, 44mm steel, ulysse-nardin.com, £9,640.
The Glam Squad
Accurist Jewellery Collection Watch ref. 78005, 28mm steel, accurist.com, £149.
Bulova Phantom (96L29), 31mm steel, bulova.com, £279.
Dior Grand Bal Plumes Précieuses Pastel, 36mm steel, gems and feathers, dior.com, £31,000.
Herbelin Antarès Malachite with interchangeable strap, 27 x 19mm steel, herbelin, £629.
Hermès Kelly watch, hermes.com, rose gold and diamonds, £32,250.
Raymond Weil Noemia, 24mm steel, exclusive to Ernest Jones, ernestjones.co.uk, £1,095.
TAG Heuer Carrera Date, 29mm steel, gold and diamonds, tagheuer.com, £44,600.
Ted Baker Lilabel, 36mm rose-gold-tone steel, tedbaker.com, £170.
I was shocked not to see a good old Datejust or perhaps a Cellini in this roundup. Did Rolex not meet the grade for dress watches or did the author not get offered a stipend for mentioning the name?