Dress Watch Till I Die

Go back to the 1950's / 1960's and a lot of the pieces today we would call dress watches would've just been called "watches".

Take another Longines - the Silver Arrow.  Today, considered a dress(y) watch.  Back in the 50's marketed as a watch for sporty, dynamic young men.
 

Perfection. 

I do need to try this one on! However I think the lugs are going to be a little on the long side if it’s anything like the Heritage Military. The Silver Arrow font and indices do look amazing though…!

I've got the Silver Arrow, and it does wear pretty large for a 38.5mm.  It might look a bit ungainly if you've got smaller wrists.

And the strap is a curiously unpleasant shade of brown!

Thanks for the heads up - I’d still want to see it in person! Little trip to the shops may in order….

Vintage dress watches are probably my favourite style, next to pilot/military/field watches.

For your reference, I've got a 180mm wrist, about 60mm wide.
This is on a black Hirsh Toronto strap, which I feel suits the watch so much better.

(BTW, I'm a truly terrible photographer)

@MrBloke Oooooh that Tissot….!

Love a good dress watch! Most of my collection is dress watches including Omega and Gruen but my favorite being a Vulcain Cricket!

@English_archer that looks really good on you! Congratulations!

Modern cricket or vintage?

I have my fair share of vintage dress watches, like this Ball, for example.

And this Gruen.

@santiago nice! Thanks for sharing! What’s the complication on the Ball?

Thanks! The window on the Ball is a power reserve indicator. The movement has a 40-hour power reserve. 

By the way, I love that Longines of yours. Absolute cracker of a watch!

You don’t see many power reserve indicators like that! I like it.

Thanks - it was a toss up between that and the black dial (would’ve won either way)!

Two of my favorites - 1969 Patek Calatrava and 1990 Vacheron Tiger Eye - 18k Gold Dress Watch style with 18k Gold bracelets - yes I'm Sicilian 😀

@ChronoGuy amazing pieces👏👏

Need more stuff like this nowadays

Both dials and integrated bracelets look sick 🙌🤯💪! 

Although, if I had to chose, the one for me would be the tiger eye VC dial vs the Clous de Paris PP. 

Lucky for you you don't have to chose 😂👍🤜🤛.

They have a black dial variant of the heritage. Absolutely killer! Even that creme dial Longines!

I was having a look at the Longines black sector dial just before Christmas.  What a stunning watch!  Very tempting.

i dislike the term "dress watches" because it simply make the watch sound serious and boring. i prefer calling them "classics" - and classics are always versatile to match almost any occasion. personally i am not keen on leather straps so I always switch mine off for a metal or rubber. but when the occasion calls for it and i really need to be "dressy", leather straps can really make the man. 

btw, the longines conquest is definitely the icon of Longines brand. love it.

do you wear ray bans? hahaha! i'm loving the vintage gold bracelets!

@papakyoto Yeah, it’s a bit of a defunct term nowadays (it may come back into fashion - who knows?). I’ve never worn a dress with mine (ok ok, maybe the odd weekend 😉😂). But then again I’ve never used my tool watches to bang a nail into the wall either…!

Watches, straps and bracelet: it all depends on what I’m doing, where I’m going and what I’m wearing that ultimately decides on each particular combination. I do understand that I’m incredibly privileged and fortunate to be in that situation too.

Obviously, I’m a fan of these Conquest models too including the LE ones (without the date) and the originals which they are very closely based on.  It takes a brave company to release a 35mm Classic/Dress watch in today’s market

I actually do...

Gorgeous dial! I had seriously considered pulling the trigger on the Longines Heritage Conquest in the past and this photo and strap choice is seriously making me think about it all over again!

Date version or no date version? Or vintage version?

I'd go with the date version, I find the complication too handy to say no to. I would love to get my hands on a no date vintage version but my digging skills are unfortunately quite limited. Who knows, maybe one day I'll come across it.

I still prefer dressier timepieces. They have more interesting complications, detailing and features that you don't find in sports watch.

I’m with you (it’s all dependant on taste and lifestyle though). I prefer a dressier styled watch, personally. Liking the Reverso btw - a sports watch turned dress watch!