Looking for a understated dress watch

Might also want to check out the Junghans Max Bill

Excellent choice. Fredrique Constant makes outstanding luxury Timepieces with great looks and top notch build quality. I own two, and both have been nothing short of stellar.

Also give the Hamilton Jazzmaster line a look.

Oh yeah I forgot about that one, will look into that! Thanks

I like the Vario Empire range (they do have a bracelet option as an add on). At 38mm it might be on the small side for you.

Tissot Gentleman, around a grand. Really versatile piece, though a bit less dressy than the FC.

You're welcome.

Presage

The Seiko Presage Cocktail Time would definitely work for you, especially with a better bracelet. If you want Swiss, the Tissot Gentleman might work very nicely.

I would also recommend the Hamilton brand. Their movements are considered inhouse. And they are entry level luxury. You can find something on jomashop for that price in automatic. You could get a murph or jazzmaster as mentioned.

Everybody shits on them for the movement but the build quality, finish, bracelet and aesthetic of the new King Seiko is unparalleled for the price. If you're ok with a mid tier movement go for it.

I think these are a great value for the price point.

That is a nice watch and Frédérique Constant is a solid brand. Tissot Gentleman is an excellent value watch that is very versatile. Works great as a dress watch and for everyday wear. There is also a good choice of colour options (ice blue, dark blue, green, silver, black etc.) For a bit more than the Tissot, there is the Seiko Sharp edged series. Beautiful dials and a very nice angular case. A variety of nice colours too. I own a sharp edge limited edition with purple dial and enjoy the beauty of the piece, however the movement is not as accurate as my Tissot.

The Gentleman is such a standout for me because that line has a very high quality powermatic 80 movement with silicon balance spring and no plastic escapement. My blue Gentleman is such a great daily watch and I might even get the green dial version just to alternate between the two on my non-diver days.

If you are comfortable making a larger jump in price, Longines would be my recommended brand - beautiful dress watches in the master collection. Quality movements too (heavily modified ETA 2982 and other custom movements that are exclusive to Longines due to swatch group ownership), with most of their recent models having silicon balance springs.

It’s a handsome watch, and the FC watches I’ve handled felt solid.

Looks solid. Never owned a FC, but the few I have seen at retailers look very nice in person.