Watch and wardrobe fundamentals
A sporty, casual NATO strap with my linen safari jacket and khaki trousers. Photo by Casa di Sartoria.
I recently figured out that I’ve been thinking about watches the wrong way. Or at least, thinking about them differently than most men. For me, a watch is a part of my wardrobe, an extension of my suits and jackets and ties that blends harmoniously with different looks and accessories. But for a lot of guys, I’ve learned, watches are not part of their wardrobe, they’re not even thought of as jewellery. Watches are instead small feats of technical wizardry that they happen to wear on their wrists. Mechanical instruments or utilitarian equipment, like cars. And this means that my concerns about colour, size, design and how that relates to what I’m are wearing aren’t an issue.
This really came home at a recent RedBar event. These secretive gatherings bring together watch lovers in cities around the world. People share their collections of rare, fine and remarkable watches as a sort of group show and tell. Everyone is passionate, gracious and generous, allowing anyone to hold, appreciate and photograph their watches. But I didn’t find a single guy who thought of his watch as part of his wardrobe. And that wasn’t necessarily reflected in their dress: there was a full range from casual to suits. But their watches were either in stark contrast to the rest of what they were wearing or not related in any way.
Watch writer Michael Vinovich with review watches from his Instagram.
But for me, my watches will continue to be a part of my wardrobe. And so, for the minority who think like I do, I sat down with watch journalist Michael Vinovich to try and wrap my head around some of the basics of combining different watch styles with your wardrobe. As it happens, Michael also thinks of his watches as part of his wardrobe, though he has far more horological knowledge than I do. So I wanted to know the basics, if there are any, of which watch styles go best with which wardrobe essentials.
I was happy to find out that at heart, watches follow the same guidelines as classic style, guidelines I know well: the simpler and smaller the watch, the more formal; the larger and complicated the watch, the more casual. For instance, Michael told me, the most formal of watches is the calatrava, thin watches with minimally designed dials (no numbers, maybe a seconds sub-dial), traditionally at or below 36mm in width. With a thin, shiny black strap in crocodile or alligator, this is the kind of watch you’d wear with a dark suit or even a tuxedo. While this is not technically correct—you really shouldn’t wear any watch with a dinner suit—it is the 21st century, after all.
Bond’s famous Submariner in “Goldfinger”
At the other end of the spectrum are sport watches, like divers and pilot watches. With a steel bracelet, nylon or thick leather, these were traditionally worn while working, and so are at heart casual. To me “tool” watches, as these are also known, can look too rugged to be worn with fine tailoring, like running shoes with a suit. But, as Michael told me, that ship sailed over fifty years ago when Sean Connery pulled back the cuff of his dinner suit in Goldfinger to reveal a Rolex Submariner (on a poorly sized nylon strap to boot!). This scene was transgressive at the time but most men reacted not with shock but admiration. “I want to be as cool as Bond,” they thought, and the idea of a crossover watch was born. A decade later, Michael says, “this was cemented when Audemar Piguet released the Royal Oak.” It was the first diver’s watch from a high end company that was clearly more about the bling than the plunge and its price was set accordingly.
The Royal Oak watch from Audemars Piguet
And this is why you will see men wearing watches whose functions have become symbolic, even aspirational. But this is what happens with fashion: items drift from their original purpose over time. Steel bracelets can now go from casual to dressy. Nylon NATO straps are no longer just for the military or even sport but are worn with tailored clothes. After all, the sport and military functions of the male wardrobe have also long been forgotten. And so the same is happening to watches – I’m wearing a diving watch with a jacket and tie as I write this and it doesn’t look out of place. I will admit, however, that it’s the Longines Legend Diver which, thanks to its design, is more subtle and elegant than a tricked out diver.
And that is because, as Michael confirmed for me, despite the fact that boundaries have blurred—in watches and in wardrobes—some of our associations have lingered. And I like to keep those in mind when putting an outfit together. I can wear a more elegant watch with formal clothes or a sport watch with a casual outfit and everything will look harmonious. But if I choose to bend the rules, at least I know what those rules are and can adapt them with skill and intent.
All that said, I still wouldn’t wear a diving watch with a tuxedo, even if I was a super spy.
1 Comment
John W. Matney
October 30, 2021 at 10:22 am
I have a Wittnauer tank watch that I inherited from my Father. I have taken it to several watch repairmen and alas, all have told me that they cannot repair it. Still, I keep it in a safe place to look at once in awhile.