Hello, my name is Mr. Linen.
For those of you who love classic style, what do you wear as your dress watch?
When people describe a classic dress watch, the following features are often mentioned:
• Manual winding
• Two hands or a small seconds display
• Bar hour markers or Roman numerals
• Gold or platinum case
• White or silver dial
• Thin and relatively small (around 30–36mm in diameter / approx 1.18–1.42 in)
• Leather strap (often crocodile)
However, in the modern era, the definition of a dress watch has expanded quite a bit. Even if a watch does not meet all of the characteristics above, it can still work perfectly well as a dress watch.
As someone who has fallen in love with classic menswear and hopes to keep learning about it, I would like to share the journey that led me to purchasing my very first dress watch.
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The Pinnacle of Dress Watches
If you ask people what the ultimate dress watch is, many would probably answer: Patek Philippe’s Calatrava.
It is the simplest model from one of the most respected watch brands in the world, and it is often said to be the archetype of the round dress watch.
Few people would disagree with this opinion. I completely agree.
There are many variations of the Calatrava, but perhaps the most iconic is the reference 96.
Even if I know the Calatrava is the ultimate dress watch, there is no way someone like me could buy one.
Even if I went into debt to buy it, I probably wouldn’t look right wearing it.
The level of the watch would simply be far above myself.
There is a saying: “If you buy something slightly beyond your current level, you will grow in order to match it.”
I agree with that idea, but the Calatrava still feels far too distant from where I am today, so I never seriously considered it.
Yellow Gold Is the Best Choice
First, I started by thinking about the material.
When it comes to precious metals for watches, the main options are yellow gold, pink gold, white gold, and platinum.
White gold and platinum often look very similar to stainless steel to an untrained eye. I tend to think they are choices made by collectors who already own several watches.
Pink gold also looks fantastic, but since this would be my first dress watch, I decided on yellow gold.
Some people say yellow gold does not suit Japanese skin tones very well, but I plan to grow into it over the coming decades, so I am happy with that decision.
Round or Square?
Next comes the shape.
If we exclude unusual shapes like oval or hexagonal cases, the main options are round or square.
I was strongly drawn to square watches.
The Cartier Tank Louis, Tank Normale, and Santos-Dumont.
And the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso.
There are many other square dress watches, but from a design perspective, these four attracted me the most.
For this search, I decided to focus only on square watches.
The Brand
Next comes the brand.
Which means the choice came down to the two I mentioned above: Cartier or Jaeger-LeCoultre.
This might be a very personal and biased opinion, but everyone seems to have brands they simply feel drawn to.
Of course, it might sound shallow to say you have a favorite brand when you do not even own a single dress watch yet.
But for some reason, these two brands have always stood out to me.
Modern or Vintage?
The next question was whether to choose a modern watch or a vintage one.
As I mentioned in another article, I am firmly on the vintage side.
Vintage watches tend to have smaller size, beautiful design, better atmosphere (well aged), and often a lower price.
For me, vintage was really the only option.
Even though modern watches have been getting smaller again recently, the recent smallest Cartier squares and the Reverso still feel too large and visually strong for my taste.
Modern watches are also far more expensive.
Dial Color
Next comes the dial color.
Yellow gold with a black dial can look very cool, but it might be a little too bold. For a classic dress watch, I still think white or silver is the most traditional choice.
The three Cartier models have always had white dials, while the Reverso exists in both white and silver.
Since I was looking for a vintage piece, I decided that either white or silver would be fine as long as the individual watch looked appealing.
Two Hands or Small Seconds?
Next are the hands.
The Cartier models all use two hands.
The Reverso sometimes has a small seconds sub-dial, though most vintage ones are also two-hand models.
(A “small seconds” means the seconds hand appears in a small sub-dial at 6 o’clock.)
I personally like the design of a small seconds display, but since most vintage pieces are two-hand models, I decided that would be fine.
Bar Hour Markers or Roman Numerals?
Finally, how are the twelve hours represented on the dial?
All Cartier models use Roman numerals, so there is no real choice there.
Most Reverso models do not use Roman numerals.
About 99% use either bar hour markers or Arabic numerals.
Arabic numerals can make a watch feel slightly less formal and more casual.
But that does not make me like the Reverso any less.
Somehow, the Reverso is one of those dress watches where Arabic numerals are perfectly acceptable.
In the end, I decided not to be too strict about the hour markers.
I Chose the Reverso
After considering all these factors, I chose the Reverso.
To be honest, I pretended to narrow it down through logical reasoning, but I had actually decided on the Reverso from the beginning.
People often choose what they love based on intuition. Not everything can be explained logically.
The watch I bought is a vintage Reverso from the 1980s.
I think the dial design is quite unusual.
I purchased it from someone who had originally bought it from a vintage watch dealer in the United States.
According to that dealer, this model was produced in the 1980s as a revival of a design from the 1930s.
Interestingly, Eguchi Watch Store in Tokyo is currently selling an authentic 1930s Reverso.
The aura of that piece is absolutely incredible.
I love the Reverso for many reasons—the reversible case mechanism and the fascinating story behind its creation—but above all, I love the shape.
Its compact size sits perfectly on the wrist, and when it peeks out from under the cuff of a suit jacket, it looks incredibly elegant.
Another great point is that it works not only with suits but also with casual outfits.
For the strap, crocodile would have been a classic choice, but for now I chose a lizard strap.
I might change the strap someday if I feel like it.
This is my first dress watch, and I plan to treasure it for the rest of my life. Perhaps one day, after I am gone, I will pass it down to a son.
I will always love the Reverso, but one day I would also like to own one of the three Cartier models mentioned earlier.
At the moment, the Tank Normale is the one I want the most.
Prices have increased dramatically in recent years, and even vintage examples now cost close to ¥2,000,000 (around $13,500–$14,000 USD).
Realistically, I may never be able to buy one—but I will continue living with that aspiration.
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