10 Best Dress Watches for a Formal Event – The Hollywood Reporter
No matter how cool a watch may look, nobody needs a unidirectional bezel or perpetual calendar at the Academy Awards. And while we live in a world that loves to defy traditional etiquette, there are indeed important style codes for selecting a status watch to wear amid Oscar-night madness and on any awards show red carpet.
The three most important considerations are: Any timepiece worn for a formal event should be thin, so it fits neatly beneath a shirt cuff and jacket. It should feature elegant styling that feels well suited to pairing with a tuxedo. And it should highlight only the time, ideally on a dial that allows the wearer to discern the hour with a discreet check of his wrist.
Watches that fit these criteria are generally two- and three-hand watches (two-hand watches showcase only hours and minutes, while three-hand watches include the seconds) and are sometimes called time-only designs. In recent years, these styles have taken a backseat to models offering an abundance of complications, but they’re still plentiful among high-end brands that understand the role they play in the watch wardrobe of any well-dressed man.
Here’s a roundup of the latest, from ultra-classic pieces to more forward-thinking dials, with a spotlight on a few A-list celebrities who excel at awards-season style.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo S
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand Bulgari‘s 40mm Octo Finissimo S highlights monochromatic styling by combining a brushed silvered dial with a steel case and bracelet. $12,000, at Bulgari, Beverly Hills and New York, and online on May 1 at bulgari.com
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic
Image Credit: GettyImages-1127207529 At just 5.30mm thick, the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic Watch ranks among the world’s thinnest automatic timepieces. The 41mm white-gold case is embellished with 90 brilliant-cut diamonds (Michael B. Jordan has worn the brand); $40,700, at Piaget, Costa Mesa and piaget.com.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand Luminescent indices and hands adorn a champagne-hued silver dial on the Oyster Perpetual 41, housed in a 41mm case and bracelet in Oystersteel; $5,900, at Gearys, Beverly Hills, gearys.com, and Tourneau, New York, tourneau.com.
Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Off-Centered Black Jade
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand Red gold is paired with Australian black jade on the Grande Seconde Off-Centered Black Jade, a 43mm self-winding watch limited to 88 pieces; $25,900, at Jaquet Droz, New York, and Feldmar Watch Company, Los Angeles, and jaquet-droz.com.
H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept
Image Credit: H. Moser & Cie In a 40mm steel case, a fumé dial in H. Moser’s Funky Blue is offset by a purple second hand on the Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept; $24,200, at Cellini Jewelers, New York, cellinijewelers.com, and Westime, Rodeo Drive, westime.com.
Omega DeVille Tresor Orbis Edition
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand; Steve Granitz/WireImage The DeVille Tresor Orbis Edition honors Omega’s partnership the New York-based Orbis International’s Flying Eye Hospital. The master chronometer highlights the Orbis teddy bear on a blue dial in a steel case with diamond bezel (Sacha Baron Cohen wore an Omega watch at the Golden Globes); $11,800, at Omega, New York and Los Angeles, omegawatches.com.
Tiffany & Co. Tiffany 1837 Makers Square Watch
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Applied gray numerals are offset by a rose-gold soleil dial on the Tiffany 1837 Makers 27mm Square Watch, limited to 150 pieces (Trevor Noah wore the brand at the Grammy Awards); $17,000, at Tiffany & Co., New York and Beverly Hills, tiffany.com.
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand Limited to 50 pieces, the 40mm Saxonia Thin’s solid silver dial is coated in copper-flecked black aventurine glass. $25,800; at A. Lange & Söhne, Costa Mesa and New York, alange-soehne.com.
Grand Seiko’s Seiko 140th Anniversary Limited Edition
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand The 38mm SBGW260 in 18k gold celebrates the 140th anniversary of the founding of Seiko and features a slim-profile case design based on the first Grand Seiko from 1960. It’s powered by the hand-wound Caliber 9S64 giving it a 72 hour power reserve and an accuracy rate of plus-5 to minus-3 seconds per day. In a limited edition of 350 pieces. $29,000 at Grand Seiko Beverly Hills, grand-seiko.com, and Westime Beverly Hills, westime.com.
Glashütte Original Alfred Hellwig Tourbillon 1920
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brand Glashütte Original’s Alfred Hellwig Tourbillon 1920 is a tribute to late German professor Alfred Hellwig who invented the flying tourbillon in 1920. Limited to 25 pieces, the 40mm rose-gold manually wound watch features a silver-plated solid gold dial, Louisiana alligator brown leather strap and a tourbillon (a spinning movement that gives a watch accuracy by counteracting the force of gravity), which is visible through the case back. $121,800, at Westime Beverly Hills, westime.com, and glashuette-original.com.
