In choosing a watch to wear, we are all sending a subtle message about our personality. If you meet an Italian man on the street, the first thing he will look at, according to popular myth, is your shoes. The second thing will be your watch.
Most of us don’t inspect ourselves each morning preparing for chance meetings with Italians, but in choosing a watch to wear, we are all sending a subtle message about our personality.
This is hardly news to women who are used to these kinds of decisions, but for men, who rarely thing about such things, it’s all the more telling because it’s one of the few expressions we’re allowed.
Before you clap your hand over your wrist, it pays to know that most Americans (much to the dismay of European watch manufacturers) think of watches as something with which to read the time. This widely held misconception actually works in your favor. Those who haven’t realized the immense communicative and stylistic potential of a wristwatch are more than likely walking around with one of those plastic drugstore jobs, giving you all the more satisfaction when you wear something worthwhile.
A cynic might point out that the most important reason people buy expensive watches is to impress others. As much as watchmakers would like to protest that their creations are intensely personal items, there is obviously some of this at work. The best Swiss watches are naturally impressive items, all the more so if they are large and made of precious metal. It would be impossible to describe this kind of watch without mentioning Rolex, first because they are so recognizable and, secondly, because they have become so associated with success. Many are the executives and entrepreneurs who have celebrated their “arrival” with one of these watches. Large gold watches are certainly bold, but how others perceive them all depends on how they are worn. One need not leer like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross, boasting that his gold watch “costs more than your car.” The practice of wearing the watch loosely, so that it more readily peeks outside your shirt cuff is another not-so-subtle display tactic that probably says more about the person that the watch itself.
Making a Statement
Display is something watch manufacturers naturally encourage – reason, perhaps, that watches have grown to such epic dimensions in recent years. Big watches, like those made by Panerai, put the wearer at the cutting edge of a trend. Many of the largest look their best on someone with big arms, but the argument can be made that simply wearing the thing will build muscle on its own.
At the other end of the spectrum are the understated, classic timepieces, best represented by a brand like Patek Philippe. These watches, although they can be more expensive than eighteen-karat gold heavyweights, are much less ostentatious. The fine level of detailing on the case and dial is indicative of their quality of construction. Wear one of these and you’ll only get knowing looks from like-minded individuals who have sophisticated taste in watches.
It seems today as if sophistication (literally) is at the forefront of fashion in watches. Complicated watches – the mechanical ones with extra functions – have always been the apples of watch collectors’ eyes. But now everyone seems to be picking up on their flavor. Unusual dials with hands and indicators on every available surface hint at mechanical complexity, which, in turn, seems to confer an aura of “being in the know” on the wearer. Try a Roger Dubuis, or if your budget is less, perhaps a Maurice Lacroix. At the very least, you’ll have a watch that’s very interesting for you, and everyone else, to glance at.
There’s something about a watch with a dial so complicated you have to really look at it. After you focus in on the different dials, you get a feeling for all the complexity that went into it.
Sports and More
Sports watches are another category that confers and even more individual identity on the wearer. A large colorful diving watch, like an IWC Aquatimer, or the complex logarithmic bezel on a Breitling Navitimer shows your passion is either underwater or up in the skies. Are you into golfing? TAG Heuer has a golf watch that shows you care about the technical side of your game. Cars? A whole slew of car watches are dedicated to almost every make. One of the best parts about these pieces is that you can take them wherever you go. The big thing now is watches that can be both sporty and look good with a suit. With a watch that easily crosses the line from sport to elegance, like the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, or the Ebel 1911, you can have a little bit of your lifestyle at all hours.
Versatility, however, isn’t something that is always sought after by those who have contracted the more virulent strains of watch mania. Once you own more than three or four, you begin to look for excuses to wear all of them. Practitioners call this “watch wardrobing” and one can immediately see the dramatic effect of this new multidimensional style. The downside, of course, is that your spouse may balk at the financial consequences. In such situations, remember these words to live by – “it’s much easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
