Best Dress Watches For Men
                     Best Dress Watche
s For Men
h t t p s : / / w w w . c a p t a i n t h e w a t c h . i s /
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Small Seconds
You’re most likely familiar with the story of 
the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso – a sports 
watch turned quintessential dress watch. 
Despite its numerous red carpet 
appearances and long-time Mad Men tenure, 
I’ve always felt that a lot of its current 
offerings suffer from excessive thickness 
and found it best-suited for smart casual 
scenarios. This, however, has been rectified, 
as our editor-at-large Luke Benedictus found 
out when checking out the Reverso Tribute 
Small Seconds, now with re-profiled lugs and 
a thickness of just 7.56mm, making a world 
of difference on-wrist. 
Cartier Tank Louis Cartier
The Cartier Tank, regardless of 
iteration, is just about everything you 
need in a luxury dress watch, though 
I’d most likely opt for the Tank Louis 
Cartier for its stark, minimalist dial 
and gold case and accents. The fun 
thing with Cartier’s most recognisable 
Tank, however, is that you don’t have 
to fork out five figures for the yellow 
gold version, as the steel and black 
dial Tank Musts are even more 
stealthy and affordable. The 6.6mm 
thin case measures 25.5mm across 
and 33.7mm lug-to-lug, and is just 
about the ideal size for a timeless 
dress watch
Breguet Classique 5157 Extra-Plat
While by no means overtly designed, Breguet’s 
Classique 5157 is the perfect example of how a 
simple watch can feature elaborate finishing without 
being flashy. Circled by brushed rings engraved with 
the brand’s secret signature, the silvered dial blank is 
hand-engraved with an intricate guilloché pattern, 
the only highlight coming from the flash of blue of 
the heat-blued steel Breguet handset. The 38mm size 
is perfectly suited for a modern dress watch, though 
it wears very flat thanks to its 5.45mm tall case and 
welded lugs that offer little curvature. This fantastic 
slimness is thanks to the 502.3 calibre, a full-rotor 
automatic that, despite its construction, somehow 
measures in at an astounding 2.4mm in height. 
Naturally, the movement is very finely decorated too, 
though none of this comes particularly cheap. 
Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119G
No dress watch list would be complete without a 
Patek Philippe Calatrava, the best current example 
of which has to be the 6119 Clous de Paris variant, 
as featured in an edition of our Versus column. The 
dial is an exercise in proportional perfection, made 
all the better with razor-sharp dauphine hands and 
arrow indices. The hobnail bezel surround adds a bit 
of pizzazz without endangering any crossing the 
“dressy everyday” watch line. Just as pretty as the 
dial, the manually wound cal. 30-255 PS sports fine 
anglage of the bridges and wheel spokes, while the 
contrasting Geneva stripes are interrupted only by 
polished screw and jewel countersinks. At 39mm, 
however, it is a bit too large for my personal tastes, 
though I can easily see it as the ideal dress watch 
for those with average or larger-sized wrists. 
Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921
Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 
seemingly ticks all the boxes for the most traditional 
of dress watches, not to mention the best driving 
watches. It’s time-only, with a small(ish) precious 
metal case, slim at 7.41mm and even manually 
wound. Its design, however, is unexpected, to say 
the least. Initially released exclusively for the 
American market during the Roaring Twenties, the 
Historiques American would’ve featured on hands 
fiercely gripping oversized wooden steering wheels 
of Duesenberg Model Js and Bentley 3-Litres… And 
then the Great Depression hit. This 36.5mm modern 
re-release remains faithful to the slanted dial of the 
original, making sure to attract at least some puzzled 
looks peeking out underneath a cuffl ink-fastened 
shirt sleeve. 
Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Petite Seconde Platinum Grey
Stealth wealth has been all the rage in the 
luxury trend segment over the last few years, 
and few companies do it as well as Parmigiani 
Fleurier. In fact, it’s one of the core pillars of 
the brand, though Guido Terreni dubs it “private 
luxury”. The new Toric Petite Seconde is the 
epitome of that idea. On the surface, it’s a 
white metal watch with a grey dial. Not a hint of 
gold nor a speck of diamond in sight. On closer 
inspection, however, you’ll realise the case is 
actually 950 platinum, with a specially hand-
grained dial finished to absolute perfection. To 
top it all off, the PF780 movement that powers 
it is crafted from solid gold, a true rarity in 
watchmaking. 
Baltic MR01 Salmon
Starting off  at the affordable end of the spectrum, 
Baltic’s micro-rotor-equipped MR01 was designed 
after some of the greatest dress watches ever made. 
If you’re a lover of the Calatrava 96 like myself, 
you’ll find that there is much to like with the Baltic 
MR01, including the Breguet numerals, feuille hands 
and stepped case design. Measuring 36mm in 
diameter and just under 10mm including the 2mm 
tall domed crystal, the MR01 has the Hangzhou 
CAL5000 to thank for its slimness. Admittedly, it’s 
far from the haute horlogerie stuff  you’ll find in the 
back of a Calatrava, but costing nearly 50 times less, 
I don’t have much to complain about. My pick of the 
bunch is the on-trend salmon dial, though both the 
grained silver and deep blue will do just as good a 
job in a dressy scenario.