By Mashum Mollah
From a utility standpoint, a watch is almost pointless, especially when you consider there’re clocks on every digital device, smart watches, and smartphones. However, men with style understand that the wristwatch is for much more than its original purpose – telling time. Just like your attention-seeking socks, your wristwatch highlights your character.
Your watch communicates wealth, taste and even, in some cases, your humor. Unfortunately, men don’t have as many jewelry options as women when it comes to accessorizing a basic outfit. Men can only get away with rings, bracelets, necklaces, and watches – that is it!
Not only does the wristwatch serve a purpose, but it is also a testament of time in terms of style. For the man looking for a timeless, classic look, below are four types of watch styles he should add to his collection. In addition, as you shop for a watch, keep the characteristics below in mind.
A Dress Watch:
A dress watch’s main purpose is to complement your formal wear or business suit. Such watches are not even designed to offer accurate timekeeping since they usually don’t have second hands. What these watches lack in features, they more than make up for in terms of simplicity.
This watch type should be properly proportioned on your wrist, or it will draw attention. The watch should also be thin enough to slip in and out of your dress shirt cuff. As a rule of thumb, match metals and leather of the watch to those of shoes and belts.
The most embellishment dress watches have are a second hand and date window. The presentation features unornamented or a subtly patterned dial and bezel, with metallic, black, or white faces. If it has Arabic numerals, they should be small.
A Field Watch:
Warfare at the beginning of the 20th century required that soldiers in the field keep accurate timing due to artillery bombing. This was only possible with the help of wristwatches the soldiers had. Considering the environment, these watches had, and are, rugged, featuring a stainless steel case – modern versions have titanium construction or PVD coatings.
Second, this watch should be readable in the dark or low-light conditions, which is why they have a high-contrast black dial and white numbering. Field watches also feature a leather or canvas straps that are easy to swap out in case of damage. Great examples of modern field watches with history, like Panerai.
A Dive Watch:
One of the most versatile men’s watch types in the world are the dive watches. Obviously, accurate timing is critical once you are a hundred feet (or more) underwater with a finite air supply. This is why divers craved for superior timepieces.
As Ian Fleming was writing the James Bond novel series in the 50s, modern scuba was born. Apart from keeping accurate time, the dive watch is water resistant. Most modern dive watches offer you resistance to at least 100 meters, but many also bring you better resistance.
In addition, the band and case material ought to be corrosion-resistant; therefore, you will find rubber, titanium, silicon, and stainless steel often used. Bands on these watches are usually longer to ensure that they fit around bulky dive equipment.
The preferred watch crystal material is hardened mineral glass, but sapphire is the best material. While glass is more prone to scratching compared to sapphire, it also offers more resistance to breakage.
A Racing Watch:
Like everything else to do with racing, these types of watches do not want to be bound by uniformity and are flashier than other watch types. These watches are available in an assortment of exotic style and color options, which makes them perfect for casual dressing. Two features, a tachymeter, and chronograph define a good race watch.
The chronograph is a separate sub-dial, or three, and has pushers at the 2 and 4 o’clock for start, stop and reset the second hand. The tachymeter helps in making distance and time calculations. Through measuring the seconds it takes to cover a certain distance, the outer markings show speed in an hour.
No matter the measuring unit used, a tachymeter still reads the speed in units per hour. The tool is especially important for a racer looking to calculate laps he or she covers in an hour around the track.
In The End…
If you are just starting to build a watch collection, find a type that you cannot do without and purchase it first. If you often suit up and climb the corporate ladder, you can never go wrong with a black leather dress watch that will serve you for five days each week. If you are often in jeans or work out in the field, a quality field watch is a first good investment – then tackle the other types in their order of importance to you.
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