Novel vs. Classic Watches

Classic Or Cutting-Edge: Which Watch Should You Strap On Your Wrist?

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Elizabethan ruff collars, tail fins on cars, and bell-bottomed jeans all have one thing in common: They look ridiculous in hindsight, but they seemed like a good idea at the time.

It can be hard to tell what's going to age well and what isn't, and that's true in the world of watchmaking and watch design as well, where — thanks to the incredible boom of renewed interest in watches as both collectibles and serious fashion accessories for men — there's huge pressure on watch brands to come up with something new and attention-getting every year, while at the same time continuing to bang the drum for tradition.

It's not an easy task to sort out the next classic from the next short-lived fad. Take the late and largely unlamented boom in oversized watches. For a few years, it looked as if there was no such thing as a watch that was too big — sure, there have always been watches that are larger than the rest, for historical reasons or because the application demanded it (Panerai is a great example of a watch that became popular because of shifting preferences in size, but the fact is, the Radiomir has been a big watch since 1936). Then the financial crisis hit, and a lot of what had looked brash and full of masculine confidence suddenly just looked at best silly, and at worst crass.

For the last few years, there's been something of a backlash going on against the maximalist watchmaking of the early 2000s, and things have been complicated by the emergence of China as the No. 1 market for luxury watches (come on, guys, let's get out there and make the U.S. No. 1 again). The generally conservative tastes of Chinese consumers dovetailed nicely with the move back towards more traditionally styled and sized men's watches, and the result is that we're now up to our chins in very good-looking but also somewhat conventionally designed timepieces (and you're going to pay around 60% more than you would have 10 years ago, but that's another story).

So what's a watch guy to do? Let's break it down a little. The first part of the whole picture is the style side of the question (you might think that's the only side of the question, but stay with me). The truth is, classics are classics for a reason — they're generally versatile (a Rolex Submariner goes with almost anything, although James Bond notwithstanding, old-school sticklers for proper dress are still going to call you on wearing one with a tux). They're often representative of a certain moment in time, or a certain era of adventure — such as the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, for example. They can be best-of-class examples of certain eras in design or the decorative arts, like the Cartier Tank or the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, which put the Art Deco period of modern design on your wrist. Or they can be so clean and classic that they'll simply never go out of style — one look at simple, round dress watches from blue-chip brands like Vacheron, Patek, Audemars, Piaget, Breguet, Lange & Söhne and more affordable firms like Baume & Mercier will give you a huge range of options.

The downside to going classic is that you're working in a very narrow design range, which is a nice way of saying that if you're not careful you can end up with something you're going to find boring — and it can be hard to tell, especially for a newcomer to good watches, if you're looking at an enduring classic or just at something no one could be bothered to make interesting.