pure dress watches, a dying breed?
Well, perhaps not in the watch collecting genre as a whole, but definitely a diminishing species within my collection. The simple reason for the declining numbers of dress timepieces spotted in the wild on my wrist, is the lack of flexibility that a dress watch brings. Dressed down, a dress watch looks out of place, like the rest of your wardrobe got the memo, except your timepiece. Not to say that dress watches are one trick ponies, but they simply do not have the versatility of a sport watch.
Many dress watches tend to go undercover, disguised as sport watches, utilizing synthetic strap materials like nylon, kevlar, and sailcloth, to give the timepiece a sportier, versatile look. Watches that are able to go from the board room, to the gym, and then a night out on the town, are most sought after by collectors, as they more easily assimilate and function within the busy, hectic, lifestyles that each of us has. Size is a factor for me as well, as many dress watches have case diameters south of 40 mm, which given the size of my hands, would look absolutely dainty on my wrist.
A dress timepiece in my collection, will mostly be relegated to the watch storage box, until duty calls, at which time the watch is pressed into action, fulfilling its temporary, guest starring role within my watch rotation,