Editors’ Picks: Our Favorite Dress Watches Of 2024

With the holidays just around the corner and the year having nearly come to an end, for watch enthusiasts, that means it’s time to look back on 2024 and reflect upon some of our favorite watches of the year.

So far, we’ve done our favorite budget picks, and today, we have the picks for our favorite dress watches of 2024. From Ben’s inability to make a single pick to stone dials, mini sizing, and more – the list captures how we approach the idea of a dress watch and what we would wear for a fancy event, a special dinner, or a night on the town. 

Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans Rose Gold & Berneron Mirage 34 Tiger’s Eye [Ben Clymer]

I couldn’t pick just one! I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone after this story that my heart is really in the Independents these days – guys that are about my age, that came up with me in many ways, doing really wonderful things.

I’ve been a fan of Simon since I met him the day after the GPHG in 2023, but I felt the titanium and zirconium versions of the watch were a bit too informal for what was truly such a finely finished watch. In rose gold, with a black hand-engraved dial? All that goes away, and I fell head over heels for it. As for Berneron? Same thing. The first run is just fantastic, if not slightly too tall (not thick, tall) for my wrist. The newly announced 34mm Mirage with Tigers Eye dial? Oh man, what a thing. I love to see guys like Simon and Sylvain doing incredible things the right way and putting their own stamp on watchmaking today – both in a way that is arguably unique to just them.

–Ben Clymer, Founder + President

Grand Seiko SLGW003 [Mark Kauzlarich]

Grand Seiko’s reintroduction of a manually wound high-beat movement into its lineup this year not only rounded out the brand’s lineup with a classic idea reimagined but also introduced something that’s tauntingly become a white whale of sorts for me this year: the SLGW003.

With an incredibly light and remarkably high-polished brilliant hard titanium case, “White Birch” motif dial, and the incredibly tactile wind of the 9SA4 movement, the SLGW003 might be one of the most perfect watches Grand Seiko has ever made. It captures everything that’s great about a new Grand Seiko, with a movement that’s one of the best feeling manually-wound movements in the $10,000-or-so price range.

I’ve come close to buying the watch so many times over the past year, not just at my home boutique in New York but in Japan, where the watch seemed to follow me everywhere around the country, popping up on tour stops and in shop after shop as I visited the country for the first time. I even met the movement designer Yuya Tanaka, who told me about the special attention he paid to the experience the owner would have while winding the movement. While I generally would gravitate toward a more austere dial and maybe subsidiary seconds on a dress watch, the SLGW003 is just such a good release that there’s no doubt in my mind I’ll end up with one sooner rather than later.

–Mark Kauzlarich, Editor + Photographer

Audemars Piguet Mini Royal Oak [Malaika Crawford]

I’m calling the frosted gold AP Royal Oak Mini a dressy watch, for argument’s sake. It is certainly not a sports watch, so we shall let it exist in its own very glamorous category.

What makes this itty bitty Royal Oak so perfect for formal affairs and elegant evening functions? I shall endeavor to unpack exactly what I want from a dressy watch. Notably, one that costs upwards of $30,000. Firstly, it must make me feel a tingling sense of pride and joy whenever I look down at my wrist. Secondly, it must make me feel so elegantly decorated that I can exude quiet confidence no matter what the rest of my outfit looks like. And finally, it must be sculptural enough to stand alone as a piece of jewelry or stackable enough to wear with other bracelets. The RO Mini works best for me as the latter – a stackable, shiny bracelet-like ode to disco that would add a whole new layer of put-together to my outfit. Its mini-ness makes it less of a statement than a mid-size frosted Royal Oak. Here’s hoping for plain gold and two-tone (steel and gold) minis in 2025!

While Cartier is undoubtedly the leader of the pack on the small watch trend front, the RO Mini is having its moment of glory. See her glimmer on Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Rihanna.

–Malaika Crawford, Style Editor

Cartier Tank Américaine Small in Yellow Gold [Rich Fordon]

2024 was a year in which I considered, shopped for, and purchased more dress watches than all previous years combined. While none of my purchases were modern (I’m a classic vintage guy; I know, how annoying), Cartier sneakily released an extremely viable modern dress watch for the vintage lover: the Tank Américaine Small.

Don’t let the name fool you; the sizing here suits most wrists, including mine at 7.25 inches attached to a 6-foot 4-inch frame. Much of the reason I love this new Cartier is because it mimics one of my vintage favorites, the 1970s Paris Tank Cintrée Mid-Size. It’s funny how mid-size becomes small over 50 years, right? The vintage Cintrée measures 20mm wide by 36mm tall, and 2024’s Tank Américaine Small sits at 19.4mm by 35.4 mm. Obviously, the Tank Cintrée and Tank Américaine are technically different models, but what that amounts to when comparing these two is slightly thicker brancards on the modern Américaine. That’s about it.

And just to get ahead of the obvious criticism, yes, this $11,600 watch is powered by a quartz movement. Frankly, that’s what you’re paying for a solid 18k yellow gold Cartier these days, and no one has ever bought a Carter for the movement (Tortue Monopoussoir aside). That vintage Cintrée has a Cartier cal. 78-1 inside, an ETA 2512 with a restamped train bridge – nothing to write home about, but I love it nonetheless. 

–Rich Fordon, Editor

Baltic Prismic With Jade Green Dial [TanTan Wang]

What’s the one watch you regret not picking up this year? For me, it’s not even close – it’s the Baltic Prismic with a Green Jade dial. When I first got a preview of the trio of stone-dial Prismic models, I knew that these were going to fly. Maybe we’ve hit stone-dial fatigue already. But I have to say, these looked too good to be limited by that sentiment. 

With several other brands this year, we’ve seen many stone dial concepts come into play at the budget level (such as my colleague Rich’s favorite sub-1.5k pick of the Dennison A.L.D). However, this one is a perfect watch at a slightly higher price. The Peseux 7001 caliber inside is proven enough for a manual wound option, and I think that checks off the movement box so that the rest of the attention can be put towards the aesthetics. At 36mm in diameter, with a 9.2mm tall case, the Prismic has classic cocktail watch proportions but with a bit of visual interest, with parts of the case constructed from Grade 5 titanium. Throw in a Lapis Lazuli, Green Jade, or Red Agate dial, and you have a winning combination on your hands.

When I published my hands-on with the watches earlier this year, it seemed like most readers agreed that these were winners. And so did the rest of the internet – as all of them sold in four minutes. All of my FOMO building up means that I (and the others who missed out on this iteration) will certainly be looking for Baltic to continue exploring other stones for a future Prismic edition.

–TanTan Wang, Editor

A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 30th Anniversary Onyx [James Stacey]

By now, many of you will know that I tend to reach for a sports watch most days of the year. However, if I’m thinking about a dressier option, it’s hard to ignore the 30th-anniversary limited edition versions of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1, specifically those with the black onyx dial. I saw and photographed these models while visiting the Audrain Concours with Lange this fall, and I just fell in love with the full-size onyx-dialed platinum-cased Lange 1. I mean, just look at it.

For my taste, the Lange 1 is one of THE iconic dress watches, and I specifically love the almost maximalist take on making something elegant and special. Where most brands – including Lange for other models – might opt for a time-only or even super slim watch lacking even a second hand, the Lange 1 has its signature asymmetrical time display, a grand date display, and a power reserve indication for its gorgeous hand-wound movement. Do all that in stealthy platinum with the deep inky black of the onyx dial, and you’ll have me looking for reasons to dress up this year or the next. 

​Hodinkee 

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