The best men’s dress watches are an important element of any pulled-together look, but opinions vary widely on what the term actually means. Purists might say a dress watch is something with a razor-thin case, an austere dial, and a black leather strap. On the other end of the spectrum are folks who will assert that a classic dive watch is the perfect complement to a suit. As with most polarizing issues, the correct answer is a resounding, “Yes, and…”
As such, the best dress watches for men are an entire ecosystem unto themselves, ranging from svelte Swiss masterpieces to modern minimalist tickers. Better still, while there’s really no limit on how much you can spend on a special occasion watch, you can definitely find something with the requisite elegance for a couple of hundred bucks. Whether you’re dressing for a job interview or the GQ MOTY party, all of the men’s dress watches below will get the job done in high style. After that, it’s just a matter of deciding what “dressed up” means to you.
For more timely ticker recommendations, check out the GQ Watch Shop.
6 Superlative Dress Watches for Every Type of Shindig
Citizen Eco-Drive One
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Timex Marlin Manual watch
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Tissot Men’s Classic Dream watch
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Nomos Glashütte Orion Neomatik Automatic watch
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duo Night & Day
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The Best Black Tie-Friendly Dress Watches
As the dressiest watches in the dress watch hierarchy, this category is all about sophistication and finesse. A black-tie watch should have a wafer-thin case, a black leather strap, and a white or black dial. No chronographs, rotating dive bezels, or other adornments needed. Unless, of course, you’re planning on arriving by experimental watercraft, James Bond-style.
Cartier
Tank Louis Cartier
After more than a century of pre-eminence, Cartier’s signature rectangular ticker—specifically the 1920s-inspired Louis Cartier model—still tops the dress watch heap.
Patek Philippe
Calatrava 5119 watch
This iconic ticker launched in 1932 and helped establish Patek as the titan it is today. It also happens to be one of the brand’s most accessible pieces. (Relatively speaking.)
Bulova
Rat Pack Frank Sinatra watch
Who better than Ol’ Blue Eyes to inspire a watch that looks great with a tux? Feel free to leave the fedora at home, though.
Despite being an incredible 4.52 mm thin, this light-powered watch has serious presence.
All the style of a high-end Swiss watch at a fraction of the price? It must be a Seiko.
The Best Vintage-Inspired Dress Watches
The essential form of the modern dress watch was established in the mid-20th century. As such, these vintage-inspired tickers combine golden-era looks with modern reliability for a best-of-both-worlds scenario.
Straight from the era of skinny ties and office bar carts, this sleek ‘60s-inspired ticker is a whole lotta watch for $249.
Hamilton
American Classic Boulton Quartz watch
A 1940s gem on par with high-waisted khakis and bomber jackets.
Vacheron Constantin
American 1921 watch
This specimen’s jaunty lean comes from its original purpose as a motoring watch, but it’ll still look right without the goggles and driving gloves.
Longines
Master Collection watch
Nothing says impeccable taste like a salmon petite seconde dial and Breguet numerals.
The Best Office-Ready Dress Watches
Office dress codes are all over the map, which means there’s no such thing as an all-purpose office watch. For the best, most versatile results, however, go with something with a black or brown leather strap and as few embellishments as you can manage.
Timex
Easy Reader 35mm watch
This late 1970s design lives up to its name, sure, but it could just as easily be called the Easy Wearer. Whatever you’re wearing to the office, it’s pretty much guaranteed to look right at home.
In 99% of cases, your office watch should have a strap, not a bracelet. This is the other 1%.
Cartier
Santos Medium watch
As one of the first wristwatches in the world, the original Santos was a big deal when it launched in 1904. Wristwatches are a lot more common now, but that doesn’t make the Santos any less of a flex in 2025.
Tissot
Men’s Classic Dream watch
You don’t need to leave a copy of Wuthering Heights on your desk to subtly establish yourself as someone of rarefied tastes; a Roman numeral watch like this one will do just fine.
Raymond Weil
Maestro Automatic watch
A maestro is someone who has a superlative command of their chosen oeuvre. If we’re talking readability and refinement, this Swiss-made watch is aptly named.
The Best Thoroughly Modern Dress Watches
The best dress watches have a ton of style, but not so much that they’ll overpower the rest of your fit. Enter the modern watch, a category that seamlessly blends the age-old codes of dressiness with contemporary minimalism.
Ming
17.01 Anthracite watch
It’s surprisingly difficult to do anything with watch design that hasn’t been done before. This beloved indie brand, however, has earned a loyal following for doing exactly that.
Nomos Glashütte
Orion Neomatik Automatic watch
Classic German minimalism meets contemporary German watchmaking.
Ole Mathiesen
Ultra-Thin OM3 watch
Not every definitive example of Danish midcentury modernism is made of teak.
Owning a piece of peak modern design doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Neither does owning a great office watch.
This watch’s advanced light-powered Eco-Drive movement is a good reason to buy it. Its ability to complement virtually everything in your wardrobe is a better one.
The Best Dress Watches With Complications
In the watch world, any function other than hours, minutes, and seconds (a chronograph, moon phase, or power reserve indicator, say) is known as a “complication.” Whether you’re after a second time zone or an oversized date display, these dress watches deliver a little extra functionality on the side.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Reverso Duo Night & Day
Forget stopwatches and tourbillons, the coolest add-on in the history of watches is a whole other watch face on the case back.
Along with a leather weekend bag and a pair of shades, a great dual time zone watch should be an essential element of airport style.
Orient
Bambino Version 9 watch
The time-only Bambino is a canonical budget-friendly dress watch. This equally affordable day-date version kicks the sophistication factor up by several degrees.
A. Lange & Söhne
Lange 1 watch
Whether you’re at the office or at a wedding, this IYKYK German ticker will immediately establish your bona fides among the watch enthusiasts in the room.
The best office watch is also the most versatile. Pair this one with a grey suit, denim and a chore coat, or pretty much anything in between.
The Best Colorful Dress Watches
The invitation may say “black-tie,” but that doesn’t mean color isn’t on the table. Even if you’re not feeling a full pink velvet tux, there’s no reason you can’t liven things up with a pop of orange, green, or navy blue on your wrist.
Nomos Glashütte
Club Campus watch
Counterintuitive as it might seem, an orange dial actually looks great with almost everything, including a suit.
Keep honking, I’m thinking about this watch based on the 1910 Frederick C. Robie House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s foundational Prairie Style masterpiece in Chicago.
Louis Erard
Excellence Le Régulateur 39 Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin watch
The horological equivalent of a tuxedo-print tee, courtesy of one of the zaniest names in watchmaking.
A watch that says, “I’d rather be wearing a Red Wings and a barn coat.”
The “cocktail attire” dress code is one of the trickiest to decipher. Fortunately, this mixology-inspired Seiko makes at least one aspect of your outfit a no-brainer.
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
How We Make These Picks
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
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