Watch Dandy

Grand Seiko really knows how to say bonjour with style – not only is their new Paris boutique the largest of its kind in the world, it’s also easily their most palatial. Set amongst the cobblestones and opulent retailers that line the Place Vendôme, the new Grand Seiko flagship is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget. To celebrate their beautiful new European home, the Japanese watchmaker has decided to create two new limited edition iterations of its handsome SBGK dress watch – SBGK011 and SBGK013. Hewn from either solid 950 platinum (SBGK011) or solid 18k rose gold (SBGK013), both these special timepieces have been adorned with a gorgeous dial that Grand Seiko has never created before. Styled to look like the cobblestone streets of the City of Lights, the watches feature a radially textured base with vertically brushed blocks that concentrically line the entire dial. Judging from the photos, this unique aesthetic may well prove to be among Grand Seiko’s most inimitable and good looking dial designs in recent memory. The cobblestone pattern has been further complemented by Grand Seiko’s razor-sharp dauphine handset, which features both brushed and polished elements. A…

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A good mate of mine recently told me that he had to attend an important business meeting in a couple of weeks at his company’s headquarters ­– boardroom, CEO in attendance, the whole shebang. This meeting was going to be an annoyance for him. Until recently, the corporate garb he’s been able to get away with on Zoom calls comprises a suit jacket, untucked shirt, tie, track pants and moccasins. But with civilisation starting to crawl back to normality, so too is corporate Australia. We are no longer able to live out our professional lives from the waist up. So, old mate has got to don the Super 500 navy blue, and head into town. It’s as good a time as any to upgrade his watch from one that tells him BPMs and how pathetic he is at covering ground on a 10km run to something that packs a little more punch in person. He’s come seeking advice from yours truly, with two strict requirements: 1) It has to have a leather band and 2) it can’t cost any more than $2K. These are my up-to-the-minute picks, starting with a very fresh new dress contender from the winged hourglass. Longines…

The post Suited and booted – 8 of the best new dress watches for under $2000, with a focus on colour and character appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.