What Makes a Good Winter Watch? A Few Things, Actually

Many collectors don’t consider watches to be seasonal. At least, not proper watches, and not in the way we understand fashion to be.

Granted, Swatch and its kind do sunny-side-up watches in the summer, and the lot can match a plastic strap to a particular trend (Taupe! Chestnut! No wait, purple!) even faster than a fashion blogger can Instagram it.

But at the higher end, where watch designs roll off the line at the same pace as an elephant’s gestation, seasonal demands don’t really come into it.

Or do they?

Stay strapped

Winter does pose questions to the watch wearer — practical, sartorial and, at times, technical in nature.

Take for example the hibernal benefits of leather straps over steel bracelets: in summer, wrists swell and sweat, and sweat is a leather killer, which is why a lot of watch wearers swap a strap for a bracelet when the sun is high in the sky, and vice versa when it gets nippy (no one wants cold metal on their wrist).

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

With leather comes color, and for the sartorially minded, a chance to be more playful — navy blues, grays, browns, dark greens. Admittedly, pairing can be a minefield, particularly if your watch collection is still pupating. Does your green dial go with everything? Probably not. (Which is why your first luxury watch should always have a blue, black or a white dial.)

Photo by Henry Phillips for Gear Patrol

Otherwise, the simple rule of thumb when adding a watch to your getup is to match your leathers. Black shoes, tan strap? No, never. Instead, pair those smart new black oxfords you bought to go with your new winter suit with some black crocodile leather.

Off the cuff

Aside from matching your colors, you won’t look very smart if your watch is inaccurate from cold exposure or bulging out from a bunched up sleeve.

Layers of sweaters and coats make the bold-wearing watches of summer uncomfortable if not altogether impractical. You at least want your watch to be thin enough to slip under a cuff.

Taken together, leather straps and thin cases make it sound like dress watches more or less fit the bill, right? Bingo.

That is, unless you’re set on taking a watch into the frozen wilds, and there are plenty of options for arctic adventurers.

If it’s a mechanical you’re taking glacier-scaling, make sure it has a silicon hairspring.

Hairsprings sit in the beating heart of a movement and keep them regular. Though conventionally made of robust metal alloys, silicon is becoming more common as it’s particularly resistant to extreme fluctuations in temperature — as well as magnetism and friction, incidentally.

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