You forgot the most important rule, that an elegant watch simply must be 35 or under on the T&B Index...

On a more serious note, I think until recently I had no watches in my box that I would class as 'elegant'. I could make a case that there are a couple there now. For my own personal criteria I would probably be more strict on a couple of things (although there are always exceptions to the rule):

1. Size - 39mm max for me. 40mm is getting just a little too big on my wrist to be elegant.
2. Complications - nothing more than a date otherwise it's not simple enough.
3. The presence of a seconds hand is a must - there is nothing more elegant than the sweep of a seconds hand (whether center-seconds or small-seconds). For that reason, while a quartz watch can be elegant, I find the sweep of a mechanical seconds hand to be more elegant.
4. I personally don't find Arabic numerals that elegant so it would generally be batons or roman numerals for me.
5. Steel or gold only. Bronze, titanium, ceramics etc. don't fit the 'elegant' bill for me.
6. While the topic has focused almost solely on the front of the watch, there is certainly some level of elegance I find in seeing a beautifully decorated movement on the reverse side.

Now I mentioned there's always an exception and I'll be the one to invoke Iain's rule and say that I find the Bel Canto Classic elegant. It breaks from most of the guidelines discussed in this thread so far and almost all of my own takes above. It's 41mm diameter, 13.2mm thick, titanium, doesn't have a seconds hand, has the complicated bridgework and a closed caseback. Yet I find the guilloche dial and roman numerals give it something, and particularly in a way that is completely different from the original Bel Canto.

My most elegant CW (I think). Sizes are good, and there are lots of lovely features.

Five things detract slightly from perfection:

• The blue of the date wheel is a little too light. A darker shade would have improved the match with the dial and enhanced the contrast with the white numerals.

• Under certain light conditions, the seconds hand can be hard to spot.

• I would have liked the bracelet a tad broader at the clasp.

• The Ti bracelet is a scratch magnet.

• The corners of the case extensions are quite sharp. A slight rounding would have been better.

However, even though their former owner Yves Saint Laurent was a Cartier Tank man, I can think of no watch I’d rather wear in the Majorelle Gardens. 8/10 - it’s elegant enough for almost anything.





It worked out well in Valletta too. Perhaps at its most elegant in the relaxed vibe of a Mediterranean holiday. Less so on a miserable winter day in Dibley.

A fascinating thread, the best on the forum for a while in my humble opinion.
From my small collection a ten year old FLE. Quire elegant I think.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 9:37 am My most elegant CW (I think). Sizes are good, and there are lots of lovely features.

This fascinates me a bit, as it’s not at all what I expected to see you describing as your most elegant CW. I thought I’d scroll down to see pics of your C9 small seconds! That model oozes elegance, in my opinion. Perhaps the case is too thick, though?

And while the Twelve is beautiful, dare I say stunning, it doesn’t read as elegant at all to me, your watch in particular with its bold dial color.

I’m noticing a clear theme with what I find elegant - classic watch designs. The epitome of elegance for me are watches like the Tank, the Reverso, and a style like the C9 small seconds (is that style called a marine watch, or something like that?). And a theme within a theme - all three of those watches started life as rather utilitarian tool watches, correct?

Martin wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 2:27 pm A fascinating thread, the best on the forum for a while in my humble opinion.
From my small collection a ten year old FLE. Quire elegant I think.

Agreed! All the discussion, while helping to define elegance in watches, also illustrates how challenging that is.

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 2:48 pm This fascinates me a bit, as it’s not at all what I expected to see you describing as your most elegant CW. I thought I’d scroll down to see pics of your C9 small seconds! That model oozes elegance, in my opinion. Perhaps the case is too thick, though?

And while the Twelve is beautiful, dare I say stunning, it doesn’t read as elegant at all to me, your watch in particular with its bold dial color.

When I started this thread I was slightly afraid that I might get shot down in flames for being too prescriptive. It seems I’m not prescriptive enough for some people!

Seriously, not throwing stones here, I do think the C9 SS is pretty elegant, but it also has its drawbacks. The case is a bit too big in all dimensions, especially height, and the crown is way too big. Whilst the Roman numerals are lovely, they could have done with being a bit bolder in order to fill up some of the acreage on the dial. And you are right to assert that it derives much of its visual DNA from the marine chronometer.




Regarding the Twelve, especially in that colour, I do think that elegance doesn’t necessarily have to be restrained. It can be bold. Think Diana’s Revenge Dress, probably her best ever statement.

Another thing about elegant watches, the wearer needs a bit of refinement and culture to pull it off. Tool watches are different, any ol’ tool can pull them off. Guess that’s the mainstream appeal, eh.

Des

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Sun May 18, 2025 10:08 am

Wis wrote: ↑Sun May 18, 2025 9:59 am Key concepts of elegance mentioned so far:

• Restraint

• Harmony

• Sophistication

• Timelessness

• Simplicity

• Balance

Easy to list, not so easy to define!

This is an excellent summation of the points made by most respondents. It does tell me that perhaps I was being a little too prescriptive in my first post. These qualities, being both simple and open-ended, would have been more appropriate. Thank you.

It’s perhaps more a case of: when you see it, you know.

And of course, the seeing and the knowing will not be the same for everyone.

Prescriptive Steve?

Reading your opening post again I would suggest that rather than specifically being about elegance, it was more a list of features that you look for in a watch.

The OP would have been far shorter if you had just stated that you don’t favour oversized dive watches, with plots and Mercedes hands!

Neil

strapline wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 6:52 pm Another thing about elegant watches, the wearer needs a bit of refinement and culture to pull it off.

I agree with you 100% about this. Elegance is as much about the context in which a watch is worn as it is about the watch itself. See my earlier post about Flava Flav.

Alternatively, Steve McQueen looks cool as h*ll is just about anything. A simple outfit that looks the very definition of cool on him makes me look like a big, goofy, doofus! And so it goes with watches.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 4:01 pm I do think the C9 SS is pretty elegant, but it also has its drawbacks. The case is a bit too big in all dimensions, especially height…

That’s the one detail that has always irked about that watch.

Regarding the Twelve, especially in that colour, I do think that elegance doesn’t necessarily have to be restrained. It can be bold. Think Diana’s Revenge Dress, probably her best ever statement.

Bold dress indeed, but the color was black - about as classic and conservative as one can get with a dress. The boldness stemmed from something other than color.

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 7:52 pm Bold dress indeed, but the color was black - about as classic and conservative as one can get with a dress. The boldness stemmed from something other than color.

It did indeed, but I would challenge anyone to deny that it was elegant, even if chosen deliberately to be provocative, stunning and sexy.

Worth remembering also that before 1926 in the Western world, black was the colour of grief and mourning for women. Chanel changed all that with the introduction of the LBD. Hepburn, despite her natural beauty, managed to make it look demure. Perhaps we should accept that not all little black dresses are created equal, and maybe extend that thinking into watches. A black dial can be bold, and a blue dial can be elegant and possibly even restrained.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 8:48 pm Perhaps we should accept that not all little black dresses are created equal, and maybe extend that thinking into watches. A black dial can be bold, and a blue dial can be elegant and possibly even restrained.

I agree, elegance is not restricted to black or white. It’s how it’s done.

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 8:48 pm It did indeed, but I would challenge anyone to deny that it was elegant, even if chosen deliberately to be provocative, stunning and sexy.

Oh yes, it’s is incredibly elegant! I assumed that was a given and not even up for debate. Let me clarify my point. The dress is incredibly elegant and incredibly bold, but I don’t think it’s the black color that makes it bold.

I read this post at page 1 with 2 replies and it has been in my mind ever since:

"Elegance: I can't encapsulate what makes a thing elegant but I know it when I see it": that's where I started off.

"I have no need of an elegant watch": now largely true with no weddings, funerals, christenings, dinner dances in my social calendar. My life has become one long round of checking the internet, doing the daily crossword, sitting in the garden, engaging with wildlife, weekly chores, driving my wife about and keeping her as happy as is possible. Nice watches certainly but I NEED an elegant watch like I need a new dress shirt.

"Yes I've got some watches which might pass the test; get them out and have a good look". Well photos may follow but we'll see. Is it true that a good photo can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse? I believe so.

"Isn't this just about semantics? Are elegant and dressy the same thing and, if not, wherein lies the difference?"

So here are some watches which may be dressy with the right strap but are they elegant? I've gone round the bush so many times now I can barely tell which way is up!

Not sure about elegant but the Brellum is simply stunning

Time goes by wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 1:24 pm Not sure about elegant but the Brellum is simply stunning

Thank you and on a bracelet or black strap(I have a custom polished black ray strap with works well) I can confirm that under a white shirt cuff and black jacket the white dial stands out and it really is the business