Metals fall into two primary groups in a decorative sense, those being the gold and brass family on the one hand and silver and steel on the other. Of the two, gold is easier to wear if significantly more expensive. Gold does not tarnish and so is virtually maintenance free, requiring only a periodic cleaning to remove the inevitable dirt build-up. Most wedding rings are gold, simplifying one part of the metals problem, and gold is a better complement to white for evening and to navy jackets - particularly blazers with brass or gold buttons - at any time.
The expense of gold can be ameliorated with a steel and gold wristwatch like the one in the photo. Gold and silver watches and watch bands are suited only for day wear (the old custom said gentlemen do not wear wristwatches in the evening anyway) but they help coordinate the day's other metals. Equally appropriate is a collection of four watches, two of them gold and two of them silver. One of each pair should be mated with a black and the other a brown alligator band that will match the day's shoes (this stuff gets complex). Now that cell phones have effectively killed the watch as anything other than jewelry however, having multiple watches really begins to seem like overkill unless watch collecting becomes an aim in itself. But I digress.
Most usefully, the steel and gold watch lends itself to silver cufflinks that can be a better complement than gold to a gray jacket. Silver of course is shorthand for a variety of substances including white gold and the best of those is platinum which is more durable than white gold and lacks gold's impurities (nickle was used to color the stuff in the past and though unlikely to do damage should ideally not be worn next to the skin).
Belt buckles, being visible, should also relate to the day's other metals. The best way to achieve this is with interchangeable straps and buckles but the equally appropriate alternative is the four belt rotation consisting of brown with silver, brown with gold, black with silver and black with gold. But by now you get the picture.
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5 comments:
I find that gold watches work best with brown straps and silver with black (or I may be trying to justify my half of a collection...).
On the question of cell phones killing the watch, I had succumbed to this originally and never liked wearing a wristwatch anyway. Now however I've gone the other way. Wearing a watch now liberates me from having to be bombarded with telephone pestering each time I check the time.
I never wear a wristwatch - back in the old days I relied on my beeper and now cell phones to tell the time. The only inconvenience is that you can't steal a glance at your wristwatch during a meeting
I find that a quick look at my wristwatch is so much more convenient than digging the cell out of my pocket just to see what time it is. However, when dressing seriously no wrist watch will ever match the panache, the elegance of my great grandfather's railroad pocket watch. Piaget,et alia, bedamned!
Roger is on to something here.
According to the seasonal approach to color coordination, the cool-toned seasons (Winter and Summer) should stick to silver, which suits black and burgundy leathers best. In contrast, the warm-toned seasons (Autumn and Spring) should stick to gold, which suits most every shade of brown. Summers alone may opt for rose gold, which goes well with pinkish browns like cocoa.
Many have observed that black and gold simply do not complement each other. I agree with them. However, there is a certain logic and elegance to the four watch/four belt solution. The single watch solution (steel and gold), while least "pure" from the seasonal point of view, is also the simplest, and allows for insouciant combination better than perhaps any other choice.
Looks like a Cartier.
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