There was a time when wearing some form of tailoring to work—a full suit, dress shirt, and tie, or a business casual look—was standard. While those rules still apply certain places, the shift toward more relaxed dressing has transformed our regular style decisions. The smart casual dress code sits front and center in that conversation.

Waldan is an American watch brand with an incredible backstory, founded in 1979 in New York City by Oscar Waldan, a holocaust survivor who learned the art of watchmaking while imprisoned in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during WWII. His creations were sold through esteemed retailers such as Tiffany & Co., Tourneau, and Wempe, and Waldan is notably said to be part of the reason why Rolex adopted the Zenith El Primero movement in its Daytona, the El Primero being a favoured base calibre for Oscar’s own watches.

Just as in men’s fashion, the watch world experiences aesthetic cycles. Watch insiders might notice an abundance of new blue-faced watches across various brands, while other years might see the release of interesting new shapes, or perhaps new dive watches. While we won’t delve into the micro-trends, one enduring macro trend is an overarching nod to elegant dress watches.