The Society for Thin Dress Watches is a modern movement which aims to bring back the popularity of the thin dress watch. Since the 1990s quality Swiss watch manufacturers have moved towards larger size watches (often discontinuing the production of ultra thin watches). Whilst this trend is acceptable for casual living the down side has been the acceptance of large watches for "Formal / Dress" situations. The aim of The Society for Thin Dress Watches is to educate men into realising this is a sartorial mistake. With education we can bring back the popularity of the wafer thin dress watch as made famous by such houses as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet.
In their heyday (from the 1940s till the early 1970s) thin dress watches were seen as the height of sophistication. The aim of quality watch making firms was to make a dress watch in precious metal and as thin as possible. The skill to make the mechanical movement as thin as possible yet durable was a task many of the best watchmakers of Switzerland participated in. Top watchmakers such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Audemars Piguet all produced ultra thin dress watches. Mainstream watchmakers such as Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Ebel and Baume & Mercier also participated in this genre. It was not until the advent of quartz technology in the mid 1970s that the art of the thin watch mechanical movement ceased to amaze the public. With quartz technology improvements movement sizes shrank and became smaller in size than mechanical traditional movements. With this great loss the public lost its amazement with thin mechanical movements and watches. Whilst the thin dress watch has always been the epitomy of style and fashion - its unique qualities have been lost on the up and coming generation of men. The Society for Thin Dress Watches hopes to address this imbalance.
The Society for Thin Dress Watches is a non-profit group which seeks to re-educate male watch wearers into developing a love for thin dress watches. The society offers FREE membership and seeks to use the internet to further the cause for wearing thin dress watches.
