A dress watch is one of the simplest types of wristwatch. That simplicity is also what makes it difficult to design well. Every proportion matters. For decades, the best dress watches shared a common philosophy. They were slim enough to disappear under a shirt cuff, balanced in diameter, and designed around a clean, highly legible…
For much of the 1940s and 1950s, a gentleman’s wristwatch was considerably smaller than those worn today. Diameters between 32 and 36 mm were common, and even chronographs rarely reached modern proportions. What mattered was balance: the relationship between the dial, case, lugs and wrist. In the 1960s, watches gradually gained more presence as sports…
Some logos are created. Others are inherited. The Conteas crown belongs to the second category.As we researched the history of the brand and assembled an archive of original Conteas watches spanning more than six decades, one fascinating detail emerged. While cases, dials and typography evolved with changing tastes, one symbol remained at the heart of…
Some stories begin with a business plan. Others begin with a discovery. The return of Conteas started with a simple question: who was Conteas?For decades, the name appeared on Swiss-made watches produced throughout the twentieth century. Pocket watches from the late 1920s, elegant dress watches from the 1950s, chronographs, divers and quartz models from later…