Choose a watch colour by the jewellery you wear most. If your rings and earrings are silver or white metal, a silver watch in stainless steel will sit with them naturally. If you wear yellow gold, choose a gold-tone watch; if rose gold, a rose gold tone. If you mix metals, or would like one watch to go with everything, two-tone is the easiest answer. The dial colour comes second, and it is where a watch can show a little more personality.
Why Does the Colour of the Case Matter?
The case and bracelet are the largest areas of metal on your wrist, and they sit close to your rings and bracelets all day. When their colours agree, the whole hand looks considered.
It also helps to know what the words mean. Stainless steel gives a cool silver colour all the way through. Gold-tone and rose gold-tone finishes are a colour applied over metal, and gold-plated means a thin layer of gold over a base metal; none of these is solid gold, and we describe each watch exactly as its maker does. Two-tone means two metal colours on the same watch, usually silver with gold or silver with rose gold.
Silver: Cool, Clean and Easy
A silver watch is the quietest choice. It suits white gold, sterling silver and other white-metal jewellery, and it looks at home with grey, navy, black and white clothes.
Fossil's Stainless Steel Dress Watch is 36 mm, with a silver dial and a small seconds subdial on a metal bracelet. Stroili's Stainless Steel Dress Watch at 32 mm sets crystals around the bezel and at the centre of the dial, in brushed and polished stainless steel with a metal link bracelet. A second Stroili watch of the same name is the finest of the three at 26 mm, with crystal hour markers on a minimalist dial and a metal link bracelet.
Gold: Warm and Classic
A gold-coloured watch suits yellow gold jewellery and warm colours in your wardrobe: camel, cream, olive, brown and black. On a slim case it can look almost like a bracelet. On a strap rather than a bracelet, gold softens and becomes easier to wear every day.
Fossil's Gold-Tone Dress Watch pairs a 38 mm gold-tone case and bracelet with a white dial, Roman numeral markers and a date display at 6 o'clock. Guess's Gold Metal Dress Watch is gold-plated, with a 30 mm square face, a geometric patterned dial and embedded crystals on a metal link bracelet. Guess's Gold-tone Chronograph shows the strap option: a unisex design with a 41.5 mm gold-tone case, gold and black colouring, chronograph subdials and an adjustable fabric-textured strap; a chronograph is a built-in stopwatch.
Rose Gold: Soft and Warm
Rose gold has a pink warmth that sits between gold and silver. It suits rose gold jewellery first, but it also looks gentle beside pearls and pale stones, and against soft colours such as blush, grey and ivory.
Fossil's Rose Gold Dress Watch has a 32 mm rose gold-tone stainless steel case, Roman numerals at 12 and 6, crystal hour markers and a date window, on a linked bracelet. Fossil's Rose Gold-Tone Dress Watch is smaller at 28.5 mm, with a crystal-studded bezel and Roman numeral markers on a linked bracelet. Stroili's Rose Gold Dress Watch is 34 mm in rose gold-tone metal, with a silver dial and crystals on the bezel and bracelet links.
Two-Tone: For Mixed Metals
Many women wear an engagement ring in one metal and earrings in another, or simply enjoy mixing them. A two-tone watch brings both colours together, so it sits happily beside whatever you put on that morning.
Stroili's Two-Tone Classic Watch is 33.2 mm in stainless steel, with a silver and gold-tone bracelet and a minimalist silver dial with dot hour markers. Fossil's Two-Tone Crystal Dress Watch combines stainless steel with gold-tone metal on a 36 mm case, with a crystal-studded bezel, a white dial with Roman numerals and a moon phase-style subdial. Stroili's Stainless Steel Dress Watch pairs silver with rose gold: a 30 mm rectangular stainless steel case with a crystal-studded bezel, rose gold hour markers and hands, on a metal link bracelet.
Which Dial Colour Should You Choose?
White, silver and cream dials are the classic choice: they are easy to read and go with everything. Mother-of-pearl dials add a soft shimmer that suits evenings. A coloured dial is where you can show more character. Blue looks crisp against silver, black gives strong contrast and a slightly sportier look, and green brings warmth, especially beside gold.
If the watch will be your only one, a pale dial is the easiest to wear with everything. If you already own a classic watch, a coloured dial makes a good second.
Stroili's Stainless Steel Classic sets a blue minimalist dial in a 32 mm stainless steel case with a metal link bracelet. Fossil's Two-Tone Fashion Watch has a black dial with crystal hour markers and a rotating bezel, in stainless steel with rose gold-tone accents on a 36 mm case. Stroili's Steel Watch is small at 26 mm, with a green dial on a two-tone link bracelet.
How Do You Match a Watch to Your Jewellery?
- Start with the ring you never take off, and let the watch case follow its metal.
- Wear the watch and a bracelet in the same colour on the same wrist, or keep them on separate wrists if the metals differ.
- Let two-tone bridge the gap when your jewellery is a mix of metals.
- Match the scale as well as the colour: a fine chain sits best beside a slim watch, a bolder bangle beside a larger case.
Our guide Gold or Silver: How to Choose Your Jewellery Metal explains warm and cool metals in more detail, and How to Choose a Women's Watch: Size, Style and Strap covers case size, shape and strap.
How Do You Care for a Watch?
Wipe the case, bracelet and glass with a soft, dry cloth after wearing, to lift away fingerprints and traces of hand cream and perfume. Store the watch on its own, in its box or a soft pouch, so that other jewellery cannot scratch it and it cannot scratch them. Keep leather straps away from water, and let them dry naturally if they do get wet.
When a quartz watch stops, have the battery changed by a professional, a watchmaker or jeweller, rather than opening the case yourself. They have the right tools for the case back and can check the seals while it is open.
In Short
Silver for white metals, gold-tone for yellow gold, rose gold for rose gold, and two-tone when you mix them. Choose the case to match your jewellery and the dial to suit your character. If you do one thing before you choose, look at the ring or earrings you wear most often, and choose your watch in the same metal colour.
