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A dress watch in the strict traditional sense ... thinner case with thinner lugs
OK, so the Max Bill Junghaus you recommended above would actually bring me closer to having a fully rounded watch collection. Although I appreciate that as a Bauhaus artist, Max Bill probably didn't care much about such categories.
starfish&coffee-
Hey, there’s no rules! I think it’s about discovering what you like and what you enjoy wearing. If a watch is too small/fragile/formal for your personal preferences you’ll just end up not wearing it. I like smaller watches (by modern standards) but a really trad 34mm snap-back gold dress watch just isn’t my bag.
I have a 37mm Grand Seiko that is in many ways an archetypal dress watch - time only, hand wound, no lume - but I’ve been told by a few people it’s “too big” or “too thick” for them. And it is bigger than a vintage watch would be, but that suits me fine. It’s way more robust than a vintage watch and it wears great.
And you can dress it down on a suede strap or whatever if that’s your bag. Or wear a 42mm Tissot. No rules.
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I got a Max Bill automatic (38mm, the handwound was too small for me) and it's a really nice watch.
Don't wear it as much as I should due to rarely wearing suits now but would heartily recommend it. Super slim (loads of the newer dressier ones from other brands are a bit hefty) and very distinctive styling.
Regal
aggi
That watch is really nice. I’m on a moratorium at the moment, otherwise I might have considered it. Love the dial.
The movement is also basically an ETA 2824 which are very reliable and still widely used, so parts and servicing will be easy to arrange and cheap.
Re: is it a dress watch - kinda not really, but in modern terms it pretty much is. A dress watch in the strict traditional sense would be more “elegant”, thinner case with thinner lugs, maybe made of gold or even platinum, not have a date, not have lume, possibly not have a seconds hand, not be automatic and probably not have a screw-down caseback or crown. In its day that Longines would likely have been considered a sports watch or general-purpose everyday “good” watch. The Rolex Oyster template, basically.
Nowadays most watches sub-40mm that aren’t field watches or out-and-out sports/tool watches get lumped into “dress watch”.