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Last Year’s Coolest Affordable Dress Watch Is Back and Somehow Even Cooler Than Before

There’s still nothing else like it.

Close-up of a silver watch case with a textured blue dial and silver hands against a gradient gray-blue background.Serica

By Johnny Brayson

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Although it has only been around since 2019, French microbrand Serica has established a strong design language that combines modern minimalism and mid-century elegance across its line of tool watches. The one word I would use to describe the brand’s unique aesthetic is “cool.”

That aesthetic was consistent throughout the brand’s first three models: a field watch, a diver and a GMT. But then Serica decided to make a dress watch, leaving open the question of what a dress watch from a brand that exclusively makes tool watches would look like.

We got our answer last year when Serica launched the Ref. 1174 Parade, a dress watch that looks like nothing else, with a unique, stepped, oval-shaped “stadium” case and a minimalist dial with the tiniest applied indices you’ll ever see.

a serica dress watch on a mans wrist
The Parade from Serica was last year’s most surprising — and coolest — dress watch.
Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The watch is still unmistakably Serica, though, carrying over brand hallmarks like the sterile dial, vertically brushed bezel and robust water resistance.

The Parade is, like the rest of Serica’s watches, achingly cool. Now, Serica has launched a new version of its dress watch, and by some miracle, it’s even cooler than before.

All dressed up

Two oval-shaped wristwatches with textured dials, one with a black strap and dark dial, the other with a brown strap and brown dial, on wooden surface.
The Parade gets two new variations with brand-new dials and straps.
Serica

Luckily, Serica did not throw out the baby with the bathwater when cooking up the new Parade. The watch is largely the same as before, maintaining the original’s sporty stadium case in its pleasing 35mm x 41mm x 8.1mm dimensions, the 100m water resistance, the manually winding Soprod Calibre M100 movement, and the polished dot indices and curved sword hands.

What has changed are the dial and strap.

First up is the dial, which is my favorite part of this makeover. While the original Parade comes in a brass or black dial featuring a subtle, wavy, guilloché pattern, the new version features an old-school linen dial. This style of dial was relatively common in mid-century watchmaking, but is quite rare today.

Oval silver wristwatch with textured brown dial and black leather strap on tan fabric.
The linen dial features a crosshatch pattern that resembles its eponymous fabric.
Serica

The dial boasts a deep texture in a crosshatch pattern resembling linen fabric. This adds a significant amount of depth and visual interest to the dial, while also adding a hint of chaos. It’s not perfectly symmetrical like the original Parade dial, which I think gives the watch more character.

The linen dial is available in a “Tobacco” brown or “Slate” blue, both of which are very fetching. These new dials are paired with a new strap. It’s still calfskin leather like the strap on the original Parade, but is now embossed with a crocodile pattern rather than a pebbled finish. The Slate gets a black strap, while the Tobacco is paired with a brown strap; making it the first Parade to not come with a black strap.

Close-up of a black crocodile-pattern leather watch strap with a brushed silver oval buckle on a gray surface.
The Parade’s signature pin buckle mimics the shape and finishing of the bezel.
Serica

Like before, the strap includes a custom pin buckle that echoes the elliptical shape of the bezel, along with its vertically brushed finish. It’s a key aspect of the watch’s cohesive design and a big contributor to its “coolness.”

I’m not a big fan of crocodile-stamped leather straps, to be honest, but Serica will sell you a real crocodile leather strap separately in Black or Olive. Personally, I’d love to see the Parade sold on Serica’s proprietary Sport Strap, which is made of rubber but looks like leather. It’s dressy enough for the watch while also being sporty enough to allow the Parade to live its water- and shock-resistant life to the fullest.

Oval silver wristwatch with textured blue dial and black leather strap worn on a wrist.
The Parade Linen is sold on a croc-stamped leather strap, though Serica will sell you a real crocodile leather strap separately.
Serica

Pricing and availability

When the Parade was introduced last year, it cost only $1,400. The current state of the economy has seen the price of the original Parade rise to $1,774 for American buyers, which still feels like a bargain. You won’t find another dress watch nearly as original or sporty — and probably not as well-finished, either — for the money.

The Parade Linen, luckily, has not received any additional price increase. It’s listed at the exact $1,774 SRP as the original Parade (which remains available), and is available for preorder on Serica’s site now.

Oval stainless steel wristwatch with textured brown dial and dark brown leather strap.Serica

Serica Parade Linen

Specs

Case Size 35mm x 41mm
Movement Soprod Cal. M100 manual-wind
Water Resistance 100m
About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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