A new line of vintage watch–inspired playing cards showcases horological design.

When my dad was teaching me to play poker, he imparted one very clear piece of advice: Never play poker at a casino (if you've ever seen Rounders, you'll understand why). To this day, I love playing poker, and other games like slap, hearts, gin rummy, and euchre have also found a warm place in my heart, to the point that good-quality playing cards have become a necessity in my life.

And there are plenty of great cards out there, but one thing many will find, once they start exploring the world of playing cards, is that novelty cards are almost universally terrible.…