Which watch to buy

There are just so many to choose from. Plus all the complex terminology to wrap your head around. A watch movement is essentially the mechanism that makes a watch tick. A mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring which powers a series of gears and the balance wheel.

To tighten the spring, you twist the crown. This cranks up the coils. The spring then slowly unwinds, making the second hand move. To understand why people set so much store by mechanical movements compared to quartz movements, you have to understand that wearing a luxury watch is not just about being able to tell the time.

A quartz movement may tell the time better but a mechanical watch tells it with more style. The majority of high-end watches today are automatic mechanical movements, aka self-winding watches. But they use kinetic energy generated from your wrist to power the movement by means of a rotor, a small weight that moves as your wrist moves, winding the mainspring.

A slipping clutch device prevents overwinding. Automatics developed in-house by a watch brand are typically higher quality and carry more kudos. Some of the best affordable watches are quartz watches. They are battery-powered and regulated by quartz, a small crystal that replaces all the springs, gears, and wheels of a mechanical movement, serving as a conductor between the battery and the electric circuit.

Essentially, the battery passes electricity through the quartz, causing the crystal to vibrate. This vibration is then converted into a pulse to move the second hand on the watch. These pulses create that tick-tick-tick movement. When quartz watches first appeared on the scene back in the s, it triggered the so-called Quartz Crisis.

Suddenly ultra-precise watches could be made quickly, effortlessly, and in large quantities. What did this mean for traditional old-school Swiss watch manufacturers? How could they continue to charge such steep prices? While a mechanical watch balance wheel works at around 18, to 36, beats an hour, a quartz crystal vibrates at ,, times per hour. They only lose around seconds a month. Beyond telling the time, many of the best luxury watches for men offer additional features known as complications.

A watch complication is essentially any extra feature that does something other than tell the time. Some complications serve more as status symbols than necessary additional functions.

Watch cases can be made from a range of materials, each with different characteristics and price tags. Here are the different options:. Stainless is an incredibly popular choice when it comes to watch cases and is found more and more frequently, even in high-end timepieces. Stainless steel is also very lightweight , making for a comfortable wear. This durable material is not the same as that used to make kitchenware. Whether you opt for white gold, rose gold, or yellow gold, all are incredibly luxurious , highly coveted, and a real style statement.

But gold is also vulnerable to scratches and tarnishing so is best suited to dress watches rather than field watches, for example. Titanium shares many of the qualities of stainless steel except it weighs even less and is even more durable. In fact, it is three times as strong as steel —although whether you need that level of robustness from a watch is debatable.

Next, consider your watch glass or crystal —that which protects the watch dial. The options are:. The next part of our luxury watch guide will address the question of price. How much should you spend on a timepiece? Of course, it ultimately comes down to how much you can afford. Are there advantages to pushing the boat out, price-wise? When does a watch become an investment? The cheapest watches usually come with a quartz movement and minimum complications.

Seiko watches for men are pretty affordable, as are Citizen watches for men. Brands like Nordgreen and Vincero also create incredibly stylish timepieces that are some of the best affordable watches around, appearing a lot more expensive than they actually are.

These luxury watches for men are pieces of technical wizardry with expert mechanics and heritage craftsmanship as well as more luxurious materials. Designer watches by the likes of Gucci are also likely to fall into this category.

These watches typically feature more complications, such as split-second chronographs. These timepieces go on auction for millions of dollars and are the subject of headlines in all the major horological publications. These are heirloom pieces and solid investments , likely to only appreciate in value. Think of a Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet, for example. As the name suggests, a dress watch is designed for dressier occasions. With their slim cases , the best dress watches are a superb lesson in simplicity, featuring minimal complications, a low-key dial rarely wider than 42mm , and minimalist hour markers.

The luxury aspect lies in the fine materials and sleek leather straps. Far from being designed for the red carpet, these are watches created for aquatic expeditions , specifically engineered to withstand the extremities of deep-sea diving. It goes without saying that dive watches need to be water-resistant to at least metres.

One of the most iconic dive watches is the Rolex Submariner, as worn by James Bond. They are equally appropriate for casual weekend attire —ideally aboard a yacht or at a beach club. If you consider a watch more a means to an end, then you need a super functional timepiece like a smartwatch. While automatic and mechanical watches may be minor works of art, when it comes to something practical with genuine potential to make your life easier , only a smartwatch will do.

Essentially like a smartphone but wearable , a smartwatch is the most high-tech of digital tools, allowing you to access apps, receive notifications, use GPS tracking, and monitor your health all from your wrist.

While they might not have the glamour or allure of a Swiss luxury timepiece, they will make your day-to-day more productive and even more enjoyable.

Consider these cutting-edge creations a means of elevating and augmenting your phone experience, not replacing it. They allow you access to all the same insights and functionality but are way more portable. After Cartier created a watch for pilot Alberto Santo Dumon to wear in his plane back in , the door was open for other top watch brands to create high-performing timepieces that would accompany wearers on high-altitude missions. A pilot watch can be distinguished by a few features, most notably a large dial with luminous hands and a black-and-white colour scheme for optimum legibility.

They also feature a long leather strap that can fit over a flight jacket as well as a chunky onion-shaped crown that can be gripped even with thick aviator gloves. Complications typically include time zones and chronographs. A pilot watch is a great choice if you want something classic with retro flair.

A tactical watch is the opposite of a fashion watch. Think the depths of the jungle, polar treks, mountain peaks, and desert dunes. Or simply a weekend walk where it might get wet. Fancy a tactical watch that also looks super sleek and sophisticated? Based on the original WW1 trench watch, field watches are all about rugged robustness. After all, they needed to withstand brutal conditions and survive battle alongside their wearers. Straps are usually either leather, canvas, or nylon—or might be a classic NATO strap , as developed by the British Ministry of Defence.

Timekeeping devices first and foremost, field watches feature minimal complications and are a very versatile option—a solid everyday watch with an intriguing military past. Some of our favourite field watch brands include Filson and AVI-8, a fairly young brand that makes aviation-inspired timepieces. Full of attitude and energy, racing watches are typically quite flashy. Ever since TAG Heuer added the chronograph and tachymeter to their driving watch, these complications have become defining features of this style of timepiece.

A digital watch is the opposite of an analogue watch. It tells the time by means of digits rather than an hour, minute, and second hand. These days, most digital watches have been replaced by smartwatches, which have the added advantage of internet connectivity. Why opt for a digital watch over a smartwatch? Admittedly, very few of us need a pocket watch.

With an undeniable air of aristocratic grandeur, the majority of pocket watches come with a chain to attach to your waistcoat pocket, making them a great addition to any black-tie outfit. You can choose between an open-faced or lidless pocket watch or a hunter case to allow you to flip it open theatrically in front of passersby. Pocket watches are often quite expensive and some are vintage collectables.

However, you can also pick up more budget-friendly options too. Check out our rundown of the best pocket watches for inspiration. ATM on a watch stands for atmospheres and is used to measure the water resistance of your watch. So what actually makes a watch water-resistant?

Any watch will start to leak at a certain pressure. The water-resistance rating of your watch refers to how well it will keep out water in ideal conditions i. Moving the watch from cold water into warmer air can lead to water damage.

They also tend to be bulky and comfort can be a problem. In addition, they go obsolescent so fast that buying one housed in anything but the cheapest case is a bad investment. But perhaps the biggest factor governing the future of smartwatches is that they aren't just competing against conventional watches, but also emerging technologies like AI speakers and digital assistants.

Smartwatches already suffer from the question of what problem do they actually solve. If something like a more advanced version of Alexa manages to solve that problem first, then the smartwatch could start to fade like the digital watch or vanish almost entirely like the PDAs of the s. So far, we've touched on the major watch categories, but what about the details? Obviously, one thing to consider are functions. Do you need a simple watch?

How simple? Not even a second hand? What about telling the day? Day of the week? Or maybe you want something more complex like a chronograph, a tachymeter, or a tide indicator. Then there are the movements.

Today, you can have a mechanical watch or quartz, analog or digital, a smartwatch with a touchscreen, or a hybrid combining features of any of these.

Each of these has its advantages and its disadvantages. Take mechanical movements. These have centuries of engineering experience behind them and are available in both manual winding and automatic versions. They can be serviced just about anywhere in the world, will last an indefinite time if properly maintained, will keep their value, and enjoy a certain air of seriousness that quartz watches don't.

On the other hand, modern mechanicals have been pushed well up the price range to the point where a good one costs as much as a second-hand car. While there are still affordable mechanicals, it's definitely a case of you get what you pay for.

Quartz watches, on the other hand, are insanely accurate with even cheap models outperforming certified wrist chronometers. Not to mention the super-quartz watches that incorporate little solar panels that eliminate the need to change the battery. On the downside, quartz watches don't lend themselves to repair except by the manufacturer — and then only for top-tier models. Also, quartz digitals don't tend to age well and can look very downmarket after a few years.

In general, digital displays have tended to be associated with "grandpa" watches as analog displays increase in popularity. So what specifics should you look for in a watch? We've already talked about how it should fit your lifestyle and have the functions you want and none of the ones you don't, but what specifics should you be on the alert for? One obvious factor is the cost.

Watches have never varied more in price, ranging cheap enough to give away at cinemas to fetching a million dollars at auction for a collectors item. That may seem daft, but a wristwatch is one of those items where the price is whatever the market will bear. So, the best advice is to pick a watch that fits your budget and seems worth the price. What that is is up to you. Another top factor to consider is legibility. My previous watch was a very stylish dress watch that looked great and was reasonably priced but the elegant hour, minute and second hands were so easy to confuse for one another that I always looked like I was pointedly staring at my watch when I was just trying to figure out the time.

A watch that's hard to read is like a hypercar that you can't fit into. It may be fantastic, but it's also pointless. By the same token, a watch should be comfortable to wear. If it gouges into your wrist or keeps catching on things, then putting it on in the morning won't be much of a pleasure.

In addition, consider the watch's size. A big watch will probably be less comfortable and will look silly on a small wrist. On the other hand, too small a watch might be harder to read and will look equally silly on a large wrist.

The best rule of thumb is to find a watch that is proportional to you — especially if it's being worn on business or formal occasions. If you're looking for a watch that's a little more on the pricey side, there are a few hallmarks that you can be on the lookout for. Flip the watch over and study the case back for a few minutes.

If your watch has a case made of gold or silver, it may have actual hallmarks to certify the metal's purity. Other certifications can show that your watch meets the standard to be marked Swiss Made, that it meets official chronometer standards, or that it's made to government specifications for military issue.

Even the least expensive watch case back may have a wealth of information, including the model and make, the company that made it, the type of movement inside, the watch's country of origin, the movement's country of origin, and the battery needed for quartz movements. In addition, the case may say how water-resistant the watch is, if it's anti-magnetic, what material the case is made of, and what type of crystal is used.

It may even have a serial number or the number of a limited edition. If your watch is in the medium to expensive range, it should be heavy for its size. This doesn't just apply to a deep-sea dive watch, but for any timepiece down to a small lady's watch.

Even the smallest should have some heft to it compared to a cheap one of the same width. Accuracy is another thing to look for. Today's quartz movements are so accurate that they can be used for celestial navigation, but mechanical watches can vary a good deal with an accuracy within seconds per day, month, or year showing the quality of the movement.

Swiss-made watches are tested by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute and are accurate to within 10 seconds per day. Another way to judge accuracy in a mechanical watch is by looking at the seconds hand. On a quartz watch, the stepping motor makes the seconds hand shift in steady one-second beats, but in mechanical watches, the beats can be several times a second. This can be seen in the seconds hand. The quartz beats one second, then another, then another.

In a mechanical watch, the hand will move five, 10, or even 20 times per second. If it beats enough times, the hand looks like that of an electric wall clock and seems to move in a single, smooth sweep — an indication of a very precise, accurate movement. Like other consumer goods, watches are often known by their brands as much as their specifications or looks.

And, like clothes, motorcars, and wine, it's often the label you're paying for rather than the quality. This is particularly the case with some upmarket timepieces being mass produced, yet commanding prices with an alarming markup.

But that doesn't mean brands aren't worth paying for. They often do matter. This is more so with watches because they also include reputations for craftsmanship and even a certain legendary quality as some watches and brands become interwoven with famous figures, historical events, and technical milestones. Then there's the protective nature of branding. We've already mentioned the term "Swiss Made. Over 26 million watches are made by Swiss companies each year. That's a tiny percentage of the world's total, but it also represents half the total dollar value of the world watch trade.

Those two words, Swiss Made, can immediately bump the price of a watch up by 20 percent. To justify this, 60 percent of the production costs of a watch must be based in Switzerland, half the value of the parts must be from Swiss-made components, 60 percent of making the movement must be done in Switzerland, as must all the technical development for the watch and its movement. One important point about a brand is when it comes to servicing a watch — especially in regard to finding spare parts or even getting the battery replaced.

While many watches can be serviced by any competent watch repairman, some require such work to be done by the manufacturer. This may be because they have the expertise, or the parts, or they may demand it on penalty of voiding the warranty. If your prospective watch is vintage or the sort you plan to hang onto and pass on, it's a good idea to find out if the maker is still in business and what their service policies are, or if they've made arrangements with other companies for servicing on a regular basis or if they go out of business.

One very important thing to remember is that once you get into the more expensive watches, fakes become a real problem. Thanks to the internet, cheap international travel, and a penchant for certain countries to indulge in consumer piracy, it's easy to get suckered into buying a counterfeit watch. It's a billion-dollar business and a highly illegal one. Fakes can range from very competent forgeries that would require a practiced eye and a look at the movement to spot, to cheap knock offs with the date window turning out to be a sticker, to Frankenstein watches cobbled together from the parts of several others.

The simplest way to deal with fakes is to remember that if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is. The two best ways of avoiding fakes is to first, always buy from a trusted dealer. Legitimate shops that only offer discounts within a reasonable percentage of the regular price are highly unlikely to be dealing in fakes, as are those who deal regularly in vintage or second-hand watches.

Even eBay, which used to have a problem with fakes, has become much more trustworthy these days. The second way to deal with fakes is to do your homework. If you're going to invest money in a watch, learn all you can about the ones you want. See one in person, feel the heft of it, note the details. Many watches have crystals in the back, so you can see the movement.

That means you can check to see if the proper caliber has been swapped for a phony. The basic rule of thumb is that, while a fake might deceive on its own, when it's compared to the real thing, it will generally look as crude as it is.

If you find yourself tempted to buy a fake, keep in mind that there is an alternative in the form of homage watches. Watchmakers aren't well covered by copyright laws, so their designs are easy to legitimately copy to a surprising degree.

As a result, many companies create watches that are very similar to a luxury item with the exception of the logo and a few minor details. Unlike fakes, these are above board and are generally as well made as any other watch in their price range.

We're not going to claim that the above is a comprehensive buyer's guide to wristwatches. We've ignored many kinds of watches and the bewildering overlap between them, as well as the fact that watch manufacturing is marked by technical innovation, fashion-crazed design explosions, and major brands making improvements to classic watches over decades.

To do justice to the entire field would require several very thick books, a library of videos, and much patience. At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that a watch is a very personal purchase. Chosen wisely, it can quickly become a prized possession or a cherished gift. Chosen poorly and it can end up lost in the back of a junk drawer. The secret is to know what you want, what you want to say about yourself or the person the watch is meant for, and what you can afford, then doing some research to make sure you pick the right timepiece.

This might be as simple as skimming an online catalog for a few minutes, or as complicated as hunting down that elusive "grail" watch over a period of years. But it's worth the effort. Ed's note: Prospective watch buyers might also find our guide to watch terms useful. LOG IN. Menu HOME. Search Query Submit Search. By David Szondy. Facebook Twitter Flipboard LinkedIn.

Which watch? Demystify the watch market. View 41 Images. Nanotechnology being used to fight watch counterfeiting. The MoonMachine 2 with a projected moonphase display. The Ressence Type 2 e-Crown Concept combines mechanical and electromechanical modules. The Hysek Colossal mechanical digital watch. The Krayon Everywhere for displaying sunrise and sunset.

Hublot had its Big Bang Oceanographic Carbon is water resistant to a depth of 4, m 13, ft. Seiko Astron — the world's first quartz watch. The Speedmaster Skywalker X is designed for use by astronauts. Grande Infinity watch safe. The Supercomplication by Patek Phiippe. The Victorinox Dive Master Titanium. The Victorinox Inox. The Jaquet Droz Charming Bird contains a tiny mechanical bird behind the crystal. The Breitling Emergency 2 watch has a built-in rescue beacon. The Blancpain Villeret Retrograde Seconds.

The Zeitwinkel Degrees. Hamilton Khaki Aviation X-Patrol. The Glycine Combat Golden Eye. The Rolex Submariner. Oh, so you fancy something a little bit different for ? Ressence, a next-gen marque first established in , rethinks performance. Instead of standard nuts and cogs, a patented system places all windows on a single surface that sits just under the sapphire glass, and operates using a magnetic transmission connector.

If that wasn't special enough though, Ressence launched the Black Type 3X limited edition to celebrate the brand's 10th anniversary with a tiny production run of just 40 pieces worldwide. The year-old luxury watchmaker now comes with 21st Century hashtags — their latest is the grammatically questionable OneOfNotMany. At least it's apt. With prices starting in the tens of thousands Vacheron is not in the business of mass production: its newest model is a numbered limited edition of Exclusive to online fashion retailer Mr Porter, another gentle concession to the times.

So named after the British explorer who discovered New Zealand, Rado's Captain Cook was first brought to life in the Sixties, and not aboard the ships of ponytailed colonists.

And now, the archival piece is available in the enduring case material du jour — bronze — with a punchy forest green dial. It's another set of features that sets the dive watch apart, and one that'll keep the Captain Cook in the good books: upon its release, Rado's dive watch was largely seen as one of the best in class. That hasn't changed much. And now, you can even get it on a Nato strap. It is a crying shame that Tag Heuer's Monaco — a watch that paid homage to the race track of Le Mans — was decommissioned for around 20 years.

But following a re-release in , it's slowly become one of the marque's marquee pieces. In , they've managed to improve it still. As part of a trio that made slight amendments to the current Monaco model, a black dial on black leather is as close to dress watch territory as a racing watch can park and better yet, the in-house Heuer 02 movement has enough juice for over 80 hours of action.

Once upon a time, the industry wasn't centred in Switzerland. American manufacturing had a stake in the watch business too, rigging small town Main Street aesthetics with big impressive movements.

Hamilton was at the forefront. Now, it's re-released a archival piece for It's got impressive Swiss innards these days, yes, but in terms of what's on the outside, very little has changed. And that's a good thing. For all the opulence and extravagance of a diamond-laden automatic from the Jura, there's as much charm in an 'aw shucks' midwestern sensibility.

A Rolex on the wrist is a serious investment. And thus, a serious watch. Though for all the commanding Wall Street presence of a big Day-Date, the industry's biggest marque is releasing watches that are a bit fun, a little bit more playful — watches just like the new Oyster Perpetual Quietly released just a few months ago , a tangerine dial on stainless steel is the off-duty Rolex collectors have long dreamt about, and better yet, it's no solo act: the Oyster Perpetual 36 sits within a larger collection of five watches in shades of candyfloss pink, forest green, sky blue and blood red.

That's why it uses terms like 'rattrapante', confident that its clientele will know that it refers to a double chronograph that can record multiple time intervals at the same time. Taken from the French for 'catch up', it's a proper horologist's complication, the driving watch equivalent of a bhp V8 under the bonnet.

We'll take their word for that. Without the deep blue sea, Oris wouldn't be able to make its big bold dive watches. And as such, the Swiss marque has a good habit of giving back to subaqueous charities. For its latest gesture: the Oris Hangang Limited Edition. Released in tandem with the Korea Foundation for Environmental Movement, the Hangang Limited Edition siphons a section of its profits to a clean-up operation on the river of the same name — South Korea's second longest in fact.

The piece is also as good as its intentions, with an automatic movement powering an emerald dial inspired by the creeks of the Hangang's source with an engraved caseback depicting the river's path across Korea.

Described by Audemars Piguet as "the most important launch since the Royal Oak in ", the tongue-tying Code Using genuinely new case architecture and a crystal that curved on two separate axis, you could see why AP hailed it as radical a design as the Royal Oak's iconic octagonal case and integrated metal bracelet.

Code The focus is on sunburst lacquered dials in rich colours including blue, burgundy, purple and light and dark grey. All come on hand-stitched alligator straps matching each dials colour and, like the original run of The completion of a corporate building project is typically marked with a glass of champagne and a few words from the company boss. Patek Philippe, though, has a history of accompanying key events in its history with a new watch.

So it has proved on the completion of Patek's architecturally stunning new production building in Geneva, five years in the making. Celebrations all round. The latest in a series of ludicrously high-end chronographs that began with the RM in , the RM is topped off with a flyback function, a GMT indicator and an annual calendar. Fittingly, this costs the same as a Ferrari Portofino. It comes with an OLED screen, a 45mm matte black titanium case and a full suite of smartwatch functions including heart rate monitor, accelerometer and gyroscope.

The first Memovox came out in the Fifties, one of the first generation of wristwatches to come with a chiming, vibrating alarm complication. The version has been slimmed down and tidied up, and naturally features a completely new movement. As one of the oldest watch marques in the whole wide world if not the oldest, but that's up for debate , Vacheron Constantin is on the top shelf of Swiss watches.

That's because they're known for wholly classic, hi-spec pieces. But that doesn't mean they're averse to New Things, though.

Case in point: the Overseas Self-Winding in pink gold. While previously gilding other models in rose gold, pink gold is defined by a smaller copper content, giving it a lighter blush and a subtle newness to the Overseas model.

Factor in an impressive movement too the splendid in-house caliber and here's a watch that plays to the well-worn strengths of Vacheron Constantin.

Breitling continues to roll out new watches for with the new Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition. It is the longest-running association between a watchmaker and a car brand.

The enlarged Arabic numbers and red and blue detailing lend this piece a vintage, dressy feel. Audemars Piguet rarely looks to its back catalogue. It has made an exception here, with a watch based on a chronograph. Concessions to modernity include a revised dial for increased legibility and a glare-proof sapphire crystal case back.

It is limited to pieces. When it was launched last year in a limited run, Timex's first military-inspired automatic watch sold out quicker than you could say, "An automatic watch for how much? With only m water resistance it's more a desk diving watch than a diver diving watch.

But at that price, we're not ones to quibble. A handsome automatic steel watch inspired 'by travel', from independent London watchmaker George Bamford. His eye for detail has led to work with big name watch brands including Tag Heuer and Zenith, but Bamford's own line is always worth your time. Designed with a bold blue and orange dial, the GMT hand function lets you simultaneously view the time in two different zones.

Today it maintains a pole position in the league of best-designed brands, noted for its clean dials and minimalist indices. Its relationship with the Swiss architect and typeface designer Max Bill dates back to the Fifties and lives on in with this smart and sophisticated, elegantly proportioned day watch. Green is a fashionable colour in the watch world for , and this model hits the sweet spot between being military-inspired and stylish. Available in two case sizes, 41mm and 43mm, it is water resistant to m.

SHOP Tag Heuer's third generation smartwatch, featuring a more refined design and added sensors for sport and fitness. A new dedicated Sports app uses GPS plus heart rate, compass, accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors for tracking activities including golf, running and cycling. Tag Heuer has also been able to make this itineration physically smaller by hiding the antennas underneath a new ceramic bezel, in addition to putting the screen closer to the sapphire glass. It also looks more like a traditional watch.

One of the nicest-looking chronographs and arguably the classic IWC dress watch now comes with a self-winding in-house movement that significantly lowers its entry price at least in the steel version. Available with a silver, black or blue dial in steel, or silver and black dial in 18k red gold. The absence of a date keeps it classy. Grey and neon green is a winning combination, as any Air Max 95 fan knows.

Also available with a blue dial. Would look equally smart on a NATO strap. Tag Heuer marks years at the pole position of watchmaking with this new Carrera Silver Limited Edition. Limited to 1, pieces as in the founding year, A justly celebrated piece of design, it is now available in non-limited stainless steel, putting it into orbit of those without the means to hit up the auction houses for an vintage model.

Ultimate indeed. Back then, it created quite a stir — at a scarcely-possible 2. The paper-thin sports watch has previously been available in titanium, stainless steel and rose gold, all with a sandblasted finish.