Watch Buying Guide

It?s not just a matter of picking a watch that you like the look of and wearing it every day for the next ten years. Buying a watch is difficult, but since watches are such long-lived pieces, it?s important to get it right. Don?t be that guy wearing a sports watch to a business lunch.

Match it to your needs

There?s no point having a resilient waterproof watch if you are mainly going to wear it to the office. But if you go for a swim every morning and are prone to forgetting to take your watch off, you?re really going to want your watch to be able to handle being underwater. Before you start thinking about brands or colors, you need to figure out when you?ll be using this watch, how often, and what you want it to be able to do. Don?t be sucked in by watches with five different dials, multiple time zones or an inbuilt butler. Meet your needs and keep the rest as simple as possible. You don?t need to choose a watch with all the complications just to prove that you can afford one. If you choose an understated enough look, you will be able to use it as both an everyday and a special occasion piece.

Go analog

An analog watch is so much more sophisticated than digital, and you?ll find you get more life out of it. If it?s not imperative to your needs to get a digital watch, always go with analog. Analog watches go well with all kinds of outfits. You wouldn?t want to wear a tacky digital watch with your suit.

Bracelet or leather?

The two main choices for the wrist are either a metal bracelet or a leather strap. Bracelet watches are chunkier and are better suited to larger built men, whereas leather strap watches are more streamlined. However, there is no reason to preference one over the other, it?s just a matter of personal taste and style.

Metal matters

A platinum watch is the ultimate in luxury, closely followed by gold. If you?re willing to invest in an expensive watch, you?ll want one in a precious metal. Consider getting a rose gold watch for something a little different. Meanwhile, the man on a budget will want a stainless steel watch. They don?t look quite as impressive, but stainless steel watches are still respectable.

Brands to watch

If you have money to burn, nothing tops Rolex, Patek Philippe and A Lange & Sohne. But you don?t need to shell out tens of thousands of dollars just to tell the time. Some of the better watch brands where you won?t spend more than a few hundred dollars are Fossil, Epos and Invincta.

It?s fine to go with a watch from a relatively unknown brand. The most important thing is to get a watch that suits your needs and doesn?t look like it?s trying to be fancier than it is.