Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a Watch (A Review on the Luxury Watch Brands)

A watch is essential in maintaining a hectic and purpose-driven lifestyle. I believe that having the right timepiece to guide you will showcase your image as a person and what career you are heading in. However, choosing a brand that suits you and your liking may take a lot of time for that matter. That is why I did some research on the best luxury watches and what they can offer.

Here is a helpful guide of what to consider in buying a watch. This is the definitive guide for the favorite timepiece of all time:

Rolex is one of the most popular luxury watches. Its consistent classic designs show its British origins. Despite the undeniable popularity of Rolex watches, each timepiece is still made by hand. It is known to offer watches that has timeless function and form. Rolex is internationally acclaimed and is still the largest luxury watch brand.

Review: An automatic Rolex does not need winding if they are worn for twelve hours daily. If you need a luxury watch brand that looks good and is long-lasting - Rolex watches will be a good match for you.

With mechanical watches, Rolex is arguably the most accurate there is. They truly go above and beyond when it comes to precision. Their cases are also very durable. Rolex offers a lot of styles. It is definitely not the most expensive luxury watch but it offers a good value.

Price ranges from $5,000 to $650,000+.

The brand boasts of its complex mechanics and traditional styling which have been worn by the royalty throughout history. The brand which has been founded since 1851, is believed to maintain its classic and unique distinctive signature style up to the present.

Review: This brand is actually a great choice especially if you are looking for quality especially that it is used by the royal kings and queens since the older times. The brand offers some of the best ideal dress watches. This brand showcases most of the elegant and classical designs. Patek Philippe watches are considered to be a good investment considering that there is a higher demand for Patek Philippe watches than the supply.

Patek production is so detailed that it takes nine months to make its most basic watches, and more than two years to produce some of the more complicated timepieces.

Price ranges from $15,000 to $1 million+.

Chopard is not only known for its pieces of jewelry but also for its luxurious watches. Founded by Louis-Ulysse Chopard, these label offer wristwatches which are sophisticated in look. Chopard is known to offer watches that are popular for its great detailing and state-of-the-art design.

Review: Chopard has many watches which use Quartz movements which are ridiculously more affordable compared to mechanical movements. A Chopard is more of a refined classy watch. If you prefer a more affordable luxury watch, then Chopard is the one for you.

Price ranges from $5,040 to $60,000+

Omega is one of the most influential luxury watch brands. It is amazing when I found out that the brand was used from NASA, to Olympics, to James Bond. Omega is a perfect brand for those who love to hustle with speed and action.

Review: This brand is perfect for drivers, aviators, even astronauts. Co-axial movement can be found in Omega models since 1999. No other luxury watch manufacturer makes the same meticulous efforts in the production of watches that require the least maintenance. For sports enthusiasts, Omega is the right brand for you.

This brand cost ranges from $1,000 to $710,000.

Another watch perfect for sports-loving or speed-loving men is the TAG Heuer. According to my research, this Swiss manufacturing company produces other things such as eyewear, mobile phone, and accessories.

The TAG Heuer name is an abbreviation of ‘Techniques d’Avant Garde’ while Heur refers to the founder, Edouard Heuer. While its watches have developed over the decades, its design still has the sports-like design.

Review: This brand boasts of its chronograph feature and other amazing innovations. They make great mechanical watches, quartz watches, some highly precise chronographs, and even tourbillon watches. However, in terms of high complication watch though there are still several brands out there that TAG has to catch up with to be in that league.

This product cost from $1,500 to $10,000+.

Luxury watch brand Breitling is known to offer watches that have excellent durability and precision.

This brand offer watches that are perfect not only for aviation but also for diving. Take note, it is also used in the James Bond movie “Thunderball”.

Review: Breitling watches use cost-effective battery-powered quartz movements which are more affordable and require less maintenance than mechanical ones. They're unique in the sense that you can choose the exact strap you want on every single watch. They also have quite a few special edition watches and limited edition watches. Breitling watches are good if you want variety.

The price of watches from this brand ranges from $3,000 – $280,000.

Montblanc is known for its famous pens, but the brand label also creates luxury brand watches. You might see Hugh Jackman wearing this luxury brand. The label offers beautiful timepieces which are stylish as they are functional.

Review: I find this brand a favorite because its timepieces are amazingly hand-crafted. For those who prefer looking simple in a very clean and sophisticated way, while using either a Mac computer or sitting in your office – minimalist watches are a great choice for you. I find these watches simplistic in nature and design but still elegant. It has one purpose: to tell you the time. An example of a minimalist watch is the Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Date Automatic. For those who prefer simple but elegant watches, Montblanc might be the right luxury watch for you.

Price ranges from $2,000 to $388,600.

Audamers Piguet is noted for creating the first steel luxury sports watch. The brand Audemars Piguet released the first ever oversized watch named Royal Oak Offshore. This gives a more sporty, masculine and powerful take on wrist watches.

Review: For fans of large watches, Audemars Piguet is the right one for you. This brand boasts of its sporty look watches. It offers great value and has complicated and amazing brand movements.

Price ranges from $7,000 to $850,000+.

Panerai is popular because a lot of their watches look wonderful on several straps. Not all brands can pull this off, simply because they look wonderful on just one or possibly a few color options. Panerai is known for its bold styles and simplistic numeral elements and design.

Review: While some people may look consider Panerai watches as too boring, Panerai watches are special. While a busy dial must be inspected up close, a plain and simple dial can be seen from across the room. Simple is beautiful. Less is more. You cannot mistake a Panerai for anything else. Panerai offers high-end products.

Prices of watches from this label range from $4,000 to $1 million.

One last brand that caught my attention is Piaget. It is founded by Georges Edouard Piaget in La Côte-aux-Fées, Switzerland. This brand is known for its thinner watch styles. This label offers a unique and elegant design for timepieces that include flaunting dials made from precious stones such as lapis-lazuli, turquoise, onyx and tiger’s eye.

Review: This is something that I would like to use especially on important occasions or gatherings. Piaget is famous for offering the world’s thinnest hand-wound mechanical watch. It manufactures its own movements, and has done so from the beginning, and has a specialization other companies do not have, that is ultra-thin watches.

Price ranges from $7,000 – $3.3 million.

One of the things you need to consider before buying a watch is the movement involved in it. There are two main types of movement: the quartz which is regulated by quartz and a battery, and the automatic which uses the wearer’s wrist to turn on the watch. It is important to take note that once you remove an automatic watch on your wrist, it will stop. This means that automatic watches will need rewinding after some time when it stops. However, most wearers will prefer an automatic watch rather than quartz watches. One of the reason is that quartz watches depreciate very quickly.

Having a watch that is suitable for different kinds of events is a great way to impress others and live elegantly. Another thing to look out for when purchasing a watch is its design. Luxury watch brands offer a variety of design from dress watches that offer great detailing and state of the art design.

Another great feature that a busy man can use is a watch that is suitable for driving. These watches are for men who like speed. I found out that there are watches that have chronograph complication which has prevalence in motor driving.

It is also interesting to learn that aviator watches are available especially designed for pilots. These watches can convey large information that is necessary for pilots. Most of these aviation timepieces have a black face consisting of luminous numerals and dials.

Before buying a watch, you should also consider the size. I have a smaller wrist size, so I prefer the wristwatch that is not too big. Because there are various wrist sizes, there also the various size of watches. If you’re a man or woman with a smaller wrist, a 34-40mm case will work for you. For gents and ladies with wider wrists, they should choose models up to 46mm.

Another thing that you make sure to look out for is the straps. The item that binds your timepiece to your wrists is immensely significant in the character of your watch. A metal bracelet would suit a masculine, chunky watches. One should prefer leather for conventional, dressy timepieces.

Each luxury brands offer different watch styles with different additional features. While looking at the features that suit your preference and needs it is also important to take note of the prices. Buy a watch that is on par with your budget. I bought mine by comparing prices and the features that these watches offer. Whatever your choice is, these brands are great and are worth giving a try.