Despite our smartphones being able to tell time, we still wear wristwatches on a regular basis for different reasons. A watch does more than tell the time. The best timepieces are actually works of art; they are beautiful to look at and they often say a lot about who we are as a person. You can tell a lot about a person from the watch he or she wears.
Watches go even beyond being a fashion accessory. The best Swiss watches are valuable, exquisite, and functional at the same time. They get passed down from generation to generation simply because they are immensely reliable, especially if you take good care of them with a premium watch cleaning kit.
Buying the best wristwatch is an investment in many ways, and it can be a big investment indeed, which is why doing your homework and thinking your purchase decision through are necessary. Even better, you now have more options to choose from, both from brands with a lot of history and new players trying to disrupt the watchmaking industry. Before you set out on a search for the right timepiece, here are some of the things you need to know.

Start with a Budget

Just like other big purchases, you need to have a clear budget in mind before setting out on a search for a good timepiece to buy. A budget will help you limit your search. It allows you to set your search parameters for watches in a certain price range or criteria, such as ‘Swiss automatic watches under $500’ etc., so you always end up with options that are well within your budget.
It is not a secret that the best Swiss watches are relatively expensive, at least when compared with timepieces from Japanese or US-based brands. Swiss watchmakers have a long history of incredible quality and craftmanship, and you can’t really put a price on those traits.
That said, there is nothing wrong with going for watches from Japanese or US brands. Brands like Casio and Seiko are also notoriously reliable, plus they pay closer attention to details. This means you can have a budget of around $100 and still end up with a quality watch to wear.

Decide on a Style

The next thing to decide on is a style. Watches come in different styles, and each of them has unique traits to admire. For starters, you can decide whether you want an analog or a digital watch. The former is the way to go if you want that high-quality craftmanship and gorgeous designs of Swiss watchmakers.
A dive watch or diver’s watch is a style that is becoming more popular in recent years. You can recognize a dive watch from the big, rotating bezel used to keep track of elapsed time when diving. The watch also features a running second hand with lume on either the tip or the tail.
A dress watch is usually subtler and more elegant. Dress watches tend to be simpler yet incredibly detailed. Swiss-made dress watches can be very thin too; in fact, one of the marks of an expensive, well-made dress watch is its thinness.
A pilot’s watch or aviator watch is also a style of watches that is growing in popularity. Aviator watches are designed to be very tough and easy to read. You’ll normally see bigger dials and clear, often colored hands as part of the best aviator watches on the market.
A field watch or a military watch, on the other hand, has more elements on the watch face. Aside from the usual 1-to-12 dials, military watches also display the 13-to-24 marks, either around the outer bezel or inside the watch face itself.
Last but certainly not least, we have luxury watches; watches designed for the purpose of showing elegance. They come in different sizes and styles, but some signature traits remain the same. Luxury watches often use expensive materials – diamonds or carbon composite are quite commonly used.

A Swiss-Made Piece

We’re back to talking about Swiss watches. There are reasons why you want to pick up a Swiss-made watch, especially if you have the budget for one. The automatic mechanism of Swiss watches is incredibly durable, very refined, and will last a lifetime with minimum maintenance. Swiss watches are also well-designed, and they have a long heritage of quality time pieces to support them.
Here’s another reason why aiming for a Swiss-made timepiece is worth considering – they are not as expensive as you think. Many Swiss watchmakers now release pieces designed for those who want to get into horology. Tissot, for example, released the Visodate series – a series that pays tribute to Tissot’s long history in watchmaking – to be very affordable.
You also have brands like Liv Watches disrupting the market with its new approach on watchmaking. Liv Watches in particular is shaking up the industry by connecting directly with customers. This means the company can break the status quo by offering quality timepieces at reasonable prices, all whilst cutting the middlemen and breaking some norms along the way. In return, you get the same level of quality and the joy of owning a Swiss-made timepiece.

Stick with Originals

Forget about buying copies or knock-off watches. As good as they may be, they are never a match for the original. Buying original timepieces is the only way to go, especially if you are seeing the purchase as an investment.
Fake watches can be very tempting indeed. After all, they look almost the same as the original and work nearly as well, and they cost only a fraction of what the original would cost. As tempting as that may sound, spending that little extra money to get the original timepiece will always result in better long-term gain.
Original watches can be serviced. They also require minimal maintenance and will run properly for years. Another thing that separates original timepieces and their counterfeits is accuracy. Original Swiss-made watches are incredibly accurate down to +/- 2 seconds a month on the finest pieces.
Don’t even begin to think about resale value. The value of counterfeit watches drops as soon as you buy one. The value of original watches, especially vintage pieces and watches with a large following, could increase over time.

Making the Purchase

One last thing you need to know about buying watches is the importance of buying from the right supplier. There are a lot of retailers and stores that sell watches from different brands and watchmakers, but not all of them are equal.
Buying from a reputable retailer is always the way to go. You don’t have to worry about the watches not being delivered safely. On top of that, you also get good aftersales service with every purchase you make. You can easily contact the retailer should you run into issues with your watch.
In the case of certain brands such as Liv Watches, you buy from the brand directly. This is even better in many ways. You don’t have to go through middlemen at all, so you can expect the absolute best price when making that purchase.
The brand also offers warranty of every purchase you make, and you can ask for customer service from the manufacturer – the watchmaker – directly. Combined, these advantages make dealing with watchmakers that engages customers directly a huge plus.
So, are you ready to buy your own watch? With the insights and tips that you can find in this article, choosing the right watch to buy and making the investment on a quality timepiece are both very easy to do.