VeLa

Think about the wrist watch. It seems so simple from the outside, designed with the sole purposes of letting you know the proper time of day.

But there are some wrist watches that go beyond the call of duty – luxury watches of such expert craftsmanship and beauty that they are truly an item of luxury. Luxury watches go beyond mere fashion trends, they are timeless pieces that last a lifetime and are often passed down as heirlooms.

These fine watches make thoughtful gifts for birthdays, graduations or other significant milestones. If you’re considering the purchase of a luxury wrist watch as a gift for someone – or for yourself – we hope this luxury watch buying guide will give you the information necessary to help you understand the options available to lead you to the best possible choice.

Buying a Luxury Watch:

1. There are a number of luxury watch brands and styles to choose from. Depending on who the purchase is for, your first decision will be whether to look for men’s luxury watches or women’s luxury watches. You can choose from classic and simple gold or silver watches; or perhaps your recipient loves jewelry and would be thrilled to have a diamond band wristwatch.  For men, a rugged stainless steel wristwatch may be the appropriate choice. Do what you can to find out the tastes and likes of your recipient so that you can choose the appropriate luxury timepiece.
2. Consider the function of the watch. If you’re shopping for yourself, you may want a luxury watch that can be worn every day as a part of your image. On the other hand if you’re purchasing as a gift, you might want to purchase a special occasion watch with diamonds or other precious stones. Some of the decisions you’ll need to make are band style and material, movement, and case style.
3. There is a huge price range in luxury watches. You can find a lovely Bulova for a few hundred dollars, or you may want to pay thousands for a TAG Heuer.  Know how much you want to spend before you start shopping, then look for luxury brands in that price range. Knowing how much you have to spend will help you decide on the features you want on you luxury timepiece.
4. Decide on the watch materials you’d like. A true luxury watch should be made from the finest materials available. Most people consider a gold watch to be the standard in luxury, but there are many other materials you can go with. For women, white gold can be a very elegant choice. Stainless steel is a material that is seen in many men’s multi-function luxury watches.  While a leather strap is usually more casual than a metal bracelet style, straps can be quite elegant.
5. Simple or embellished? A luxury watch can have a very simple and classic design with no embellishment at all. But if it’s glamour you’re going for, look for a luxurious timepiece featuring diamonds or other gemstones.  Be sure that you’re getting authentic stones, though; rhinestones and beads don’t have the timeless quality of real diamonds.
6. What functions do you need? The true value of a watch lies in how well it keeps time. Those who truly appreciate the artistry of watchmaking prefer mechanical movement rather than quartz. There is a true art to making a manual wind watch that keeps near perfect time. Most luxury watches have mechanical movement as opposed to quartz movement.  On the other hand, quartz movement watches do keep time more precisely than mechanical, and you can find some truly exquisite watches with quartz movement. Complications are what we call anything a watch does that is beyond simple hour, minute and second time-keeping. When you get a handmade mechanical watch with several complications (such as date and day display), you have a watch that is intrinsically more valuable and will be the top of the luxury line.