How to Pick a Watch

Consider the types. When you are picking out a watch, you should understand the different types you can buy. There are three main types of watches: analog, digital, and analog/digital. An analog watch holds hour and minute hands with the hours depicted with numbers, marks, or roman numerals. Digital watches display time in numerical form on either an LCD or LED face. Analog/digital watches combine the two other types into one watch.

• Analog watches are typically considered traditional and are good for business and formal occasions as well as dates. Digital watches are very casual. Analog/digital watches are practical because they can be worn everyday and are also good for work, but they aren't for formal occasions.^[1]

Discover the materials. There are two elements on a watch where materials matter. The case and the band will change materials depending on the brand, style, type, and price of the watch. The case, or part that holds the face of the watch, typically can be made of plastic, resin, metal such as steel, brass, or titanium, as well as precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum. The bands can be made in all of the materials as cases, with the addition of materials such as canvas, leather (real and fake), and exotic skins.

• The price of these materials vary greatly. Plastic will obviously be the cheapest, cheap, synthetic materials will fall next, leather and other skins will be slightly more, typical metals will be next, while the precious metal watches are typically the most expensive. Those prices will vary depending on the quality of the precious materials. For example, metal ranges from the least expensive 10K metals to the more expensive 18K metals.^{[2] [3]}

Know movement types. Movement types are the power sources for the watches. Watches use three basic movement types: battery, quartz, and mechanical. Battery movement utilizes batteries as the only source of power. Quartz movement runs when the power of a battery is sent through the quartz on the inside of the watch. Mechanical movement relies on the wearer winding the elements, which is either manual or automatic.

• Battery watches are the cheapest and least luxurious. Digital watches and watches bought at department or clothing stores are typically battery watches.
• Quartz watches are slightly more expensive than traditional battery watches, but are the most accurate of all the different types. They require little maintenance aside from occasionally replacing the battery and are not prized by collectors due to the simplicity of their design.
• Mechanical watches are either wound by hand (manual) or are wound throughout the day by the movements of the wearer (automatic, or self-winding). These watches are the most expensive, most luxurious, and are prized most by collectors due to the intricacy of their design.^{[4] [5]}

Decide on a style. You can buy watch styles specifically designed for sports, work, formal events, going out, and casual outfits. Where you are going to be wearing your watch should be the main factor in deciding what style of watch to buy. If you are going to use it while running, swimming, or you want some extra features dealing with heart rate, you should go with a sports watch, field watch or divers watch. If you need a watch to wear to work, formal events, or dates, your best bet would be to buy a dress watch. If you just need a day to day watch to wear with everything, buy a casual watch. If you need it for all kinds of occasions from work to everyday life, go with a dress watch. It looks better when you wear casual clothes with a dress watch than it does to wear a casual watch with office attire.^{[6] [7] [8]}

• The gadget watch is an emerging style that keeps gaining popularity every year, though they are still most popular with tech savvy individuals. They have features that include things such as calendars, digital cameras, and e-mail programs, just to name a few.^[9]
• The different styles can range anywhere from simple to luxurious, depending on the brand, designer, price, and functions.^{[10] [11]}

Choose a brand. Keeping your budget in mind, look through the kinds of brands that make watches and decide your favorites. Many companies have been around for years, so picking a brand can be overwhelming. Research the company's history to see how long they have been making watches and what styles they have. Ask your family and friends who have bought watches in the past what brands they like and have worked best for them. You can even do some online investigation, reading reviews about certain companies and their watch models. You need to make sure that the brand you choose has the style that you decide you want.^[12]

Consider the features. When you are picking out the ideal watch, you need to know what feature you need and want included on your watch. All watches have basic models and more elaborate models. You can buy anything from a dress watch that only tells time to a casual watch that has a computer in it to a sports watch that will tell you your heart rate, the distance you've traveled, and calories burned, just to name a few. The more impressive the gadgets, the more expensive the watch. It truly depends on what your need your watch for. For example, if you are going to be doing a lot of international travel for business, you might think of buying a dress watch that allows you to tell time across multiple time zones. The possibilities are vast and varied.^{[13] [14]}

• One main feature you may want to consider is the level of water resistance. The level of resistance needed depends on the amount of water that you want to wear your watch in. Generic water resistance will handle spills and rainstorms. The upper levels of water resistance vary from 50 meter to 1000 meter resistance, which covers washing dishes to deep sea scuba diving and everything in between.^{[15] [16]}

Adjust the fit. When you have found all the elements on a watch that you like, you now need to take the last step, which is to make sure that the watch fits you. You want your watch band to be tight enough that it doesn't slide around your wrist but loose enough that it doesn't cut off your circulation. You want the watch case to be small or large enough to look proportionate on your arm but not go too much in the other direction either way.

• A good size test for your watch is to try to shift your watch up and down your arm. If it can move, it is too small. If it doesn't and it leaves an imprint on your wrist when you remove it, it is too big. If it doesn't leave an imprint and you can't shift it up and down your arm, then your watch fits perfectly.
• If you are a tall or husky guy, you need to ensure that the watch band is not going to be too small for you and that the watch face isn't too small for your proportions. If you have small wrists or a slight frame, you need a smaller watch band and face.^[17]