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6 things to keep in mind while buying a wristwatch
Summary
Whether you are a dedicated collector, or a casual buyer, here are a few important things you need to keep in mind while selecting your next watch
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always worn a watch. From a plastic Mickey Mouse watch—basically a toy, but it did tell the time—when I was in my early teens, to a Timex Expedition through college, to a diverse array of (affordable) watches now, I’ve never been without a timepiece on my wrist.
To an extent, this is due to the fact that growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, everyone wore watches. Apart from the aesthetics of it, if my left wrist is bare, I feel uncomfortable. But there were no “watch collectors" in the country back then, and there are just a few now. Watch collecting wasn’t for the middle class, at least not in India. You had one watch, you got on with it.
Thanks to social media though—especially Instagram—being a watch nerd is a thing now. The fact that there are many more people in the country with higher disposable incomes certainly helps, and on the upper end of the spectrum, well, the dollar millionaires have to spend money, right?
But watches are marvellous things, and in my view, better than that wearable device on your wrist. If you were to reflect, you don’t really need your watch to check mail, or Facebook, or your email. And all those health indicators are basically a drag, and I’d hazard that they’re just another source of anxiety in an already anxious world. Watches, on the other hand, are aesthetic things that don’t just tell the time, but also invite you to interact with time.
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Over the past decade or so, led by the Apple Watch, wearables have come to dominate the “wrist real estate" market. But that doesn’t mean, as someone I heard saying the other day, that wristwatch market and the wearables market is the same. They may have overlaps at the lower and mid-range prices, but there too we are seeing the effects of a new technology. Just like the sales of smartphones have plateaued because of sheer ubiquity in most markets, so will, slowly and surely, the smartwatch market. Do you upgrade every year when a new Apple Watch or a Garmin comes out? Maybe once you did. But the tech upgrades are no longer compelling enough for you to do so now.
Watches, on the other hand are now increasingly free of the constraints of the spec sheet. Yes, a healthy water resistance matters, the quality of stainless steel is better, quartz watches might go longer without a battery change, and mechanical watch movements are more stable and easily serviceable. But at two ends of the price spectrum, both the Rolex Submariner as well as the Seiko Turtle are free of the need to be life-saving devices for professional divers. Instead, the signal they give is different: oh look, I’m sporty, but I’m a classicist too, and I have a more sophisticated sense of aesthetics.
So, you have read this far, and you would like to buy a watch. If that is the case, here are six things that you should keep in mind.
Nobody cares about your watch
Whether you are a dedicated watch enthusiast or if you are casually interested in buying a watch, you should do it for your own pleasure. Chances are that people you meet won’t be interested in your watch, unless they happen to be enthusiasts themselves. One mistake that many make is that they buy the marketing pitch of watch brands wholesale and feel that buying an expensive mechanical watch is a way of signifying status.
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That’s not a good reason to buy a watch. You’d be better off by pleasing yourself with your decision. Do you like what the watch offers? Does its design, overall aesthetics and usefulness speak to you? Have you done your research? These are the questions you need to be asking, not whether your friends and acquaintances will be impressed by it.
Don’t get swayed by trends
In a way, this carries over from the previous point. If you were to follow watch Instagram and YouTubers, you will see the same 5 or so brands and 10 or so models being hyped up incessantly. What you need to do instead is to read up—there are so many great watch publications out there—and visit watch boutiques. Until you’ve window-shopped and tried out a bunch of watches, you will never know what it is that strikes your fancy. After all, you don’t want to be stuck with buyer’s remorse.
Never impulse buy a watch
Unless it’s a Casio, or perhaps a Timex. Why? Because they make great, inexpensive watches and will not end up being an expensive mistake. You may have heard celebrities talking about buying an expensive timepiece while hungover at an airport. Well, that should never be you, even if you are well-off.
Here’s a rule of thumb that experienced watch collectors follow. Keep going back to the watch that has struck your fancy. Read about it, and, wherever possible, check it out in person. If, after a couple of months of returning to it, you still want it, it’s the watch for you.
Consider vintage or second-hand watches
Now we’re certainly into enthusiast territory. It is unlikely that a casual buyer will ever consider buying vintage, but there’s plenty of amazing value there. And this is especially true if what you are considering is a dress watch. This is down to two things—designs and movements. Wristwatch designs arguably peaked between the 1950s and 1970s. After all, most of the best known watch models owed their origin to those three decades. So, in terms of a buying a beautiful watch that’s oozing class and mid-century modern vibes, you cannot go wrong.
When it comes to movements, most mechanical watches are made to last for generations, if used and preserved well. Mechanical movements can be easily serviced, and not for a great cost either. All you need to do is to identify a few reputed watch makers who sell vintage pieces, and always check out the watches in person before buying. There are a few services in India that sell pre-owned watches, especially after doing their due diligence. If you go down this route, you may well be able to get a great watch from a premium or luxury brand at considerably less money.
Watches are not investments
This cannot be said often enough. I see a trend in India of so-called ‘watch enthusiasts’ who are only concerned with a watch’s re-sale value. Their knowledge is totally anecdotal, and at worse it suggests a degree of snobbery, and at worse, a complete failure to grasp how investing works.
As soon as a watch is purchased and leaves a boutique, it immediately loses value with regards to its MSRP. This is true for nearly all luxury brands, except perhaps Rolex. But even in the case of the latter, the secondary market has seen a steep correction, and the inflated prices of pre-owned models from a couple of years ago is now history. Even for a brand like Patek Philippe, it’s only a few specific models that appreciate in value. If you have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get into the watch investment game, is it really worth it? If you want to invest, buy mutual funds. Not a watch.
Don’t be a watch snob
You love Rolex, You hate Rolex. You think Casio is for kids. You think Casio is a god-tier watch brand. You think The Omega Moonwatch is the best chronograph in the world. You think the Omega x Swatch “Moonswatch" is déclassé. Well, you are entitled to your opinions, and strong opinions are what makes this hobby interesting.
But not at the cost of demeaning another person’s choices. People like what they like, and they can afford what they afford. You should be grateful that they’re not wearing a fashion watch or a wearable. Always be respectful of another person’s watch-buying choices, and never bore others with unsolicited information about your precious watch. Even if you want to voice your opinions, do so in a respectful way. Don’t know how? Shut up.
Handwound is a column on watches and watchmaking.
