How to buy the right luxury watch

Luxury watches have long been recognized as a symbol of success.

Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, TAG Heuer, and other popular brands of luxury watches demand instant respect and admiration.

While a watch’s primary purpose is to display the time, more and more of today’s watches offer additional benefits. Some serve as two-way radios, wrist mounted computers, or even display your position on the earth's surface using GPS. The sophisticated capabilities of modern watches boggle the mind.

But while watches in general have increased in their utility, some go far beyond the latest bells and whistles and offer something more: watches that are built to last a lifetime.

These premier watches are known as luxury watches. There are a few things you should know before deciding on which luxury watch to purchase: 

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Automatic luxury watches versus Quartz - First, you need to understand what makes luxury watches tick (literally).

When shopping for a luxury watch, it is very important to know the difference between an automatic watch that doesn't use batteries and a quartz watch that does use them.

An automatic watch is "powered" by physical movement of the wearer’s wrist. This means of course that if an automatic watch isn't worn (being stored temporarily) for an extended period of time, the watch will stop ticking. Simply giving the watch a little shake will put it back into operation. 

On the other hand, a quartz watch is powered by a battery. Typically, automatic watches cost more than quartz watches because very precise engineering is required to produce and maintain the proper mechanical functionality.

Here is an interesting statistic for you: Nine out of ten women’s watches are quartz because women are generally more interested in the style of the watch than its power source. 

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Caliber automatic versus standard automatic - To more clearly understand a watch’s movement, it's helpful to compare this function to an automobile engine.

As a Porsche’s engine differs from a Ford’s, watch movements vary significantly as well. A watch’s movement is measured in calibers: the higher the caliber, the higher the quality of the movement.

This means that although automatic watch movements function without batteries, after a while the watch will be slightly off time. A high caliber watch movement will provide greater precision.

For example, after one month of wearing a standard automatic, low caliber watch, it will typically be off by approximately twelve minutes, but a caliber 36 (a high caliber watch movement) will be off by only two minutes.

If the watch is stored and not being worn, a standard automatic watch will run for approximately 36 days before it stops ticking. But a watch with a caliber 36 movement will run for 50 days. And, of course, the higher the caliber number of the watch movement, the more expensive the watch will be. 

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Pick a luxury watch that matches your personality - With the large variety of luxury watch brands available, it can be overwhelming when trying to figure out which brand will best meet your watch-wearing needs.

Different watch brands tend to specialize in certain areas of timekeeping. For example, TAG Heuer is well known for its precise accuracy in the sports world, especially in golf and auto-racing.

In fact, TAG Heuer’s latest brand ambassador, Tiger Woods, has actually helped them design the Link Tiger Woods Limited Edition, his own signature luxury watch. This watch was designed for golfers who prefer to wear a light watch while on the course.

He even provided input on the design and building of the watch. Its sub-dial is burgundy (his lucky playing color), which stands for power and victory. This automatic-movement luxury watch features a black face and is inscribed with his name. 

There are several factors to consider when pondering an investment in a fine luxury watch. Those mentioned above should get you started on your way to making the right decision for you.

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