Eleanor Pemberton
Start With One Watch You Will Actually Wear
The first rule of a sensible collection is that it should begin with a watch you can wear almost anywhere. Not the most exciting piece, not the one you admired on someone else's wrist at a dinner party, but the one that looks right with a tweed jacket, a navy suit and a pair of jeans on a Saturday morning.
That usually means a steel case between 36mm and 40mm, a clean dial with applied numerals or batons, a sapphire crystal and a water resistance of at least 100 metres. A mechanical movement is a pleasure to own, but a well-made quartz is entirely respectable and leaves more in the budget for the second and third watches. On a wrist of around seven inches, a 38mm case sits beautifully; smaller wrists suit 34mm to 36mm, larger ones 40mm to 42mm.
Expect to spend somewhere between £250 and £600. That buys a reliable movement, decent finishing and a bracelet or strap you will not need to replace immediately. Buying pre-owned from a reputable dealer often costs less than new for comparable quality, and the difference pays for your next piece. Stick to a plain dial and a neutral case metal — steel is the most versatile choice by a comfortable margin.
Add a Dress Watch That Sits Flat Under a Cuff
The second watch is the one for dinners, weddings, interviews and anything requiring a dinner suit or morning dress. Here the watch should almost disappear: slim, quiet and elegant. Look for a case under 9mm thick, a diameter of 34mm to 38mm, two hands rather than three, and either no date or a discreet one at three o'clock.
A plain leather strap in black or dark brown is the correct pairing, and a gold-tone or polished steel case will serve equally well depending on your wardrobe. Avoid anything oversized or heavily detailed; a dress watch that draws attention to itself is doing the opposite of its job.
You do not need to spend a fortune. Between £150 and £400 will secure a handsome hand-wound or quartz piece, and vintage examples from the middle of the last century offer wonderful value if you accept that servicing may cost more than the watch itself. If you buy vintage, budget for a service straight away rather than discovering the problem at an awkward moment.
A Sports Watch for the Rough and Tumble
The third addition is the one that takes the knocks so the others do not have to. Gardening, swimming on holiday, assembling flat-pack furniture, mucking about with the dog — this is the watch for all of it.
Look for a screw-down crown, water resistance of 200 metres, a tough crystal and either a rotating bezel or a legible field-watch dial. A steel bracelet or a rubber strap is more practical than leather, which will not thank you for regular soaking. A quartz movement is a perfectly sensible choice here, since accuracy and indifference to rough treatment matter more than romance. Budget £200 to £500, and do not be precious about scratches — they are the price of actually wearing the thing.
Straps Do More Work Than You Think
Before buying a fourth watch, buy straps. A watch with 20mm lugs and quick-release spring bars can be transformed in seconds, and three or four straps will make a small collection behave like a much larger one.
- Leather — brown for town, black for evening, and a grained finish for everyday wear.
- NATO or perlon — cheap, comfortable and ideal for summer.
- Rubber — the right answer for swimming and holidays.
- Steel bracelet — the most formal of the casual options and the hardest wearing.
Keep them clean, store them flat rather than coiled, and replace leather the moment it starts to crack. A tired strap makes even a good watch look neglected.
Servicing, Storage and Sensible Housekeeping
Mechanical watches generally want attention every five to seven years, at a cost of perhaps £150 to £350 depending on the movement. Quartz watches simply need a battery every two or three years, and a fresh seal is worth having at the same time. Ignoring a service is false economy; a dry movement grinds itself to pieces quietly and expensively.
Store watches somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight, keep the boxes and papers for the pieces you might one day sell, and avoid wearing a mechanical watch while using power tools or playing anything involving a hard ball. A little care here saves a great deal of regret later.
Resist Trends and Limited Editions
Fashion colours, oversized cases and "limited editions" numbered into the thousands are marketing rather than watchmaking. They date quickly, they rarely hold value, and they age a collection rather than improving it.
A better test before any purchase is simple. Ask whether the watch will still look appropriate in twenty years, whether you would wear it with at least three outfits you already own, and whether you would buy it if nobody else ever noticed it. If the answer to all three is yes, it belongs in the collection. If you are buying because a piece is scarce or fashionable, you are collecting other people's opinions rather than watches, and your money would be better spent on a decent strap and a good service.
