Departments · Mechanical, considered, kept
Watches
A good watch is the one object a man wears every day for forty years and then hands on. We write about the ones worth that kind of loyalty: what they cost, how they are made, and which one belongs on your wrist rather than in a display case.
The watch world has a vocabulary designed to keep beginners out. We translate it. Calibre, lug-to-lug, in-house, water resistance: by the end of this department you will know which of these matter for the way you live and which are marketing.
Use the Watch Finder for a shortlist and Wrist Fit to check whether it will actually sit well. Then read about the first serious watch and the three-watch collection.
In this department
The latest in Watches
Watches · Buying
Your First Serious Watch
Under €5,000, mechanical, steel, and made by a company that will still service it in 2056. Six candidates, one method, and the mistakes to avoid.
Watches · Movements
Why a Mechanical Watch Is Worth the Trouble
It is less accurate, more expensive and needs a service every six years. It is also the reason the watch will outlive you. The case for the spring.
Watches · Straps
Change the Strap, Change the Watch
Eighty euros and a spring bar tool turn a diver into a dress watch and back again. The cheapest upgrade in the watch world, done properly.
Watches · Collecting
How to Build a Three-Watch Collection
One for the suit, one for the sea, one for the story. Three watches that cover every day of a life, and how to get there without buying twelve.
The tool for this
Watch Finder
Budget, wrist, how you dress and what the watch has to survive. Three candidates from twenty-six real models, with prices that are real.
Reader poll
If you could own one watch for life?
Questions we get asked
Is a mechanical watch accurate enough?
A good mechanical movement runs within a few seconds a day, which is plenty for a man who owns a phone. You buy it for craft, longevity and the fact that it never needs a battery, not for atomic precision.
Steel or gold?
Steel for a first watch and for anything you will wear daily. Gold when you already own the steel watch you love and want something for evenings.
Should I buy new or pre-owned?
Pre-owned from a reputable dealer with papers gets you more watch for the money and skips the waiting list. New gets you the warranty and the pleasure of the first scratch being yours.
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