Designer Watch – How to Choose One

While you can obtain the time from a variety of sources, including the ubiquitous cellphone, lots of people still enjoy wearing a wristwatch. There are many reasons for that, including styling, function and convenience. While anything that will accurately tell the time will do, many consumers enjoy buying designer watches, made by famous manufacturers. Some are famous for their timepieces, and others are well known because of their styling, perhaps even in another area of fashion. When you make the decision to buy a designer watch, you need to consider a variety of criteria before you make your purchase. After all, you want to make sure that the timepiece you purchase suits you in terms of function, style, and most of all, price. By deciding ahead of time what sort of designer watch will be best for you, the process of actually shopping and making the purchase will be a lot easier for you.

Designer Watch Brands

The term “designer watch” is pretty broad, and while it initially had to do with fashion, today it pretty much refers to any company known for making high quality timepieces. This may refer to a company known for solid, reliable products, such as Citizen, or a company known for luxury, such as Rolex, or a company primarily known for fashion, such as Gucci. While your choice of brand when purchasing a designer watch shouldn’t necessarily be your first consideration, it should be in the back of your mind as you ask yourself, “What am I looking for in a watch?” Branding in a designer watch goes hand in hand with style and function, as we’ll explain below.

Szanto Watches Review

Everyone has different interests when it comes to wristwatch features, pricing, and styling and there are probably as many different styles as there are people who like watches.

But certain types of wristwatches seem to be popular with the public, and if you’re going to make a product, you could do worse than to go with something you already know the public will want.

Szanto watches fall into that category.  The California-based company makes watches that have styling that was influenced by the military styling of watches of the early 20th Century.

That’s not to say that they’re military watches, per se, but they do evoke that era of styling, with large faces, dark colors and big dials.

They offer all of that in an accurate timepiece that’s sold at a fairly reasonable price.  I thought I’d take a closer look at Szanto watches and see what they’re about.

Read on for the full Szanto watches review.

Swarovski Watches Review

In a day where nearly everyone carries a cell phone that can tell them the time, watches remain a popular fashion accessory.

While everyone has their own reason for wanting to buy a watch, such as collectability, build quality or features, some people simply like wearing one because they look good.

That’s where Swarovski watches shine.

Swarovski watches are well made and are offered by a company with 125 years of history.  They offer Swiss movements and of course, their famous glass crystals that make the timepieces sparkle.

While they’re not for everyone (they only make a handful of watches for men), Swarovski watches will appeal to many buyers who want a timepiece that’s attractive and has good build quality but which doesn’t cost a fortune.

Read on for the full Swarovski watches review.

Suntime Watches Review

People have all manner of reasons for wanting to own a watch.  Some want a piece of fine jewelry.  Others want a piece of fine engineering.

Others might be interested in simply having an accurate timepiece.  And others might want to make some sort of statement regarding their allegiance to a particular sports team or university.

Suntime watches fall into the last category.  While their timepieces definitely do not qualify as luxury models, works of engineering or fine jewelry, they do provide a decent quality timepiece that fits a particular market niche – that of buyers who want a watch that sports the logo of their favorite school or sports team.

Suntime is based in Florida, and the company specializes in both wall clocks and watches, all of which carry the logo of a sports team or school.

Read on for the full Suntime watches review.

Sollen Watches Review

If you haven’t heard of Sollen watches, don’t be too surprised.  They’re one of a number of manufacturers from Asia that have flown somewhat under the radar, despite having decades of experience.

The company that makes Sollen watches has been in business since 1918, but was originally involved in the manufacture of sailing instruments.

In 2008, they diversified and began manufacturing wristwatches for both men and women.

Like many watches coming from Asia, Sollen watches features involve lots of eye-catching color, along with adequate build quality and pricing that is designed to suit most budgets.

That all sounded interesting, so I thought I’d take a closer look and see what Sollen watches are all about.

Read on for the full Sollen watches review.

Roger Dubuis Watches Review

There are lots of reasons why someone might want to purchase a luxury watch.  Some like elaborate complications.

Others like interesting designs.  Still others like fine craftsmanship or the prestige of owning something that is limited in production.

And others still like owning a fine piece of jewelry, with precious metals and gemstones.

Roger Dubuis watches offer all of those things, as they make high quality, limited edition watches that feature elaborate complications, made from precious metals and usually adorned with gemstones.

They’re not for everyone’s taste, and they certainly won’t be for everyone’s wallet, but if you like fancy and rare, you will definitely be interested in this brand.

Read on for the full Roger Dubuis watches review.

Rip Curl Watches Review

Everyone has a different need when it comes to buying a wristwatch.

Some people just want the time.  Others want elaborate features.  Others want a stylish fashion accessory.  And still others want a useful sports watch.

Rip Curl watches offer the latter; the company was founded 50 years ago by a pair of Australian surfers who still own the company.  The company has become quite successful, and Rip Curl watches are now regarded, along with Quiksilver and Billabong, as one of the “big three” companies in the surf equipment industry.

While the company is not primarily a watch brand, they do offer quite a variety of timepieces in a fairly broad price range.

While they’re not watches you’d likely want to wear to a corporate meeting, Rip Curl watches do offer decent styling and features as sports watches to.  They’re also fairly rugged, and will likely take a good beating in the outdoors.

Read on for the full Rip Curl watches review.

Reef Tiger Watches Review

There has been an explosion in watch manufacturing in China in recent years, and there now seem to be hundreds of manufacturers there, all of whom are trying to establish their position in the Western market.

It’s a tough nut to crack, especially when the new Chinese manufacturers are trying to compete with decades of Japanese design and more than a century of Swiss watchmaking.

Reef Tiger is one company that is making an effort to stand out in a crowded field, and they’re doing so by offering an incredible selection of models, good features, decent build quality and an affordable price point.

That’s a lot to put in one package, but you’ll see that there’s a lot to like about Reef Tiger watches.

Read on for the full Reef Tiger watches review.

Quiksilver Watches Review

There are lots of sports watches on the market, and for good reason – people want to buy them.  Some like the style, others like the fact that they’re generally pretty durable, and others have actual uses for the features that sports watches offer.

Quiksilver watches fit the bill rather nicely, offering a good selection of models in a relatively affordable price range.  They’re fairly well built, have reliable movements and offer a good range of features and colors.

Quiksilver is a company that was originally founded in Australia to sell accessories to surfers.  They’ve since expanded a bit, and they’ve moved their headquarters to Huntington Beach, California.

Along with shirts, shorts, and other accessories that any surfer needs, they also offer a good selection of sports watches.

Read on for the full Quiksilver watches review.

Projects Watches Review

While there are hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of watch companies around the world, most of them build a product that is largely the same in appearance.

The materials used may vary, and the technology that’s “under the hood” that makes the watch run may vary, but in the end, most brands of wristwatch offer a product that looks very similar in overall appearance to just about everything else that’s on the market.

Projects watches, on the other hand, defy that logic.  Some of their models are rather ordinary in appearance, but most of the timepieces from this Massachusetts-based company feature styling and designs that are truly “out there.”

A few of them are so odd that it may take you a minute or two to figure out how to tell the time.

That’s a feature, not a bug; the company was created in 1992 to create timepieces with some truly incredible styling.

If you’re wearing Projects watches, people will notice.  Even better – they’re quite affordable.

Read on for the full Projects watches review.

Porsamo Bleu Watches Review

We see lots of watches from watch companies, and lots of watches from fashion companies, but we rarely see watches from jewelry companies.

That’s odd; as watches are often sold in jewelry stores.  For whatever reason, there aren’t a lot of companies that specialize in jewelry that also make and/or sell watches.

That makes Porsamo Bleu watches an interesting exception.  The company was founded in Los Angeles via a partnership of two longtime jewelers.

Porsamo Bleu watches is a partnership between third generation jeweler Moe Afshar and his creative partner Krisztina Csupo.   They strive to make attractive jewelry that’s unique in styling while affordable in price.

They make and sell bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and watches, with attractive styling and affordable pricing.

Read on for our full Porsamo Bleu watches review.