Starting a watch collection is certainly a great idea. But how do you know which types of watches you need in your watch collection? Many think that great watch collection needs to have a great mix of different kinds of watches. These different watches will be perfect for different occasions and should add something extra to your collection. While a collection of incredible mechanical watches will always be admired, they need to have different qualities or they can end up being quite boring!
Too many people buy a lot of great watches, but they don’t really end up with a “collection” because all of the watches are the same. It is important to have a collection varied in styles and complications. In today’s post we are going to help you build that collection by looking at the 5 types of watches you need in your watch collection.
The Chronograph
Practically every watch expert agrees, no watch collection is complete without a chronograph! The chronograph is one of the most recognisable and sought after complications that people look for in a watch. There’s no doubt that a chronograph is one of the types of watches you need in your watch collection.
The chronograph complication is often quite misunderstood and is sometimes mixed up with a chronometer. A chronograph is a watch complication which allows you to use your watch as a stop watch. A chronograph needs to have a button you can use to control the stopwatch function and keep accurate times.
The chronograph may no longer be the most vital watch complication now that we have smartphones which can track times down to the millisecond. But they are a vital addition to any watch collection – they look good and they can provide a vital function if you want to use them. You’ll find great chronographs from all of the top watch manufacturers, so there is a lot of choice when you decide to add that vital chronograph watch.
The Radio Controlled Watch
When it comes to watches you need in your watch collection, radio controlled watches should be right up there as one of the first watches you need to buy. Many watch collectors may not yet have included these watches in their collection as they are a fairly recent invention.
Although radio controlled watches have only recently started to appear on the market, they are vital for anyone who wants to keep accurate time. We recently covered the way in which radio controlled watches work on this website and it’s hard to deny how useful it is to have one of these watches in your collection. Owning a radio controlled watch allows you to be confident that your watch always displays the correct time wherever you are in the world. As Citizen proudly claim, their radio controlled watches have a margin of error of just one second in 100,000 years.
The Aesthetically Pleasing Watch
While a wide range of complications are very important in your watch collection, but it isn’t just complications which make for a great watch collection. It is important to have watches which are in your collection for no other reason than that they are aesthetically pleasing. The aesthetically pleasing watches you need in your watch collection may be different than the watches chosen by others as we all have different tastes.
Many aesthetically pleasing watches will have a lot of important complications, but you may find that more basic watches fit the bill. Either way, you need to have that one watch in your collection which you love to look at.
The Luxury Watch
Every watch collection needs that one watch which is so luxurious that you feel a bit nervous to actually wear it! There are many incredible luxury watches out there, but it’s important to make sure that you find a luxury watch which best suits you. Many people go out and buy a Rolex or Patek Philippe watch because that’s the luxury watch they’ve been told they must buy.
But it is much better to find a luxury watch which is special to you. If that watch is a Rolex or Patek then that’s great, but they might not give you the feeling that a luxury watch should give you. Perhaps the luxury watch you want may be a limited edition made by a company who are not traditionally known for luxury watches. Or maybe you would like a luxury watch by a different luxury watch company.
Either way, when you choose your luxury watch, you need to make sure that you think carefully about which watch you buy. Remember, what makes a great luxury watch is something unique to you. Once you know what that thing is, you will know how to find the perfect luxury watch for you.
The Smartwatch
Whether the smartwatch revolution is underway or not is still kind of up in the air. The dream of putting a fully functional computer or smartphone on your wrist seems to have gone out of the window. That said, the smartwatch is starting to become a very useful addition to any watch collection. If you are fitness fanatic then a smartwatch is one of those watches you need – and, actually, you probably already own one!
But the appeal of smartwatches should go well beyond fitness fanatics.
Smartwatches are great tools to keep track of notifications from your smartphone. You can choose to receive messages to your smartwatch and you can even take phone calls on many of them! You can even connect it to your calendar to easily keep a track of your diary. The wide range of features which vary depending on whether you want Apple Watch OS, Android Wear or another smartwatch OS. There are so many great things you can do on smartwatches, which is why it is vital to have at least one in your collection.
Conclusion
Starting a watch collection is great for many reasons, but it can be very hard to know exactly which types of watches you should include in your collection. These five types of watches are the exact ones which you need to have in your collection. You can find these watches and many more over on the main First Class Watches website!
Images: Omnicloud, Kansai explorer, Wolfgang Glock
