where can i find a luxury watch cheap?

Glad you are not going for a fake. Contrary to popular mythology, fake watches are not as good as the real thing, in fact you can usually buy more cheaply a better quality Swiss watch than a fake. Unfortunately most good swiss watches come with very little discounting – in fact heavy discounts are a usual giveaway that a watch is either a fake or a wannabe. Some companies use Swiss in their name but unless the dial says Swiss made, the watch is a wannabe.

I don’t want ot give the impression that only the swiss make great automatic watches. There are a handful of German, Japanese, English and American brands etc that are excellent. However the sheer choice of Swiss watches is huge. My recommendations based on price points:

At less than 500 dollars you can get good timepieces from Bulova, Doxa, Roamer and Certina. At over 1000 dollars Mido, Movado and Oris are good. The outstanding time pieces tend to start at around 2000 dollars, and here you can choose from Rado, Tag-Hauer, Longines etc. For the very best watches the prices will start at over 3000 dollars and then you could consider IWC, Rolex and some very classy timepieces.

Go for sapphire crystal every time, it is so much more durable. Choose steel over precious metal because precious metals don’t improve the timepiece except as items of jewelry. Waterproof watches tend to need less maintenance because dust doesn’t get in and you don’t need to keep taking it off for the shower etc. Definitely consider a chronometer but the relative accuracy compared to a quartz watch wouldn’t make it a must have for me (although mine are!). Don’t be beguiled by un-necessary complications unless you want them specifically since they add to the cost of manufacture considerably – you say you want a chronograph – is this for presentational purposes or do you think you need a stop watch function? Only buy from a recognized dealer, normally an authorised distributor, and make sure you get a box and certificate.

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