It may sound surprising that women treated their wristwatches as a fashion accessory while men carried pocket watches until the beginning of the 20th century. However, such choices were not the outcome of gender-based preferences. All these had a practical reason. In those times, watches lacked durability. Exposure to extremely high or low temperatures, dust, or humidity could affect the accuracy of the watches by damaging gears and springs. Anyway, pocket watches weren’t very comfortable to use also. As a consequence, watchmakers started making watches that were stylish as well as easy-to-wear.
It led to a massive change in perception. Suddenly, wristwatches started gaining popularity with people. But premium quality watches were still a distant dream for many due to unaffordable prices. Then, another trend took place with the advent of smartphones. People started shifting to smartphones for even tracking time. It worked that way for a long time until again, this wave reversed. Designer or fashion watches for affordable price points opened gates for the masses. Their look, functions, and constant evolution appealed to everyone across different age groups. Smartphone’s inability to show time once it lost charge was also one among the various factors that made people realize the significance of having a wristwatch.
No matter what attracts you to buy a watch for yourself, you should know that a watch shop Singapore can offer you some of the best choices in class, style, taste, fashion, and craftsmanship. To this, you can also add wide-ranging brands. From pure women to men to unisex timepieces, you get incredible options to explore. Whether you are an active individual, an athlete, a sports person, a party guy, a casual fashionista, or a thorough professional, you can find something to meet your most needs. The shops can show the most coveted MK, Garmin, Emporio Armani, Seiko, Fossil, and other editions. It is up to you to decide what you desire and why.
As such, the chances of choosing the wrong watch are quite slim. But you cannot leave it to luck. You have to be careful about the place where you buy it. Here are some dos and don'ts that you can follow before venturing out to watch shopping. Let's take a quick look here.
Watch shop Singapore: Three standard rules for watch buying
- Skip the malls
Does it sound bewildering? Many jewelry and watch stores in shopping centers receive footfalls from the masses. Even you may have witnessed it at some point in time. But these shops usually provide vast options in jewelry while watches remain to be a small section. Due to this, you may get to see only limited brands and their offerings. With this, you don't get the desired customer service. The salesperson may have basic training on all the items. However, you cannot expect him or her to guide you with a perfect find. Then, there can be stores by brands. Now, the problem with them is they can show you only their propriety items. You wouldn’t get to see anything from other labels.
So, going by this, visiting a mall for this purpose can be both time- and money-wasting endeavors. For a prized possession, you need to lean on a place that is comfortable, rich with options, and trustworthy. Authorized third-party dealers can be the best fit in this scenario.
Why go to an authorized third-party dealer?
It was only in recent times that these watch retailers, who keep several brands, switched from their brick-and-mortar avatars to online shopping stores. These shops tend to have plenty of loyal customers as they can exhibit massive pre-owned collection to help them browse it all from the comfort of their home or while on the go. This kind of flexibility is not available anywhere else.
However, the popularity of these stores with people has also led to the emergence of scam sites. These places sell counterfeit products, which can be challenging to detect or identify for an ordinary or first-time buyer. Sometimes, even seasoned collectors may fail to recognize the difference. Hence, it's better to be on your guards. When you shop online, make sure the dealer site has a license or authority to sell a specific brand. If it is authentic, it will mention this on its website. You can refer to the official web page content for surety.
- Stay away from impulse buying
It is a common understanding that watches tend to be an expensive buy compared to many other fashion accessories. Now, whether they cost more due to their craftsmanship, labor, engineering, or functions is another domain to consider. But the thing is you expect your timepiece to be with you for many years, if not for decades. That's why you should not hurry into things when you drop in at an online retail store. Keep exploring all the choices, read product details, pay heed to warranty terms, research on the model you think you liked, and go back to your selected option one or two times. All this will help you verify how much you are sure about what you had seen.
Also, product reviews in forums and news articles can introduce you to some unknown or hidden aspects that you couldn't comprehend earlier. What you read can be in your favor or disagreement with your reasons. Regardless of whatever is that, you have to take a practical stand. If it doesn’t match with your lifestyle or lacks features that you had enjoyed, you can give it a miss unless you feel super impressed by its aesthetics.
Even then, it would be better if you reconsider or revise your selection. The attractiveness of the watch does matter, but it cannot be the sole criterion. Although leading designer labels like Aries Gold, Paul Hewitt, and Maserati give you the best experience in terms of both appearance and functions, it still makes sense to be thorough from your end. You must enjoy your purchase without any hesitation.
- List your expectations from a watch
Experts suggest you should make a list of details and features that you would want to see on your watch. Whatever preferences you have, make sure they coincide with your lifestyle choices. For instance, you can look at your daily habits, where you spend your time most, in which environment you live often, and so on. Your activities for a larger part of the day can also show you some light. All these efforts will enable you to zero down on the requirements and select a timepiece that can prove value for money.
Other considerations for watch buying
A quality watch consists of many elements, such as the case, dial, band, movement, and so on. The cost of the watch may vary based on the type of watch case you pick. From silver, gold, pink, and red to many more, these can be of different colors. Rose gold and stainless steel tend to be common choices for their versatility to match any outfit with ease. Besides, you may need to consider its size and design. Smaller and simple cases make an ideal dress watch. Also, you should look for ones made with metals. Avoid plastic ones. Even when you buy a metal case, you have to be sure about its quality that ensures its protection against scratches, scuffs, corrosion, and abrasion.
At an online watch shop, you can chance upon different types of dials. Their shape, size, color, and material can also be distinct. People usually prefer light-colored dials in whites and creams for daylight. For evening wear, they like to go with blacks and browns. Besides, dials contain hands and a lot of other features. The dial should allow you easy reading. They should be useful in sunlight. Plus, you have to check whether it does justice to your fashion sensibilities and clothes too.
The strap is one of the easy and exciting parts to examine. Normally, dress watch features leather while a sports watch comes with rubber and metal. No matter what you pick, you have to feel comfortable when wearing it. The fit and style also matter. Since it is going to bear a lot of wear and tear, you need to invest in durable and long-lasting material for it.
When you browse through a reliable online store, you will get to learn about many more components that contribute to the quality of a watch. Depending on how much you plan to spend, you can dig deeper to avoid making any wrong choice. If the retailer is trustworthy, you can expect a product warranty also.
So, what are your plans now? If you are a first-time buyer, you may want to double-check your place of shopping. Authentic and licensed third-party dealers can be your perfect bet as they provide not only endless range from various labels but also excellent price points in one place. You can look through them with patience and in free time before eventually committing a purchase. When you put so many checks and balances, you don’t need to worry at all.
