How to choose the right wristwatch: Know your brands, the right movements and the correct aesthetics

Sometimes, people ask me for advice on watches. Specifically, they ask that very important question: Which watch should I buy? Most times, such queries come from people who either a) don’t wear watches, b) wear a smartwatch, c) wear a watch from a fashion brand, or d) wear a quartz watch. And while there are plenty of overlaps between these four categories, my answer in each case is quite different. So, let’s figure out just why you’d want to buy and wear a watch.

Let’s face it, hardly anyone needs to sport a wristwatch nowadays. We can get all the time-telling duties (plus much more) from our phones. Then there are laptops, tablets and a plethora of other screens that will tell you the time accurately. Plenty of other gadgets, including washing machines and blenders, can tell you the time.

On top of that if you have a clock at your home or in your office, you have yet another source of timekeeping you can refer to.

In spite of all this, if you still wear (or want to wear) a watch in 2026, you are doing so as much for ornamental reasons as anything else. After all, wearing something on your wrist is cool and stylish. While accessorizing with a watch is entirely gender neutral, for your average male with conservative style, a watch is the only way to dress up their wrists.

So, let’s say you don’t wear any watches, and would like to rectify that situation. This is the cleanest slate one can hope to begin with. You can always wear a smartwatch since those seem to be all the rage these days. But if you want a watch that just tells the time and looks good, then you can start with a quartz watch.

There are many that are reasonably priced yet carry plenty of street cred in the world of horology. Two brands that immediately come to mind are Casio and Timex. Both brands make a wide array of models, but you are best served by either going for vintage style digital models from Casio (like the F-91W) or a G-Shock. For a more classic, analog experience, the Q Timex line has some excellent models, including GMT watches and chronographs.

If you wear a smartwatch, the first thing you need to ask yourself why you wear one. If it is for fitness metrics, then that’s fair use. But you don’t need to wear one all the time, perhaps only when you’re working out. Do you really need your watch to answer calls and read emails and be bombarded with notifications? If your answer is no, then you can start by gravitating towards the same brands and models that I mentioned above.

If you’d like to jump the category and go for a mechanical or automatic watch, there are plenty of wonderful models to choose from Japanese horological heavyweights like Seiko, Citizen and Orient. Many of these models cost way less than a premium smartwatch.

If you’ve been wearing a watch from a fashion brand and you’d like to upgrade, you have a world of options. There are those I’ve already mentioned, but if your budget is greater, say ₹1 lakh and maybe even up to ₹2 lakh, you will be able to enter the world of Swiss and German watchmaking.

On the lower end of the scale, you should consider Tissot, especially the excellent PRX line. Next, you can consider higher grade Seiko and Citizen as well as manufactures like Longines, Junghans and NOMOS.

Finally, if you have already dipped your toes into the world of horology through quartz watches, there are a few different ways you can go. If you value the ease of maintaining a quartz watch, where you need to set the time only once or twice a year, you can upgrade to better quartz models, those with better tolerances, greater accuracy and overall better case and dial finishing. For this, you can consider quartz timepieces for any of the brands mentioned above, as well as Swiss brands like Frederique Constant, and boutique brands like Nevada Grenchen and Maurice Lacroix. If your budget stretches beyond ₹2 lakh, then you should consider the entry-level quartz timepieces from Grand Seiko and Cartier—and get some of the best quartz watches for the money.

That’s a general overview of the options out there. I must also say that this is just the tip of the iceberg and there’s a plethora of great brands and models that I haven’t mentioned. The thing is, if you’re in the market for that one watch which will be your daily driver for years, the possibilities are endless. You could go with a dress watch, a rugged GADA (go-anywhere-do-anything) watch, or more tool-ish watches like divers, chronographs or GMTs.

If you have been bitten by the watch collecting bug, then you have further options like vintage watches. Once you are in this camp, you will need to educate yourself on watches and watchmaking more thoroughly, and develop a sense of the kind of aesthetics you like. Once that is established, the world is your oyster.

Handwound is a monthly column on watches and watchmaking.