Your first luxury-level watch purchase should be exciting and meaningful. But, we get it — it can also be a daunting proposition for newbies. Everyone has different needs, tastes, means and understanding of “luxury,” so no one can say what’s the right watch for you. A little guidance, however, can help you ask the right questions and make an informed choice for yourself.

First, why do you want a luxury watch?

There are different reasons to want a “nice watch.” Identifying your situation and motivation will help you focus your search right away. Try out this rolex replica.

Do you simply want an elegant everyday watch that’s built to last? The good news is you’ve got a lot of great options, and you’re not limited to prestigious brand names and hefty price tags. The bad news is that you still haven’t narrowed down your choices much, as many watches offer this level of quality. You’ll want to look at other factors like price, style and features, and consider if one of the below situations also applies to you.

Do you want a watch to enhance your personal style? Visual elements and brand names might factor more heavily in your decision — but you’ll want to consider the aesthetic basics such as dress or sport and modern or retro. Sport watches are popular and offer a range of styles originating in specific uses, like diving, flying, racing and the military. If you can identify a genre you’re particularly interested in, you’re well on your way.

Do you need a watch to enhance your professional presentation? This is a common reason for people to get their first luxury watch: Some people feel a good watch can help them be taken more seriously by bosses or even impress potential clients. For these purposes, recognizable brands and models are safe and will serve you well — think names like Rolex, Panerai, Omega, IWC and Zenith. These are all brands whose pricing starts firmly in the mid to upper luxury range, but sometimes a simple and solid mechanical watch can be a great option for those on a tighter budget, as well as express one’s own taste and individuality.

Henry Phillips

Will your watch serve as a status symbol? This is an extension of the previous consideration: You’re doing well financially, and want to make it known. (Like, really known.) Sure, this can be accomplished simply with bling, like gold and diamonds, but sometimes just the name on an otherwise simple-looking watch does the job — think Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Watchmakers also signal prestige with complicated features such as skeletonization, avant-garde designs and tourbillons.

Are you interested in a luxury watch simply for experiencing its quality, engineering, details and history? You’re well on your way to being a #watchnerd, and even if you get a watch for other reasons, you might even come to appreciate it in this way. This is a great reason to want a watch, but because it’s what most luxury watches would claim to offer, you’ll want to narrow down your choices further and look to other factors discussed below.

What makes a “luxury watch?” And what qualities should you expect for your budget?

Budget is the basic starting place for any watch purchase. All watches are more or less luxuries today since they’re not necessary in modern life. For some people, $100 sounds like a lot to spend on something they don’t need, while others might feel that “luxury” begins at well into the thousands of dollars.

Thanks to the combination of improving production technology, the internet and globalization, features once out of reach for many have become more accessible than ever. With small microbrands leading the way and bigger brands responding with more focus on entry-level value, you can now get watches with elements like sapphire crystal, ceramic bezels, Swiss automatic movements and refined details for a just few hundred bucks — these are luxury features, and why we’ll begin talking about “luxury watches” at $500.

In order to identify the types of features you can expect at different price levels, we’ll broadly consider watches broken into entry-level, mid-range and high-end. These are imperfect categories that will in actuality bleed into one another — and there will always be exceptions — but the following generalizations are meant to help guide first-time buyers in what to look for.

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What factors like style, size and technology should you consider?

Style. Watches can fall into many categories and genres, most broadly broken into dress and sport. Types of watches can be based on traditional purposes (dive watches, pilot watches, field watches, etc.), more vague designations (tactical watches, minimalist watches, etc.) or functionality (chronographs, GMTs, even alarm watches, etc.). There’s a lot to explore, but it helps to be aware of the purpose behind a watch design or features and the range of options available.

Size. The right watch size largely depends on the combination of your wrist size and how bold a look you prefer. Watch sizes are traditionally measured horizontally in millimeters and exclude the crown. However, other factors affect how big the watch will look and feel. They include the case thickness, its length lug-t0-lug as well as even its color and the size of the dial. Even the climate where you live (short-sleeve weather is better for bigger watches) and the type of clothing you normally wear is relevant. It’s recommended that you try on a watch before buying whenever possible, rather than relying on measurements alone to determine its fit. In addition to looking down at it on your wrist, also see how it fits in a mirror.