Does Your Watch Keep Time with Fashion or Function?
by:
M J Plaster
If you haven't lived under a rock for the past few decades, then you surely know that Rolex stands for luxurious precision timekeeping, and you know that Timex is the premier name in inexpensive, reliable timekeeping. The vast area between the two, however, offers the widest selection of watches-in terms of function, fashion and price.
We're all creatures of habit, and if one watch has served us well for years, it's natural that we gravitate toward the same brand and design each time we purchase a new watch. If you'd like to adorn your wrist with a different type of watch, perhaps a Swiss-quartz or high-fashion watch, we offer you a cheat sheet below, to help you get up to speed quickly with the many offerings available today.
If you've always thought of a watch as a functional necessity, you might add a few fashionable watches to your collection of watches and bracelets. If you've always worn high-fashion watches, consider adding an elegant watch to your collection, perhaps one with a golden mesh band. Whatever your requirements for timekeeping and your sense of fashion, you'll find a watch to suit your needs.
Impress Your Colleagues Watches
In the exclusive $5000-$2,000,000 range, you'll find a variety of luxury watches with names that escape the average man or woman on the street, and you won't find any of these online. Does Vacheron Constantin or Blancpain ring a bell?
Perception is everything, and a genuine Rolex brands you a person of discerning taste. If you live in New York City, you might be surprised to learn that you can buy a Rolex from a bona fide jeweler, most likely in the 10021 zip code. Forget all the hype about Rolex watches: people buy them for one reason. They are the most recognized status symbols in watches—everyone has heard of a Rolex, and a diamond and gold Rolex remains out of most everyone's price range.
Rolex watches are the most popular, and ownership is not a requirement for popularity. It might surprise you to learn that Rolex watches are not THE most accurate. It is unlikely that they take a year to make, and their resale value is of little importance to their buyers. Ah, Madison Avenue strikes again. Still, a Rolex watch is a fine watch and an investment in time. Give me status; give me a Rolex.
Other fine high-end watches include Cartier and Omega.
Affordable Treats
If you're a mere mortal with a penchant for arriving at your destination in style at the prescribed time (perhaps your job depends upon it), your idea of a good watch probably resides in the $100-500 range, and maybe even toward the lower end of that scale. You know the names Seiko, Swiss Army, Pulsar, and Citizen—just to name a few. The brands available in this price range offer a wide selection of choices ranging from simple and elegant leather bands, to mesh and link bands. You'll find analog and digital displays, timers, calendar displays, water-resistance, etc. in this price range. In fact, this price range offers the widest variety in terms of elegance, precision time keeping, and fashion choices. You can select from a number of watches using Swiss-quartz movements in this price range.
For the Fun of it
You'll find everything from designer-of-the-moment watches to household names such as Swatch and Fossil in the below-$100 range. The Fossil collections feature casual and dress watches in a dizzying array of choices, and provide dependable service as well. Fossil offers a lot of bang for the buck—fashion, dependability, variety.
Starting at $40, Swatch offers the most in up-to-the-minute throwaway watch fashion. The company began late in the 20th century as a consortium of Swiss watchmakers and worldwide graphical designers with one goal: to resurrect the analog watch. Swatch has come a long way since those days, and one of their newer creations, the Skin Diamond watch, can set you back a cool $2000. Of course, you won't run into yourself coming and going if you sport this new status symbol. The rest of us can settle with wearing our moods on our wrists.
And, last but certainly not least—depending on your current age—this category satisfies the Abercrombie-and-Fitch, Top 40 crowd with an assortment of watches from the king of the teen designers, Tommy Hilfiger himself.
Whatever your pleasure in marking time, find it, get it, own it, wear it. Mere mortals like us can browse and purchase the watches of our choice right here—online.
About the author:
M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on shopping online for watches, men's watches, and women's watches. M J Plaster has been a commercial freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce vita.
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What Fashions Are Out
by: Bridget Allen
Just as fashion ebbs and flows, yesterday’s fashion ins are shut out in
the cold! A true fashionista keeps careful track of what items have jumped
to the out list. No one wants to be seen in a trend that expired
yesterday, so if you are used to wearing trendy items, you may want to
keep an eye out to see what’s out! The ever revolving door that is the
fashion industry regularly makes and breaks fads in the blink of an eye.
Look to your fashion magazines, cable channels that specialize in clothing
and style, or great articles on the World Wide Web to determine when it is
time to hang up your out clothing and accessories.
What’s out this season:
1.) Say good-bye to low cut pants today
The parents of the world let out a collective sigh when the ultra low
cut pant waist line was declared dead. The days of a thong peeking out
from the back of your trousers are a thing of the past, so pack away your
crack-baring duds for their next time around! Today’s fashionable pants
still feature a lower cut that seasons past—including the popular
above-the-navel waistline of the 1950s—but are well above the modesty mark
than in the recent past.
2.) Personalized Items are so old school, don’t ya know
Unless that “L” on your sweater stands for Laverne, put it away! The
era of personalized items, from jewelry (remember the “Carrie” necklace?)
to purses to clothing is in the past. Even though you searched an hour at
your local bargain basement store to find that bag with your initial
embroidered in leather, it’s time to say goodbye.
3.) Newsboy Hats Are Yesterday’s News
Extra, extra, read all about it: newsboy hats are out! Put down those
papers, get off the corner, and ditch the hat! Even though cooler weather
has arrived, find another way to keep your head warm than covering up in a
newsboy hat. Consider donning a jaunty fedora cocked to one side—it’s the
latest rage!
If you are concerned about items in your wardrobe or accessory closet
becoming out of date, consider purchasing classic items. Look into
wardrobe staples that are permanently found on the in list, so you will
not have to juggle and reevaluate your closet. Furthermore, you may find a
piece of clothing or accessory that you absolutely love has been retired
to the out list. Instead of giving up a favorite, consider alternative
ways to turn an out into an in!
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