Different types of luxury watches in terms of designs and features
Different types of luxury watches in terms of designs and features
A watch is one of most important gadgets one can have, for it speaks of one’s taste, class and aesthetics louder than most things one can wear. Luxury watches have long been a treasured possession by finesse conscious men and women. Since apparel and shoes are frequently changed articles, a watch is more characteristic of one’s personality and choice. A luxury watch once bought, adorns one’s wrist for decades and is passed on to successive generations like a family jewel and as a symbol of elegance and grace of the original owner.
Luxury watches for men and women come in a range of designs and features to cater to the needs and taste of a diversified people. Whether you are a business tycoon and need a sophisticated time piece to compliment your dinner suite or a sporty, adventurous being who needs a sturdy article on wrist, there is something for everyone.
Luxury watches can be divided into four broad categories:
Dress watches
Sports watches
Diving watches
Pilot watches
Dress watches:
Dress watches comprise the most prominent category of luxury watches. In fact for most people, dress watches – with all their charm and sophistication – are the ultimate luxury watches. As the name suggests, dress watches are formal timepieces designed to be carried with suites and evening wears. They can also be carried with semi formal attires and business casual outfits depending upon the occasion.
One of the most prominent features of dress watches is their simplicity and modesty. Dress watches are not complicated watches and are minimalistic when it comes to features and functions. You cannot expect a traditional luxury dress watch to give you step count or calculator window. Most dress watches elegantly feature two hands over a fine dial. A slim profile is also characteristic to dress watches, particularly men’s watches, so that they can be gracefully fitted under a shirt cuff. Cases of dress watches are also slim and delicate. Traditionally, dress watches were paired with textured or smooth fine leather straps. Lately, precious metals like gold and platinum are also being used for dress watches. Women’s luxury watches often come with slim bracelets carved out of precious metals. Some popular dress watches of the modern era include Vacheron Constantin Patrimony, Vincero Icon Automatic, Montblanc Hritage Chronometrie, Junghans Meister Handaufzug and Rolex Datejust among others.
Sports watches:
Luxury watches are most commonly assumed to be delicately beautiful timepieces. However, contrary to this assumption, luxury watches also come in sports category that features robust and sturdy watches which are great at endurance. Unlike dress watches, sports watches are often hefty and strong in their outlook and feature chunky dials and broad straps – not a must feature of every sports watch though. Sports watches are highly durable and resistant watches that are designed for hikers, skiers, cyclists, swimmers etcetera. Durability is one of the most prominent features of sports watches. You don’t expect your watch to come off or break away at a tug or shock.
Sports watches usually come with a range of functions and features to facilitate sportsmen. Stop watch, timer, alarm, step counter and heart rate monitor are some of the complications that sports watches carry, however, not every sports watch possesses all such functions. Sports watches are normally water resistant, scratch resistant and shock proof and offer great legibility, thanks to their bold and large dials. Some sports watches feature glow-in-the-dark enamel or illuminating LCD for added legibility in dark.
Even non sporty people often have an inclination towards sports watches for their diversified functionality and smart, casual outlook.
Best examples of luxury sports watches include Omega Speedmaster racing automatic chronograph, Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Meteor, Hublot Big Bang Chronograph, Roger Dubuis Excalibur Automatic Skeleton etcetera.
Diving watches:
As the name suggests, diving watches are specialized time devices for divers. These watches are highly water resistant and can endure deep sea depths. Diving watches are equipped with features that greatly facilitate divers. One of the primary features of diving watches is a diving time indicator which allows accurate reading of diving time. It could be either a rotating bezel or a digital display – the former is mostly used in luxury watches. A luminous second hand is often featured in diving watches as an indicator in total darkness. Magnetic resistance is also an important feature of diving watches that assures the accuracy of time even in the magnetic field. Features like chemical resistance and shock resistance are also there in diving watches for they have to endure salinity and pressure in deep waters. Under water legibility is an important consideration for diving watches which is attained through large, bold and contrasting dials often masked with luminous material.
With all the rich functionality and sensitivity, luxury diving watches are equally eye catchy and aesthetically appealing and can be worn regularly as everyday watches. Some globally renowned luxury diving watches are Richard Mille Automatic Chronograph Diver , Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 500, Hublot Oceanographic 4000, Rolex Oyster Perpetual Deepsea , Rolex Submariner, The Calibre de Cartier Diver etcetera
Pilot watches:
Pilot watches, also called aviation watches are tailored to meet the needs of pilots. Like other categories, there is a set of features and functions that make a pilot watch. However, such watches – again, like other categories – are not used by pilots alone and watch geeks throughout the world buy these watches as style icon rather than a vital tool.
What distinguishes pilot watch from other watches is an oversized winding crown so that the watch can be worn over pilot gloves. Pilot watches are often chronographs allowing precise measurement of intermediate time. Some pilot watches are equipped with a navigation system helping pilots calculate position. Some pilot watches come with extra bezel markings that allow complicated calculations like burning of fuel and wind angles. Another prominent feature of pilot watches is that they allow tracking multiple time zones since pilots fly over different time zones.
Some elitist pilot watches are IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar, Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, Joe Rodeo JMP18 Master Pilot Diamond Watch, Breitling Transocean Unitime Pilot, Zenith Lady Pilot Type 20, Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time among others.
Summing up
Owning a luxury watch is a matter of passion for watch geeks. Though aforementioned categories – other than dress watches – were originally created for hardcore professionals, but soon they penetrated into the general lot that has an admiration for state of the art timepieces and appreciate a highly functional gadget adorning their wrists. You take fancy to a luxury watch, you have the money to buy it, it is definitely for you!!
