The most important thing that all men must own is a great watch and a great pair of shoes. We will leave the shoes alone for now.
Mens watches are more than just time pieces, a quality watch from a reputable marque is a piece of history that communicates who you are and what you stand for (success, confidence, elegance, flamboyance, historical and sporting associations) It can add bling to the otherwise limited world of mens accessories (any wonder why we go for the ‘hot’ women)
Bombay offers some really good deals on Rolex & Omega amongst others with prices being cheaper here then anywhere i have seen personally. Other middling fashion house licensed watches like Kenneth Cole, Armani, Versace i have found to be cheaper elsewhere.
Picking a watch is a personal thing and depends ideally on your lifestyle. Not all high end watches are water resistant to a great degree, so if you intend to spend a lot of time in and around water make sure you pick something that would work well (like an Omega Seamaster) If you want something from the racing world you have the Speedmaster and Tag Heuer range, for aviation inspired you have Brietling. A metal bezel watch with a metal strap will serve you well for casual and formal occasions.
A good watch makes a heirloom, a close friend of mine possesses a Vacheron Constantin and a sixty year old gold Patek Phillipe (worth at least $35,000) both watches bequeathed to him by his grandfather.
A Patek Phillipe timepiece makes the best heirloom, they have a great history with very few made, you really do pay for something that your generations can treasure (Rolex makes around 800,000 watches a year, Patek have made about 600,000 in 150 years) My grandfather had a vintage Rolex and my dad has a Cartier Santos (was actually one of the first wrist watches ever made, the model, not the one my dad owns)
A strong buy will cost you upwards from $1200 (INR 50,000) anything below that you are probably getting something with more marketing hype (like licensed watches from fashion houses) than watch making finesse or history. A self winding watch as opposed to an automatic will give you a more personal relationship with your watch.
Presently i wear an Omega Speedmaster Day and the price i paid for it in Mumbai was a whole 25% cheaper than the prices i looked up while in Athens & Italy. The American prices were lower but still about 12% off. Last time i checked there was a 13% rise in prices on Omega watches worldwide.
I personally do covet a few watches, nothing too flashy the Tag Heuer Steve McQueen Monaco is most likely the next watch i will buy.
Go on, start saving.
