Buying a luxury watch is unlike most retail purchases you will make in your life. It's a decision that often requires more research and consideration. To help you with your search, our specialist team at Johnson's Court are on hand to guide you through every step. We've also created a short guide with 5 key tips to help inform your decision.
1. Price
Firstly, we advise our customers to set a budget for how much they are willing to spend on their purchase.All watch brands at Paul Sheeran Jewellers are Swiss made, expertly crafted, and start from approximately €1,000. Once you've set your budget, you can start your search!
2. Brand
There is such a wide variety of watch brands and it can be overwhelming knowing which one to choose. Choosing a brand partly depends on your budget. For example, an entry level IWC watch starts at approximately €5,000, while the cost of an entry level Longines watch starts at approximately €1, 000. Our specialist team will take you through each brand and your available options to ensure you leave with a watch that fits all your requirements.
3. Style
The style of watch you choose is completely dependent on both personal taste and also your practical requirements. Do you need this watch for formal occasions or is it a watch you want to wear with your casual clothes? Do you want to be able to wear this watch in water? In which case you might consider a diving watch. Luxury watches range in styles from casual and sporty to formal and classic. Most brands will offer a variety of styles. For example, the Tag Heuer Heritage Calibre Heuer 02 Autavia is the perfect addition to a weekend outfit. The Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control Date is a more formal watch that will transition perfectly from the office to any formal occasion.
Tag Heuer Heritage Calibre Heuer 02 Autavia
4. Movement
A watch movement, also known as ‚calibre‚ refers to the mechanism of the timepiece. Watch movements are categorised as either quartz or mechanical. Quartz movements are battery powered while mechanical movements comprise of a series of intricate components to power the watch. Despite quartz movements being more accurate, in luxury watches, mechanical movements take precedence due to the level of skill and craftsmanship of the movement. However, some luxury watch brands have developed sophisticated quartz movements, such as Breitling's SuperQuartz, which is ten times more accurate than the standard quartz. The Breitling Exospace B55 Night Mission uses the SuperQuartz, movement, and is available both in store and online.
Breitling Exospace B55 Night Mission
There are two types of mechanical movements, manual and automatic. Manual movement is the original type of all watch movements. A manual movement must be hand-wound to power the watch. An automatic watch winds itself through the movements made by the wearer, such as the IWC Hand-Wound 8 Days from the Portofino Collection.  This watch is suited for watch enthusiasts who enjoy and appreciate the ritual of watch winding.
IWC Portofino Hand-Wound 8 Days
However, the majority of luxury watches have automatic (self-winding) movements as they are more practical and convenient. Once you put an automatic watch on you do not have to spend time winding the watch beforehand.
5. Features
There are many watch features to consider when purchasing a watch. For instance, water resistance, i.e. if you purchase a watch with a leather strap you should never get it wet. With that being said, we stress to our customers to always be cautious with a watch around water as watches that are water resistant are by no means waterproof. There are various degrees of water resistance which are measured in terms of meters of pressure. Some watches are specially made to be water resistant, such as the Tag Heuer Aquaracer which has a water resistance of up to 300m (see below).
Other features to consider include day and date calendar function, uni-directional bezel that can be used as a timer, a deployment buckle for easy application, length of power reserve.  If you visit us in store our watch specialists will be happy to take you through the watch features available to you.
Visit Us In Store
Our specialist team at Johnson Court are more than delighted to help assist you in choosing the perfect luxury watch. If you would prefer a private appointment, please contact us here. Otherwise you can call us on 01 635 1136 and we will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!
