The World's Best Watches – Part 3

Though close to 90% of all watches manufactured worldwide have quartz movements, a quality mechanical watch is the way to go. That's something that has only recently begun to dawn on many Americans. "In Europe you'll see street sweepers with $5,000 watches, whereas CEOs in the U.S. will be happy with $20 quartzes," says InSync's Strandberg. "We just don't have the same tradition of fine watches here."

When the wonder of fine watches finally dawns upon you, what will you find? One of the current consumer trends is big watches, and the bigger the better: from 45 millimeters to 51 millimeters in diameter (a half-dollar is a mere 38 millimeters across), depending on the material. The weight of these watches varies according to the metal used; a stainless steel watch would feel comparatively heavy, while a titanium watch would feel like nothing at all. While "watch wardrobing" has been around for years--i.e., a sports watch to go with your jogging outfit; something slim and elegant for the office--lately watch wearers have adopted a crossover approach. Today it's a Breitling dive watch to go with an Ermenegildo Zegna suit, or an aforementioned big and clunky timepiece for a lady's slender wrist. 

Speaking of ladies' watches, they're still around and as svelte and elegant as ever, though these days many women are choosing sports watches that better reflect their contemporary lifestyles. At the same time, minute and gem-encrusted "jewel" watches from the likes ofPiaget and Van Cleef & Arpels are as much jewelry as they are wristwatches. And lately fashion watches have been bursting with flashy colors, both on dials and straps. Indeed, watch firms such as Cartierand Michele have recently introduced in their fashion lines easily interchangeable straps in a rainbow of colors, so you no longer have to go back to the retailer in order to change them. 

Then there are the timeless classics, those complex wristwatches that do everything from follow moon phases to calculate how much you owe the IRS. Referred to as "complicated watches," they cost as much as a good-size house and dazzle the eye with extras. Be forewarned, some complicated watches are as hard to pin down as psychological baggage. For instance, the fabulous Opera Three from Girard-Perraguax, which plucks Tchaikovsky and Mozart tunes on a miniature interior music box, is an amazing timepiece at $475,000 but virtually unavailable. ("We'll get one in sometime next year," says Ronald Jackson, president of Girard-Perraguax USA.) Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Patek Philippe notes that a number of the company's Grand Complications have buyers long before they're finished, often at a rate of just a few per year. 

For your watch-buying pleasure, we've compiled a selection of 18 fine watches that'll stop time. They range in price from under $2,000 to $2,000-$5,000 to $5,000 and up, as well as a few that are "sky's the limit." We've found them in a range of styles, including sports, fashion, dress, cool complications, ladies' and over the top. And they're all available right now. 

Source: Forbes.com -- The World's Best Watches

Keywords: watch brands, brand watches, watches brands, fossil watches, Seiko watches, guess watches, rado watches, tissot watches, swiss watch, swiss army watch, watch it pocket watch, pocket watch, watches pocket watches, watch bands, bands watches, omega watch, omega watches, watches for women, women watches, ladies watch, ladies watches, buy watch,