Classification of Buying Guides and Recommendations
Based on the sources, watch buying guides and recommendations can be divided into the following main categories:
- By Budget and Price: Guides often categorize watches by affordability, such as “affordable” entry-level pieces, specific price points like under $1,000 or under €5,000, and high-end luxury options like platinum models.
- By Watch Type and Function:
- Dive Watches: Often highlighted as a quintessential category.
- Chronographs: Including specialized types like bicompax models.
- GMT and Travel Watches: Focused on tracking multiple time zones.
- Field and Military Watches: Rugged tools built for durability.
- Everyday and GADA Watches: Versatile “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” models.
- Specialized Horology: This includes dress watches, tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and pocket watches.
- By Origin and Manufacturer Type:
- Regional Guides: Focused on brands from specific regions like France, Italy, Australia, or Japan.
- Manufacturer Categories: Specific recommendations for microbrands or independent watchmakers.
- By Aesthetics and Design:
- Dial Characteristics: Categories based on colors like white dials or materials like stone dials.
- Style and Shape: Guides for specific aesthetics like Art Deco, minimalism, or square-shaped cases.
- By Materials: Recommendations focusing on the case material, such as gold, bronze, carbon fiber, or platinum.
- By Occasion and Audience:
- Gift Guides: Tailored for events like Valentine’s Day.
- Target Groups: Specific lists for children, women, or specific activities like survival situations.
- Vintage and Pre-owned Watches: Recommendations for entering the vintage market under specific budgets (e.g., under €5,000) or curated “pre-owned picks” from editorial teams.
- By Specific Technical Details: This includes guides on specific movement types like high-end quartz or focused measurements such as the importance of “lug-to-lug” distance.
- Expert and Editorial Selections: Personal recommendations from editorial teams, such as “Editors’ Picks” or deep dives into industry icons.
- Comprehensive Collecting Guides: In-depth guides dedicated to specific prestigious brands or references, such as Urwerk, F.P. Journe, or Patek Philippe.
