Niki's 3 Brands That Are Great First Watches

Owning  a watch is not exactly as common as it used to be, most people just think "I can just use my phone". But watches are more than just telling the time, they are a great way to accessorise and show off your own personal style. So today I'm going to list a few brands that might make you consider getting a watch. I will attempt to pick watches that are inexpensive and will last a long time.

The biggest suggestion i have to start is to avoid fashion watches like Daniel Wellington, MVMT, Rosefield and many other similar brands. The reason being is that they charge remarkably high prices for very simple and mass produced battery powered watches that will only last about a year or so, possibly even less. For the prices they charge, you would expect much more than a simplistic design with no day-date features or any other features for that matter. What you are paying for with these brands is the branding itself mainly, whereas with other watches you get useful features like a day-date, self winding (automatic) and in Timex's case - a backlight for the entire dial. To help you get an idea of where to begin your search for a watch, check out these brands.

• Timex - Timex is a very good brand to get your first watch as their watches are reasonably priced and they are known to last a long time. Most if not all of their watches run on a battery so that drives the price down significantly and many of their watches feature "indiglo" which allows the entire dial to glow in the dark when the crown is pressed. Timex is also a great brand because you can get different straps of you don't like the one that comes with your watch and there are many available that are "slip through" style. Majority of their watches are around or under the $100 mark with the "fairfield" style and the crystal variation, (shown below) being around $89 and the "weekender" style being $52 for the 38mm size and $57 for the 40mm size.

Check out Timex's website!

• Seiko - Seiko is a very well known brand, especially for the reliability of their watches. If you're after a more sporty or casual look, you might like the Seiko 5 range; all Seiko 5's are automatic or self winding, and thus do not require a battery. There are hundreds of variations of the Seiko 5 but the one depicted below, is about $100, which is an incredible price considering it is automatic and has a day-date feature, which would usually put the prices much higher. Seiko is a great first watch and a great first traditionally made watch, some of their watches have been known to last over a decade without servicing which is incredible. Your best advised to look for these watches on the used market, as you can easily find the model you want for a smaller price and the watch will be in great condition as most collectors selling their watches take pride in them being in near mint condition.

• Casio - Casio is probably the most well known brand on this list as their watches are very affordable and popular. If you're after the slightly sporty, digital look, you might like AW158A. This watch can be matched with silver jewellery and gives the retro look while still looking classy due to the metal bracelet. As it is a digital watch - it is very durable, has a very long battery life and has stopwatch, timer and alarm features. This brand is one of the more affordable options with its price ranging from $20 - $60, depending on where you buy from.

These are just some suggestions of some reatively affordable watch brands you might like to check out for a first watch. These are just a start point of where to look for the style you want, and feel free to suggest any in the comment section! If you've enjoyed this and you're not already, why not subscribe so you can be notified every  time either my self or one of my fellow bloggers post. We also frequently give updates on our twitter, so be sure to follow us there! @Class13_Beauty

Lifestyle blogger, Niki x