What Makes a Watch "Good"?
- The First Watch
- Apr 22
- 6 min read
"Is this a good watch?" It's one of the most common questions you see asked online, and one of the most badly answered, especially for beginners. Usually, the response is a version of "depends on your budget" followed by a recommendation for whatever the person responding happens to own. Not particularly helpful. The truth is that "good" in the watch world gets thrown around so loosely that it's almost lost its meaning entirely, because whether a watch is good depends entirely on what you're asking it to do and in a lot of cases, what you like. That said, there are a handful of things that genuinely separate a well-made watch from one that isn't, regardless of price.
Does It Fit?
I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it: fit is everything. A watch that doesn't sit right on your wrist isn't a good watch for you, full stop, no matter how impressive everything else about it is. A watch that fits perfectly and costs £150 will serve you better day-to-day than a watch that doesn't fit and costs £500.
The two numbers to check are the case diameter and lug-to-lug measurement. For most wrists, a case diameter between 36mm and 40mm is a reliable starting point, but the lug-to-lug tells you more; it's the measurement from the top of the case to the bottom, and it determines how the watch actually sits on your wrist. A watch with long lugs can wear significantly larger than its case diameter suggests. Trust me, it's a trap I’ve almost fallen in plenty of times.
If you can try a watch on before buying, do. If you can't, measure your wrist and check the specs carefully. It takes two minutes and will save you a lot of frustration.
The Movement: What's Powering It?
The movement is the engine of the watch, and like a car engine, you want to know a little bit about what's under the bonnet before you commit. The broad categories here are quartz and automatic, and I've covered the differences between them in detail elsewhere on the blog. For the purposes of this, the question isn't which type is better. It's whether the movement will do what you want to do at the price you’re willing to pay.
At any price point, you should be able to find out who made the movement and roughly what its specifications are. A watch that uses a well-regarded movement (a Miyota, an ETA…) has a meaningful advantage over one fitted with a generic, unbranded movement that the manufacturer won't even identify. Transparency here is a good sign; if a brand is proud of what's inside their watch, they'll tell you. If they're vague about it, ask yourself why.
One thing to note: for a first watch, movement quality is important, but don't let it overwhelm everything else. A solid, reliable movement in a watch you love wearing is far more valuable than a prestigious movement in a watch that sits in a drawer.
The Crystal: More Important Than It Sounds:
The crystal is the glass above the dial, the thing you're looking through every time you check the time. It's also one of the first things to show wear, which makes it worth paying attention to. There are three main types: acrylic (plastic), mineral glass, and sapphire crystal.
Whilst we’ll go into it in more detail in a future blog, here are a few brief things to be aware of. Acrylic scratches easily but can be polished back to a clean finish; it is also common in cheaper watches, say, £50-£100, so don’t let it put you off. Mineral glass is more scratch-resistant than acrylic but will still show marks over time; it’s near enough an industry standard in watches between £100-£250. However, once you breach the £200 mark, you should look for a sapphire crystal, as it is the hardest of the three common options. Whilst it’s not a dealbreaker, it’s a fair expectation at the price, as it's extremely scratch-resistant and will stay looking new for years, even with daily wear. Whilst you might think it's a small detail, a scratched crystal is surprisingly distracting once you notice it.
Case and Finishing: The Details That Add Up:
The case is the body of the watch, and how it's finished tells you a lot about the care that went into making it. Good finishing typically combines two different textures: brushed surfaces (which have a matte texture) and polished surfaces (which are reflective and mirror-like). However, when done poorly - or when a watch relies entirely on one or the other - it can look cheap, regardless of the price.
We’d also advise running your thumb along the edges of the case, sharp edges, loose joins and uneven surfaces indicate poor build quality and mean that a watch is unlikely to last. Alongside this, look at the dial under good light. Are the details straight, the printing crisp, and are there any specs of dust? These are the things that distinguish a well-made watch from one that's been assembled to a price.
It’s worth noting that none of this requires spending a fortune to get right, so don’t expect a lower-priced watch to fall short of the standards you expect and don’t accept a higher-priced watch that does.
Water Resistance: Know What You're Getting:
Water resistance is one of the most misunderstood specifications in the watch world, and it genuinely matters for daily wear. The headline figure: 30m, 50m, 100m, 200m… refers to static pressure testing, where a watch is taken to those depths at a controlled rate. Obviously, this does not reflect real-world use, especially if you want to wear your watch for something more than just a spring shower. This means that a watch rated to 30m is not suitable for swimming, despite what the number might imply. As a rough guide, 50m is suitable for light splashes and the occasional dip in the sink, 100m covers swimming, and 200m and above covers diving.
For a daily watch, I'd recommend at least 100m of water resistance. It gives you the freedom to wear it without overthinking what you're doing - which is, ultimately, what you want from a watch you're going to wear every day. A watch that you have to take off before washing up or getting caught in a downpour quickly becomes more annoying than the bargain you thought you were getting. I’d also advise that you rinse your watch off if you swim with it in a chlorinated pool, in salt water, or dip it into the sink when using washing-up liquid. This will help protect the watch and, most importantly, its waterproof seals from these corrosive substances and ensure it lasts well into the future.
Value: What Are You Actually Getting for Your Money?
This is perhaps the trickiest thing to think about because what represents good value for me might not be good value for you. But here's a useful starting point: look at the specification sheet and ask whether the features justify the price. A watch with a sapphire crystal, a named movement, 100m water resistance and quality finishing at £250 represents genuine value. A watch with a mineral crystal, an unnamed movement, 30m water resistance, and soft-case finishing at the same price does not, especially if part of what you're paying for is a recognisable brand name on the dial.
Fashion houses, as I've mentioned before, are often the worst offenders here. The watch might look the part, but underneath the familiar logo, you're frequently getting specifications that a microbrand would be embarrassed to sell at half the price. Specification sheets don't lie. Brand names sometimes do.
Does It Make You Want to Wear It?
And finally, the thing that the specification sheet can't measure. Whilst a good watch is one that feels right on your wrist and suits the way you live, all the technical criteria in this framework are tools to help you make a confident, informed decision, and what really matters is: is it a good watch for you? The best watch I own isn't necessarily the most impressive on paper; it's the one I keep reaching for even when I have other, sometimes better options. And that, honestly, is the most straightforward definition of a good watch I can offer, a watch that you like.
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