There are a wide variety of watches for women, each with different features and styles. There are several key factors that should be considered. Buyers should first decide which general style of watch is best. Shoppers should decide on a color and material for the watch. A buyer should make the final decision based on the price of the item.
The most common styles are casual, sports, and dress watches. A casual watch typically has a neutral style that can be worn in a wide variety of situations. These types of watches may have a low level of water resistance, and are usually not designed for extended use underwater. Many casual women's watches feature an analog movement, which means that the time is displayed using traditional clock hands.
Sports watches often use more aggressive styling than casual watches, and commonly use bright colors. This variety of watch is designed for athletic use, such as running or swimming. A high level of water resistance is common, and allows the sports watch to be used underwater or in bad weather. To increase the visibility of the numbers, many sports watches use digital displays, which shows the time as changing digits, and also enables additional sports features such as chronographs and countdown timers to be displayed.
Dress watches for women are intended to be used in professional or formal settings. These usually have metallic finishes, and often feature elegant analog hands and numbers. In many cases, dress watches are not resistant to water and can become damaged by rain or sink spray. Many dress watches are produced under a designer name brand, and are intended to be worn as a prestigious jewelry piece.
Both the color and material are important considerations when choosing women' swatches. The type of finish can greatly influence the appearance of a watch. Stainless steel, for instance, has a silver or gray appearance designed to match a wide variety of clothing. A gold watch, in contrast, can be very elegant but can stand out against some colors of clothes or jewelry. Most sports watches use plastic and rubber material for the band, which can look misplaced when worn with non-athletic apparel.
Watches for women can be found with a wide range of prices. Sports watches are typically the least expensive style, while dress watches can be quite expensive with prestigious brands fetching the highest prices. If brand recognition is not important, many off-brand watches for women are available that look elegant, but are not excessively expensive.