Buy what you want. There are no “must-have’s”

Also maybe start with your budget. Is 500 bucks a stretch or 100k just pocket change? The recommendations will differ greatly.

Also can recommend teddy baldassare on youtube as a resource. He has good overview videos.

Good watches run from 150 bucks to 100k. 99.5% of people pay no attention to your watch. Just buy something you like

The popular one tends to be Rolex (Submariner, Daytona, Day Date), Patek Philippe Nautilus, AP Royal Oak, FP Journe Chrinometre Bleu and Tudor Black Bay. However, each price range has their own popular model. Hence, it depends on your wrist width, budget and model preference.

Wear whatever you want, when you want, if you can afford it.

Fuck all else lmao

Quick brand run though:

Rolex - I like to tell people I have money, but it’s 90% chance it’s as fake as my wife’s boobs

Lange - I shit money

JLC - I don’t need to tell you I am better than you are

Omega - I don’t know anything about watches but it was expensive looking so why not

Breitling - hAY gUSy!!! I HaF briiiiieEeettlinggg!

Seiko - I’m too poor to buy and actual luxury watch so I am bitter, a bit like watch incels.

Chris Ward - I have no soul or imagination, but I want something shiny on my wrist

IWC - JLC but with a leather jacket and cool shades

Missed a few, can go on a bit later

Depends on your budget.

Sub $1000: Tissot PRX

Sub $2000: Longines

Sub $5000: lots of options. Breitling, Omega, etc

Sub $10,000: Breguet, Blancpain, Rolex, JLC (2nd hand of course)

Sub $20,000: it gets fun.

Every refined gentleman has a Daniel Wellington. Interchangeable straps. Nato strap when you feel sporty, brown leather strap when you decide to enter the cigar room with your mates. And so on. A versatile watch for every occasion.

There’s too much to summarize. But it’s probably helpful to get an idea of the kind of watch that you would like. Something you can wear all the time? Something sporty? A more rugged watch? Something more elegant and formal? Something for diving (a very popular style)? Something you can use to time things or with an alarm?

Do you care about the accuracy? What about the looks? Does the movement matter? Do you want a quartz watch (battery or solar-powered) or a mechanical watch? What about digital Vs analogue?

Then you’d want to consider your budget. Watches are pretty expensive, even the “cheap” ones, so it’s good to set that out ahead of time.

Then if you want to get into it, you can get into the specifics, is color important? Do you want something no one else has, or a classic that you know you could resell? Does the size matter? The country of origin?

It’s probably worth trying on some in person to get a better idea. Some reliable brands that you should be able to find near you would potentially include Seiko, Tissot, Citizen, Casio, maybe Rado or Mido. Getting more expensive, you’ll likely be able to find Longines, Tudor (owned by Rolex), Tag Heuer, Breitling, Omega, Cartier, and Rolex.

These are some of the biggest and most easily accessible brands (though Rolex are hard to come by, usually they aren’t in stock). Generally, I’d avoid fashion brands, watches like Police, Fossil, Calvin Klein, etc. These are basically cheap watches that have been rebranded to be much more expensive than they are worth.