Hi guys. I'm looking to purchase my first ever watch and I have very little knowledge or understanding on watch etiquette, fashion, pricing, how to maintain and clean it, etc. I'll give a brief overview of what I want so hopefully you can help me out!
So I'm a female, I assume there are differences between male and female watches? Can a female wear a male watch, or is that a big no-no. What is the difference in styles or quality between the two? Are there unisex watches? Also, I'm in a wheelchair so I'd prefer not a super big chunky metal band as it could scrape against my rims as I move around or make clinking noises. But I don't know how I feel about leather bands, either? I prefer the look of metal bands, but like the "mesh" kind (I looked it up online so hopefully that's what it is). Color wise, I prefer gold or silver, but am open to black? I want something that is appropriate for casual daily life as well as a more professional setting like a wedding or interview. I know of Rolex watches but that's like the only brand I know of. I don't like the rectangle or square faces as much as regular circle faces, too.
I know it isn't a lot to go off of, but if you can help teach me or give me resources to use to learn more then I'd appreciate it!
There is a series of questions you might want to ask yourself. But maybe the easiest would be to show you where you can learn and you can make up your own opinion on the subject. There is many youtube-channels you could check out, e.g. Teddy Baldassarre have a playlist of different watch education videos you can watch.
There is Mens, womens, and unisex watches, but dont think to much about that, but what you like and what fits your wrist and style. More important is the actual size of the watch. Often people talk about the size, that's measured diagonally from about 10 to 4. This gives a indicator of how big the watch is. In regard to how big it looks on your wrist you need to think of how much of the watch which is the dial. Of the watch is all dial (and no bezel, the ring around the dial) it will look bigger. If the watch has a smaller dial and more bezel it can be a little (technically) bigger before it looks too big. Maybe as important if not more important is a watch's lug-to-lug measurements (length from "horn-to-horn across"). These affect how the watch will wrap around your wrist. If the lugs are too broad they "hang" outside your wrist and that could look a bit strange.
If you like a mesh (could also be called milanese bracelet) you could go for that. A watch could feel/look very different based on what strap or bracelet you chose to wear. with that in mind you could get two watches for the price of one watch and two straps.
You might want to consider whether you want to go for a quartz (battery) or a mechanical (spring) movement (powersource). Quartz are cheaper, keeps time better, and wont stop if you leave it for x amount of days. Mechanical movements come in two main types (manual and automatic winding), but the basic concept is the same. They are more expensive, more engineered (more moving parts), the seconds hand will glide instead of tick. A manual movement requires you to wind (spin) the crown (the small wheel on the side which you set the time with). A automatic movement has a weight inside it which spins back and forth when you move, this movement is caught and stored in the spring inside the watch. the spring is slowly unwinding, keeping your watch running.
There is lots of great watch brands out there, If you have a price range in mind I'm sure you can get loooots of suggestions both for brands and exact models.