How to buy your first luxury watch in the UK

Set a budget

Around £1,300 to £2,000 buys a Swiss Longines. Around £2,680 to £4,070 buys most of the Tudor range and TAG Heuer's solar Aquaracer. From about £5,300 you are into Omega, Breitling's bigger watches and Cartier's Santos. Leave room for insurance and, later, servicing.

Our under-£5,000 guide has the shortlist.

Authorised dealer, grey market or pre-owned

Authorised dealer (Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb, Beaverbrooks and the brands' own boutiques): full price, but the full brand warranty from the day you buy, the box and papers, and a shop to go back to.

Grey market: new watches sold by shops that aren't authorised by the brand, often below list price. The warranty may have started when the dealer bought the watch, or may be the shop's own rather than the brand's. Ask before you pay.

Pre-owned: the cheapest way in, and the only realistic way to buy some models. Buy from a dealer that checks authenticity, or a marketplace with escrow, and get the box, papers and service history if you can. See how to buy a Rolex for the checks.

Warranties

New luxury watches from authorised dealers come with the brand's warranty, typically between two and eight years depending on the brand and model; some extend it when you register the watch. Ask the dealer for the exact term and keep the warranty card. Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act apply on top, against the shop that sold it.

Servicing costs

A mechanical watch wants a full service every several years: it is taken apart, cleaned, re-oiled, regulated and pressure-tested. Use the brand's own service centre or a dealer that sends it there, ask for the current price list before you commit, and keep the paperwork with the watch: a service history helps if you ever sell it.

Expect a brand service on an automatic to cost a few hundred pounds, more for a chronograph and more again if parts are needed; the brand's service centre or your dealer will give you the current price. Quartz watches cost far less to keep.

Insurance

Tell your home insurer about the watch: many contents policies cap single items, and a watch worn outside the home may need 'personal possessions' cover. Specialist watch and jewellery insurers exist too. Keep the receipt, the papers and a photo of the serial number somewhere other than with the watch.

Before you pay

• Try it on at the end of the day, when wrists are biggest.
• Check the case size and the lug-to-lug length against your wrist.
• Ask for the warranty term and how to register it.
• Keep every box, card and receipt: they matter when you sell.