Did you think wristwatches showed only the time of the day? Or, at the most, the date and day? In that case, you are mistaken. Be it for ladies or for men, wrist watches have come a really long way. From being functional objects worn on the wrist to check the time, wristwatches have emerged as a style statement. You can spruce up your personality with a designer watch and let it speak volumes about you.

From the viewpoint of style, wristwatches can be divided into three major categories:

* Designer watches
* Fashion watches
* Replica watches

Though the categorization is rather ambiguous, watches exclusively designed so as to create a style statement commonly fall under the category of designer watches. They are often rather highly priced. Fashion watches are similar to designer watches in that they are also developed keeping the style element in mind; however, they are trendier at times and more affordably priced. Replica watches, as the name suggests, are replicas of designer or fashion watches. As they are an imitation, they are priced in a highly affordable manner. Designer watches and fashion watches are usually branded, developed by well-known brands in the industry. As opposed to this, replica watches are generally unbranded ones. This article chiefly deals with designer watches and fashion watches, in the categories of both men and ladies, and how they impact the personality of the wearer.

There are several well-known designer brands of watches available in the market today. Cartier, Rolex, Omega, Bvlgari, Jean Dunand, Franck Muller, Movado, Swatch, Wenger, Girard-Perregaux, Jaeger Le Coultre, Swiss Army, Tissot, Piaget, Zenith, Tag Heuer, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Breguet and Beluga are some of the most exclusive brands the world over. A survey of the world's richest and most important people has revealed maximum usage of Patek Philippe watches, while the use of Omega, Rolex and Audemars Piguet watches has also been noted among a significant number of dignitaries. Some of these wristwatches are studded with stones, and have been popularized by famous personalities. For instance, Omega wristwatches have been modeled by popular Hollywood and Bollywood actors like Cindy Crawford, Nicole Kidman, Michael Schumacher, Amitabh Bachchhan and Abhishek Bachchhan. These are among the most expensive wristwatches in the world. To quote an example, the Audemars Piguet watches is priced between $5000 to $20000, on an average.

The Swiss watch industry is believed to have pioneered the concept of fashion watches, when Swatch introduced a cheaper and fashionable variation of its wristwatch in the year 1980. This spurred a new trend in the wristwatch industry worldwide, and took it by storm! Today, in terms of fashion watches, Gucci, Burberry, Guess, Fossil, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Chanel, B. Fendi, Technomarine, Milleret and Dior are quite well known. Many of these brands have introduced new collections lately, keeping in mind changing trends and customer preferences. Whether it is Hypnotic by Calvin Klein, Chanel's pearl bracelet-type Premiere Perles, Milleret's La Pavee or Dior's Christal, every new collection is unique and, of course, extremely fashionable! The price range of these wristwatches is slightly lower than that of designer watches. For instance, a Gucci fashion watch is priced at about $2000.

With such a huge range of stylish wristwatches available, it sure can be quite a tough job choosing just one!

Now, you might ask - why should I go in for a designer watch or a fashion watch when an ordinary watch can serve the purpose just all right? The answer is 'style'. Imagine the ripples of awe that your Gucci or Rolex would create at your workplace or in your friend circle. The change that a designer watch brings to your personality, in the way you are perceived, would definitely be worth the extra amount that you would be spending on it. Add to this the boost of confidence that you get on wearing a fab fashion watch. Besides, there are some other points in favour of designer/fashion watches that deserve a mention here:

* Usually, such watches offer a wide range of features such as water resistance, shock resistance and detailed mechanisms.

* As these watches are produced by reputed brands, the workmanship is excellent and quality is usually great. Unlike a replica wristwatch, you can be assured with a designer watch that it will run quite smoothly and will not collapse within a month or two of purchase.

* Even if something goes wrong with a branded fashion/designer watch, they are usually covered by a warranty for a certain period of time.

It is no wonder that the handbag is fast losing its Number 1 position as fashion accessory to designer watches. It is not only a great buy for yourself, but also a great gift idea for your near and dear ones. When you gift a fine, good-quality designer watch to your mom, dad, sibling, spouse, friend or colleague, it conveys that you think the very best for them. At first thought, a designer watch might seem to be a luxury, but it is actually not. It is, in fact, a statement of style, quality, confidence, status and glamour.