Just as a lady once said that you can never have too many diamonds.......
You can never have too many watches
Most if not all of this forum own a quality car and if you applied the same reasoning when purchasing a watch you would buy something automatic and Swiss. As shug said, it's all about the engineering and pride of ownership
As with cars .........the brand is king
Replicas..........Too Chav!
If bought judiciously, a swiss chronometer can last a lifetime and contrary to earlier posts do not require annual servicing. A twenty year old Rolex/Cartier in good condition still retains about 40% of its original retail cost............wish some of my cars depreciated that slowly.
Providing you don't become too emotionally attached, watches are an easily tradable commodity and some fun can be had in changing models.
To answer the original post as to which watch?
An Omega speedmaster or seamaster chrono is a good first watch.
with a certified movement,
large face (big watches are favoured at the moment) ,
reliable
the right branding also helps reduce depreciation
The auto trader of the watch world is
http://www.watches.co.uk
In my watch garage at the moment are:-
Cartier Santos Auto
Cartier Tank
Rolex Daytona S/S (2) One for sale!
Omega Seamaster Chrono
Frank Muller Conquistadore
Panerai Luminor Submersible (Think Big Ben Alarm Clock)
If you want one... get it bought