男士们如何选择自己的手表

　　Established brands offer watches that will keep you reliably informed of the time for the rest of your life. Quality mechanical watches start for under 500 euros ($683) from makers such as Tissot, Seiko and Victorinox. (Quartz is simply infra dig, so keep that for your throwaway or unbreakable casual watch.)

　　老牌子的手表会让你一辈子都能够准确可靠地看时间。天梭(Tissot)、精工(Seiko)和维氏(Victorinox)这类质量上乘的机械表起价不足500欧元（合683美元）。（石英手表实在有失身份，所以只能暂时使用，或者是当作一种牢固的休闲手表来使。）

　　'Serious' watches start at around 1,000 euros to 1,500 euros, while a modicum of exclusivity begins above 3,000 euros. To dabble at the high-end of the watchmaker's art, expect to part with at least 5,000 euros. And if you want to wear something unlikely to be seen on the wrist of a fellow guest at a dinner party, start thinking 15,000 euros and above. This gets you into the arena populated by brands such as A. Lange &Sohne, Breguet and Patek Philippe among others. It will likely buy you a model above their entry-level offerings. Think of it this way: they may both have the same badge, but there's a world of difference between a 3-series and a 7-series BMW. So, too, with wristwatches.

　　“严肃”的手表下自1,000欧元左右，上至1,500欧元，少数限量手表起价在3,000欧元以上。要欣赏到顶级工艺，那就准备至少拿出5,000欧元。而如果你希望自己戴的手表很少有机会与晚宴上的另一位客人雷同，首先就得想想能不能拿出15,000欧元或更多。到此你进入了一个名品殿堂，朗格(A. Lange &Sohne)、宝玑(Breguet)、百达翡丽(Patek Philippe)等都在其列。拿这些钱买到的手表可能超出了这些品牌的入门级。这么想吧：虽然铭牌可能都一样，但宝马(BMW)3系和7系还是存在着天壤之别，手表也是如此。

　　For the extra outlay, you get more in the way of 'complications,' the watchmaker's term for any function beyond displaying the seconds, minutes and hours. The most common and useful are the ability to display the date, followed by day of the week, month and year. The most popular functions among collectors are dual time-zones, moon-phases and chronographs. It's a given that the cases will be gold or platinum. Above this, where the cognoscenti prowl, prices reach six figures for perpetual calendars, tourbillons and minute repeaters.

　　多花一些钱，在“复杂性”这一方面就可以得到更多。这是手表厂商用来描述除计时以外其他功能的词汇。最常见、最重要的“复杂性”是显示日历，然后是显示周历、月历和年历。最受收藏家欢迎的功能则是双时区、月相和计时器。当然表壳会是黄金或铂金。除这些以外，万年历、陀飞轮和报时器等功能更是受到行家追捧，其价格达到了六位数。

　　'Pre-owned' is the euphemism for second-hand watches. As with exotic cars, someone bought an esoteric watch, grew bored and traded it in after a short period. And like cars, watches -- unless they are very special -- do not appreciate in the short term. Thus, you have dealers such as David Duggan and the Watch Club who are able to sell you pre-owned watches, with boxes and papers, for truly substantial savings. The downside is that you are not buying from a 'main agent.'

　　“旧物”(pre-owned)是二手手表的委婉说法。像买各式新奇汽车一样，有些人买了珍稀手表后，不久也厌烦了，卖了再去买新的。同样和汽车一样的是，手表短期内不会升值，除非非常特别。所以你可以从David Duggan和Watch Club等经销商那里买到有包装和证书、价格非常实在的二手手表。缺点在于你不是从一家“主要代理商”那里购买。