男人必讀:怎樣選擇手表

        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.)

　　老牌子的手表會(huì)讓你一輩子都能夠準(zhǔn)確可靠地看時(shí)間。天梭(Tissot)、精工(Seiko)和維氏(Victorinox)這類質(zhì)量上乘的機(jī)械表起價(jià)不足500歐元（合683美元）。（石英手表實(shí)在有失身份，所以只能暫時(shí)使用，或者是當(dāng)作一種牢固的休閑手表來使。）

　　'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.

　　“嚴(yán)肅”的手表下自1,000歐元左右，上至1,500歐元，少數(shù)限量手表起價(jià)在3,000歐元以上。要欣賞到頂級(jí)工藝，那就準(zhǔn)備至少拿出5,000歐元。而如果你希望自己戴的手表很少有機(jī)會(huì)與晚宴上的另一位客人雷同，首先就得想想能不能拿出15,000歐元或更多。到此你進(jìn)入了一個(gè)名品殿堂，朗格(A. Lange &Sohne)、寶璣(Breguet)、百達(dá)翡麗(Patek Philippe)等都在其列。拿這些錢買到的手表可能超出了這些品牌的入門級(jí)。這么想吧：雖然銘牌可能都一樣，但寶馬(BMW)3系和7系還是存在著天壤之別，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.

　　多花一些錢，在“復(fù)雜性”這一方面就可以得到更多。這是手表廠商用來描述除計(jì)時(shí)以外其他功能的詞匯。最常見、最重要的“復(fù)雜性”是顯示日歷，然后是顯示周歷、月歷和年歷。最受收藏家歡迎的功能則是雙時(shí)區(qū)、月相和計(jì)時(shí)器。當(dāng)然表殼會(huì)是黃金或鉑金。除這些以外，萬年歷、陀飛輪和報(bào)時(shí)器等功能更是受到行家追捧，其價(jià)格達(dá)到了六位數(shù)。

　　'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.'

　　“舊物”(pre-owned)是二手手表的委婉說法。像買各式新奇汽車一樣，有些人買了珍稀手表后，不久也厭煩了，賣了再去買新的。同樣和汽車一樣的是，手表短期內(nèi)不會(huì)升值，除非非常特別。所以你可以從David Duggan和Watch Club等經(jīng)銷商那里買到有包裝和證書、價(jià)格非常實(shí)在的二手手表。缺點(diǎn)在于你不是從一家“主要代理商”那里購(gòu)買。