Picking out watches isn’t always easy. You have to take into consideration all the style and color variations, in addition to feature functionality, all the while staying within your price range. Where should you begin looking? What are some popular brands to look out for? Start here for some useful suggestions!

Shopping online for them is a great way to get an idea of what you’re looking for. In the privacy of your own home, you can ponder what style or functionality you’d like, without pushy sales people staring you down.

Once you figure out style, brand and price range, you can go into a store with an idea of what you want. If you want a watch site that compares several other sites, check out Bizrate. For discounted ones, Overstock is a popular site with great selection.

In the stores, what brands should you look for? First, consider your budget. Are you looking for a $29,000 new one or a $20 Catalog watch? For high-end watches priced in the thousands, check out Cartier, Breitling, Omega, Universal Geneve, Jacques Lemans and Tag Heuer.

For watches in the hundreds price range, you can get a good deal on a Movado, Bulova, Gucci, Citizen, or Invicta. Occasionally you can find some Tag Heuers and Omegas in this price range as well. In the lower hundreds, Seiko, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss offer classy styles.

Perhaps you’re looking for a good gift watch that doubles as a piece of jewelry. If you’re on a strict budget, start with department stores. For instance, at Macy’s, you could buy a women’s Fossil bracelet watch with a sparkling Swarvoski crystal and stainless steel band, a diamond marker and Mother of Pearl inlay for $57 and get a bonus diamond accent pendant gift with your watch purchase for an additional $49.

However, if you’re looking to really impress for that special occasion, you will want to begin looking for jewelry watches at a jewelers like Zales, Kay’s or Littman’s. You could get a stainless steel ladies Bulova watch with diamond inlays for $300 (or $20/month) at Zales, with a pink sapphire ring bonus gift for an extra $30.

Tiffany and Company is world renowned as being the quintessential jewelry watch, but expect to pay in the thousands. If you’re looking for the extreme in high-end jewelry watches, you will have to visit New York City or Toronto to find an authorized dealer in North America.

Warranties vary as much as the colors, shapes and functions of the various watches you’ll be looking at, so be sure you’re getting a good deal all around. Most inexpensive watches will give you a one to two year warranty, but when you’re buying watches with jewel inlays, you should be getting a more secure service plan. Nothing’s worse than losing a diamond accent, but it happens! Also, when shopping online, be wary of deals that seem “too good to be true” — because they probably are!