How We Rate Watches

Seven pillars, each rated from 0 to 10 by an editor, each carrying a fixed weight. The Selection Score is the sum of the weighted ratings.

The score is never stored as a number. It is computed from the pillar ratings every time a page renders, which means the headline figure can never disagree with the breakdown printed beneath it. If an editor changes one pillar, every page on the site updates.

• Value — what the watch delivers against what it costs, judged against direct competitors at the same price
• Movement — architecture, published accuracy, power reserve, whether it hacks and hand-winds, and how easy it is to service
• Build Quality — case construction, finishing transitions, crown type, gaskets, certification
• Design — coherence of the design, dial execution, and whether it looks like itself rather than like something else
• Wearability — lug-to-lug against case diameter, thickness, weight, and the range of wrists it suits
• Features — complications, water resistance, crystal material, lume, and anything the watch does that its rivals do not
• Brand & Ownership — parts availability, service network, warranty, and what owning it is like after the first year

A score marked provisional is demo data that has not yet been through editorial review. It renders with a dashed ring and a visible notice, it is excluded from Product and Review structured data, and it should not be used to make a purchase decision.

We would rather show you an unfinished score honestly labelled than an unverified one dressed up as final.

There are two kinds of article on this site and we never blur them.

A specification analysis is desk work: published manufacturer specifications, reasoned comparison against competitors, and conclusions drawn from the numbers. It is labelled at the top of the page. We do not claim to have worn the watch, and we do not report measurements we have not taken.

A hands-on review means we physically handled and wore the watch. Only hands-on reviews of verified records ever emit Review structured data.

Specifications change and mistakes happen. Every watch record lists the sources it was built from, and every page shows when it was last updated.

If you find an error, tell us and we will correct the record — which corrects every page that uses it at once.

A Selection Score is published only after a second editor has reviewed the pillar ratings and signed them off. Until that happens the score exists in our database and is used to order lists, but it is not printed on the page.

We used to publish it anyway with a “Provisional” label. That was the wrong call: a reader sees 89/100 and remembers the 89, not the label. A number next to a retailer button is an assertion, and we would rather make none than make one we have not checked twice.

So if a watch shows no score, nothing is wrong with it. It means the review pass has not reached it.