Ladies wristwatches are often treated as jewelry or as collectible works of art rather than as timepieces.

This has created several different markets for wristwatches:

·    Inexpensive but accurate watches whose only purpose is telling the correct time

·    Extremely expensive watches that serve mainly as personal adornment or as a status symbol.

Companies such as Timex and Casio specialize in inexpensive watches while companies such as Breitling, Patek Phillipe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Blancpain, Longines, Ebel, and Rolexspecialize in watches as jewelry or fine mechanical devices.