First of all, would you be able to tell the difference between an expensive watch and, say, a £40 Citizen or Casio watch? If not, you should avoid anything with a big brand name. I have a Casio watch that is more accurate than any Rolex but I bought it online for under £50 and I know that it is genuine.
I also have an Omega watch that I bought from a market stall in Dubai for £7. I questioned whether the Ceitizen watches on the stall were genuine becuse the spelling didn't look quite right and I was told that the Ceitizen watches were indeed fakes but the Omega watch that I was looking at was genuine, so I bought it. If he was wrong, I've only spent £7.
Some people feel good when they spend a lot of money and get something heavy on their wrist. Such people should not worry about anything more than checking the weight and the spelling otherwise they may well be disappointed.
At the very least, if you are buying online you need to take the following steps:
- check that there is a company name, address and registration number somewhere on the web site (or an individual's name and address). If there isn't, you should not send any money.
- check that there is a clear and satisfactory returns policy (if you do ever need to return anything expensive, use a postal service with tracking and adequate insurance)
- pay with a credit card or another means that gives you adequate protection against receiving unsatisfactory goods.
- if you are spending a lot of money, contact the seller to ask some easy question ("is it available with a stainless steel strap", "if I buy tomorrow, will you be able to ship it before the end of the week", etc). Whether you get a reply or not will give you an idea about the level of customer service that the seller provides.