Accessories

TAG Heuer, Breitling, Rolex  – great watches, but they come at a great price. The watches made by the top manufacturers are examples of precision engineering at its best, but there are also a number of nifty timepieces that still manage to offer something clever at a keen price.

Swatch Snowpass Mister Twin: Swatch have been kings of the low-priced, Swiss-made watch market for decades. Their most innovative watch in store at the moment has to be the Snowpass chronograph watch. There’s a little chip inside that means that if you register online, you can store details of up to four ski passes in the watch – so no more laminated passes flapping around as you head down the slopes. www.swatch.com for stockists. Price: €90

Casio LDF40: Retro chic at a throwaway price. Back in the 80s this is how everyone thought the watches of the future would look. Tiny fiddly buttons, plastic casing. It looks like a toy and the watch/calculator combo that would have been cutting edge 30 years ago is now pretty much redundant, but who cares. Guaranteed to get you more attention than any €20,000 watch out there. Available at The Watch Store www.thewatchstoreie.com Price: €39

Citizen Ecodrive 180: If the Casio LDF40 is gimmicky and busy, the Citizen Ecodrive 180 is simple, sleek and cool. The simple black dial/white lettering combination of the model pictured means you’ll never have to struggle to see what time it is. So what’s so innovative about this watch? It runs on solar power, only needing 11 hours of direct sunlight to power itself for six months. See www.citizenwatch.com for stockists

Pulsar Sahara: Originally made for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team, this chronograph watch also features an alarm and comes in a limited edition of only 1000 individually-numbered watches. Designed to be worn while driving hard, the watch features a perforated strap to keep your wrist from getting all sweaty. Of the 1000 limited edition watches made available, only one has made it to Ireland (check out Rocks Jewellers www.rocks.ie, but you'd better hurry) Price: €289