There often is a subtle difference between the way men and women collect things.

Many men tend to take a systematic approach, choosing pieces that mesh with the rest of their possessions, be they stamps, cars or watches. A woman, however, may have a hundred pairs of shoes, but whether or not they amount to a collection may be debatable.

Serious collectors, male and female, are motivated by connoisseurship and an instinct for resale value, which may be the only established metric for judging a collection.

There are other factors, of course, including taste, impulse, budget and opportunity (waiting lists are a reality) — just enough variables to make building a coherent collection a fairly daunting task. So here is a brief guide to building a feminine watch collection, organized by function, with some somewhat subjective, but not arbitrary, examples.

You could easily choose your own categories: Supermodel Staples, Complicated Showpieces, Minimalist Moments and so on. But this is a start.

Everyday

This is the watch you grab without having to think about it, which has a classic design, robust construction and an accessible price. It looks good with anything, is comfortable to wear and can be relied upon for basic, time-only functions. It can be the hardest to choose, because it has to be everything and go anywhere, and you will wear it a lot. You might need more than one. Brands making great midrange women’s lines include Mido, Tissot, Hamilton, Frederique Constant, Tudor, Longines and Breitling, to name a few.