Women's elastic fish watch Ernest E64001-00

Slipping it on: no buckle, no holes

The elastic strap stretches as your hand passes through, then contracts around the wrist on its own. Nothing is fastened and nothing is adjusted, which makes it an easy watch to put on in a hurry and an easy one to take off again before you wash your hands. Slim wrists are no problem either: the strap sizes itself instead of relying on a row of holes. The other models that pull straight over the hand work the same way, with plainer or floral dials.

A fish-print watch, from dial to strap

Four fish cross the dial: one turquoise, one navy speckled with white, two more in coral and pink, each with small red markings along its fins. The print does not stop at the case. It carries on down the whole strap, over a background that shifts between pink and blue, so the wrist reads as a printed ribbon from a distance. Step closer and each fish separates from the next. That echo between dial and strap plays out differently on watches with a printed fabric strap.

Reading the time through the pattern

A busy dial can make the time harder to read. Here the twelve black Arabic numerals stay on the outer ring, clear of the fish, and the silver hands sit above the print rather than getting lost in it. The case, the thin bezel and the crown at three o'clock pick up the same silver finish, so nothing else competes with the colours.

At a glance

Who it suits

This one is for anyone who likes a bit of colour on the wrist without a whole armful of jewellery: the print does the work on its own, so the rest of the arm can stay bare. Denim, a striped top or a plain white shirt gives it room; a heavily patterned sleeve does not.

It also makes a straightforward gift, because the strap adjusts itself and there is no wrist size to guess. The seaside theme suits the lighter months, though there is nothing to stop you wearing it in January.