Watch for m'lady - £4k

[22s]

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

[RSTurboPaul]

22s said:

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

Taste in watches is very personal, and ladies are usually very fussy when it comes to their attire and jewellery

Perhaps a city break to London or similar could involve some shopping for shiny things together, to remove risk of a 'oh, that's... lovely...' reaction? lol

[22s]

Good thoughts, but I am lucky in that I know what she likes (or she's a very good actor...!).

I just need to see options and a small list from people who 'get' watches vs the thousands of possibilities on Chrono24.

We also live in central London!

[RSTurboPaul]

Perhaps filter chrono24 by size/cost and let the boss look through to see what catches her eye?

Too many nice choices out there, decision-making can take ages! lol

[SlimJim16v]

Cartier Tank?

[SWoll]

If she likes the look of Cartier's watches than any of the alternatives are likely to be too sporty in comparison I'd suggest?

As an example the Tudor Black Bay 31.



https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Tudor/Black%20Bay%20...

[DoubleSix]

Tudor Clair de Rose is a lovely classic design.

[Louis Balfour]

22s said:

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

A Cartier Santos, steel, quartz, small.

Why?

Because it is an iconic design, and I have never seen one look bad on a lady.

Quartz because Ladies just want a watch to work. They typically don't care about movements and whether the movement is in-house, ETA or whatever.

Steel because classic, you don't want bi-metal and gold is out of budget.

Lastly, the Santos seems to be getting a pit of a "push" by Cartier at the moment. So they are both classic and "on trend" and your wife will see them advertised and think you are a super husband for buying her one.

[Jimjimhim]

Is a watch what she wants, or is it what you want to get her?

[Regbuser]

22s said:

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

I think you've nailed it with the BB, a lovely watch.

[Geertsen]

Louis Balfour said:

22s said:

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

A Cartier Santos, steel, quartz, small.

Why?

Because it is an iconic design, and I have never seen one look bad on a lady.

Quartz because Ladies just want a watch to work. They typically don't care about movements and whether the movement is in-house, ETA or whatever.

Steel because classic, you don't want bi-metal and gold is out of budget.

Lastly, the Santos seems to be getting a pit of a "push" by Cartier at the moment. So they are both classic and "on trend" and your wife will see them advertised and think you are a super husband for buying her one.

Not knocking you personally at all Louis but I have never been able to understand the appeal of the Cartier Santos, especially in the men’s size. I think it’s an exceptionally ugly design. I don’t know why, it just looks clumsy and dated to me.

[Louis Balfour]

Geertsen said:

Louis Balfour said:

22s said:

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

A Cartier Santos, steel, quartz, small.

Why?

Because it is an iconic design, and I have never seen one look bad on a lady.

Quartz because Ladies just want a watch to work. They typically don't care about movements and whether the movement is in-house, ETA or whatever.

Steel because classic, you don't want bi-metal and gold is out of budget.

Lastly, the Santos seems to be getting a pit of a "push" by Cartier at the moment. So they are both classic and "on trend" and your wife will see them advertised and think you are a super husband for buying her one.

Not knocking you personally at all Louis but I have never been able to understand the appeal of the Cartier Santos, especially in the men’s size. I think it’s an exceptionally ugly design. I don’t know why, it just looks clumsy and dated to me.

A couple of things here.

Firstly, the target audience is a lady. The bracelet design works well for most ladies IMHO. It has aged better than the Tank Francaise and the Ballon Bleu.

It is also an enduring design. Whilst it has been updated relatively recently the lineage is clear.

I agree that the larger sizes l, on a man, can look quite camp. But I saw a yellow gold one advertised yesterday and found myself checking the bank account to see how flush I was (answer- not flush enough).

I get that the Santos may not be for everyone, but my opinion is that it is a very cool watch for a lady, or a chap in the right size.

[Jimjimhim]

That's a really ugly watch! The weird screw heads, the fat square surrounding, remove the name of the face and I bet hardly anyone would buy it.

OP

You need to first of all find out if she does want a watch, maybe she does, but maybe it's what you want for her rather than what she wants for herself.

If SHE does want a watch then you need to work out what style of watch she wants, there would be nothing worse for her than having to wear something she doesn't like for fear of upsetting you!

[Ninjin]

22s said:

Hi everyone,

A special birthday is coming up for my better half and I'd like to get her a watch. Budget is £4k, though closer to £3k is better, and happy with pre-owned.

Pretty open-minded as to the watch spec, though it should have a metal bracelet and be silver. At the moment the front runner is the 33m Cartier Ballon Bleu, but would love to hear any other ideas for something a bit special.

Thanks in advance.

if that's what she wants... play it safe and buy what she wants!

[Bob_Defly]

Jimjimhim said:

That's a really ugly watch! The weird screw heads, the fat square surrounding, remove the name of the face and I bet hardly anyone would buy it.

Tell me you know nothing about watches.

[Jimjimhim]

Bob_Defly said:

Jimjimhim said:

That's a really ugly watch! The weird screw heads, the fat square surrounding, remove the name of the face and I bet hardly anyone would buy it.

Tell me you know nothing about watches.

I know that I think its ugly and I know that if you remove the brand off the watch it wouldn't sell.

What else do I need to know?

[T6 vanman]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_n...

https://www.chrono24.com/franckmuller/v35-sc-at-fo...

You can thank me later

[covmutley]

I'd like to get my wife one of these when I cobble some cash together. I think it's beautiful, so I bet she won't like it!

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/zenith/---zenith-031971...

[22s]

Some great suggestions, thanks all!

I know the Santos is 'on trend', but I have to agree that I think it's a bit of a dog.

I hadn't thought of Franck Muller - she would love that one, but not great as a daily driver. So maybe a treat for the next big bday!

[hilly10]

Is she open to a Rolex ladies size. Datejust 28mm SS and gold is classy and timeless