Another 'what watch' thread... 18th Birthday

[anonymous-user]

Hi all,

My mate at work has a son who will be 18 very soon, and alongside his ongoing driving lessons and other stuff, my friend wants to buy him a watch for his birthday.

He understandably doesn't want to spend thousands, but just something nice for the son to keep for however many years.

Up to about £400-ish is the budget and the rules of engagement are:

1)Something by a more traditional watchmaker name, so nothing 'fashion' by Michael Kors (aaaaargh!), Hugo Boss, Armani etc

2)Something Manly and Diver-ish. Think traditional stainless steel 'Submariner' type watch. No gold, fancy colours or thin leather straps.

3)Automatic would be great but I realise at this price point they will be mostly Quartz.

My only helpful suggestion was to look at Tissot seen as how they are a traditional Swiss name that fits in the price bracket, but would be very keen to see what the PH experts come up with

Thanks all!

[bitchstewie]

£400 doesn't buy too much that isn't a fashion watch these days.

£400 and Divers and Seiko leaps to mind, maybe one of the ones you get from Japan that isn't on the high street.

[A10]

Another £100 will get a seiko tuna, an iconic watch with a design and case that the birthday boy would really like IMHO. It would Definitely stand out from the crowd of fashion watches. I have one and I love.

Or again at around £500, the Magrette Moana Pacific pro would fit the bill perfectly. Rare and manly. A bit Panerai like. I especially like the grey G14 model.

Edited by A10 on Sunday 14th February 12:26

[X1BHO]

Steinhart - very well made automatic watches that look like the Rolex Submariner. I've had an Ocean One with green bezel for a couple of years now and it has been great.

[freshkid]

Some nice stuff at the £400 mark here...and more than a hint of British heritage too.

http://www.cwcwatch.com

[Voldemort]

At that price I'd be sure to have a look at Luminox.

Also this inspirational piece from Invicta might fit the bill http://www.invictawatchcompany.co.uk/pro-diver/inv...

[marcosgt]

Maybe look and see if Christopher Ward have a sale on? A quartz C60 will be in budget anyway, but he may luck in and get an auto.

Steinhart are good watches for the money, but the One's a bit too much like a Rolex Sub for my liking. If you can live with that, then fill your boots.

Hard, though, to look far past Seiko and/or Citizen for that kind of money for a diver, although CWC is a good thought.

If he was prepared to consider used, he could find a Longines Hydroconquest auto in budget with some patience.

M.

Edited by marcosgt on Monday 15th February 10:11

[Mr Overheads]

Tissot PRC200
Hamilton Khaki Field

Both Mechanical Automatic's. The former has an 80 hour power reserve. Amazong at this price point.

[bigalx]

For that kind of money you could possibly look at a Squale. Very nice watches with a degree or rarity and a good quality automatic movement. Against some of the more expensive divers (with the same movement) they are good quality watched and also are of a more elegant and classy size than some of the monsters out there...

[williaa68]

At the risk of a slight thread hijack can I ask basically the same question but for £1,000 and for my 50 year old brother. He currently wears a (good) fake Rolex. Thank you

[bigalx]

For £1k you could look at Eterna. They have some nice watches which are less mainstream than the normal £1k watch but have a great deal of pedigree...

[marcosgt]

williaa68 said:

At the risk of a slight thread hijack can I ask basically the same question but for £1,000 and for my 50 year old brother. He currently wears a (good) fake Rolex. Thank you

Will he appreciate a real watch from a lesser known brand? It sounds like image is more important than quality to him, to me.

If he would, a Longines would be a good choice for him, IMO (I'm a similar age). Plenty of variety in their range, although some will be stretching the £1000 budget.

M.

[anonymous-user]

Just want to say thanks for all the input and discussion so far!

I'm passing the info on.

[5harp3y]

i'd be looking at a Japanese model Seiko Diver at that money.

Great quality and looks and nice and chunky