Looking for advice from the STW watch experts. Son is 18 in a couple of weeks and we don’t have a mega budget. He quite likes a watch but we are looking about a 10th of what his wish list is!
So, maximum £300, any pointers? Not digital, kind of “blingy” but not too in your face.
Thanks
Kids don't wear watches any more. Have you considered a nice pen?
A seiko of style / budget to suit.
It’s very hard to go wrong with a seiko, imo.
i own 3. 1 modern and 2 from the 70’s
Seiko 5, there’s some nice ones at the top end of your budget
Beaten by 43 seconds!!!
I know nothing about watches so take this with a liberal pinch of salt. The wife has just got back from Las Vegas and was somehow persuaded to buy one of these;
https://www.swatch.com/en-gb/bioceramic-moonswatch.html
I actually quite like it and it’s within budget. I can’t offer any more than that I’m afraid.
Edit. She didn’t buy Mission to Uranus.
You're basicaly looking at a 'fasion watch' with a standard quartz movement, and there is nothing wrong with that... as they are very reliable.
Does it need to be waterproof?
Or will it be more of a dress watch?
Seiko link isn’t working.
As for salad dodgers suggestion, he would use a nice pen even less.
I went through this and the conclusion was what you think is a nice watch is very different to what your child thinks is. Take time and let them chose. Be prepared for it being a Armani, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste or Hugo Boss.
For £300 in sale I would get a Citizen Ecodrive Titanium 300m BN0118-12L
It was for the SSK023, bit top end of budget but looks quite nice.
I got a Tissot PR 200 for my 18th, I don’t wear it much but it definitely gets some wrist time.
I’d be looking at a Seiko 5 of some kind for that budget, they last well, look good and Arne so are a great choice.
I would choose a solar watch of a make of your choice. Was given a Titanium Citizen chronograph 22 years ago, it is my daily alarm still and has never had to have a battery change
Creation Watches are your friend. For example, brand new SSK023 (Korean) in budget.
Crikey I feel old. My 18th was a tag Heuer formula 1, the original one. It was 79.95 in Selfridges.
Mate worked in a jeweller and got me the stainless bracelet for 30 quid when the rubber strap died
Sapphire crystal, auto, 200m water resistance.
Also in black with cream markings if you can go to £313
Wally, he absolutely doesn’t want a fashion watch, they’ve already been ruled out in no uncertain terms!
I received a seiko Kinetic For my 30th, love that watch. But makes me feel old thinking it is 24 years old!
Tissot PRX?
Steinhart ...nice German divers
Has he suggested what style of watch he likes? I've bought two for 18th birthdays - one I really liked, one I wouldn't wear....
Skeleton apparently, with a steel bracelet.
my 18th was a Tissot PR100, still going strong as my dress watch 20 year later…
Dress watch? Is it the 19th century where you go out?
In all seriousness, do people have different watches for different occasions?
I am hoping for one of these for my birthday - but then I'm 50 in a few weeks, not 18...
In all seriousness, do people have different watches for different occasions?
The 220 page long watch thread would suggest that they do.
We got my son and Orient bracelet, can't remember exactly which one but he's happy with it. He was wearing it last night with his suit, he was guest of honour at his old schools sports awards night.
Came here to say Seiko diver, beaten to it by IGM
The 220 page long watch thread would suggest that they do.
Yeah, you could wait for Kryton's impending fire sale and pick up a bargain, but get in line 🙂
There’s a nice Samurai here, if you communicate with them and ask them for thier best price they’ll knock a bit off for you:
you could wait for Kryton’s impending fire sale
He could be in time for his 21st….
My wife got me a Tissot pr100 when we got married. Not break the bank pricey but I still wear it 11 years in.
I didn't want a cluttered multi dial face. It's nice and simple.
I got the black face, sometimes think the blue would have been good.
I think diver style watches are brash, fat and ugly.
What sort of asthetic do they want?
On that note, I think this titanium, 200m, sapphire auto timex is pretty special for £310, and probably closer to his years:
In all seriousness, do people have different watches for different occasions?
Yes . I've a Garmin fenix for day to day as having to carry my phone to know the time seems wasteful. .
If I have my suit on or my kilt. I wear a Seiko bought for my 18th by grandparents.
The 220 page long watch thread would suggest that they do.
What a privileged world we live in.
I would get a Citizen Ecodrive
As would I (and indeed I did). But I'm not 18.
I thought the yoot of today couldn't read analogue clock faces? Plenty can't.
10th of what his wish list is
What's on his wish list? We could suggest options that are on the same theme.
Philips Fatique?
Richard Mile?
So far, he’s erring on that Seiko presage cocktail model.
I'm with @tuboflard, Omega MoonSwatch is a great shout. You can pick a colour/planet that will appeal to your son too.
(Or just get the Mission to Neptune, which is the rarest & coolest)
Omega MoonSwatch
Aesthetically for a teenager perhaps, but it’s derided as being a cheap plastic cash grab by Swatch, please don’t.
Another Tissot PR100 here. My wife (to be) got me mine instead of a wedding ring. I’ve worn it every day since 2003. It has done every coasteer, bike ride, rock climb and other outdoor activity since then and hasn’t missed a beat. I don’t think longevity is an issue with them!
There's a load of skeleton watches here at like half your budget, and you can get them engraved.
https://www.trendhim.co.uk/watches/skeleton-watches-c.html
Google returns tons. This is nice, I'd have loved it at 18 and it's only slightly over budget. The butterfly clasp is cool, it's what my Citizen came with (recently replaced when the leather strap finally rotted through).
https://rotarywatches.com/products/rotary-greenwich-skeleton-automatic-gents-watch-gb02945-87
Another vote for a Tissot PRC200. I got one as a wedding present 19 years ago and it still looks great . I wore it daily until I got a smart watch a of couple of years ago. Mine has a dark green canvas strap on it now and it looks really good, even gets unsolicited compliments so not just my opinion!
I've also been rinsing the Timpson lifetime battery replacements for some years now, if they still do that. Think I paid £25
Tissot or Seiko would be my personal recommendation. I think both brands are very widely recognised and well-considered generally. And as others have said, folks are usually happy and proud/nostalgic to wear them 30 years later.
