So I need to buy a nice watch for a male family member and have no idea what to buy.  I do not wear   a watch, and know nothing about what's in, what's stylish, what's popular, and what's quality.  I'm not looking to purchase a Rolex or a Timex, but something in between the two extremes that will last, be reliable and accurate and is modern, hip and stylish.  Any suggestions?

Fossil has some nice ones also.

It is a more reasonable brand that tends to appreciate with time.

The classic looking models that are stainless (no gold) seem to appreciate the most.

I have also seen the colorful formula ones also appreciate but I don't like them so much.

xo Lisa

Depends on what you are looking for .... fossil is also a good and adequate choice but probably won't appreciate or hold its value.

Ultimately, depends on your price range and how long you want him to keep the watch.

xo Lisa

I happen to be a watch collector.  I have watches priced from 3k to 175k.  for a 2k-8k watch I would consider these brands.  all in stainless steel  


IWC
(good all around quality.  no one will know its an expensive watch)

breitling
(currently hip- especially the super avenger)

Panerai
(has been hot for the past 5 years... might be on way out. luminor base models are classic)

Cartier
(classic iconic watch.  Santos 100 very hot right now)

Audemars Piguet
(Royal Oak model in Stainless Steel.  classic chronograph)

The list goes on n on.....

(I'd stay away from Tag Huer though.  no disrespect for tag owners.  But they are not a true watch brand. At least amongst watch collectors.)

feel free to pm me for any additional info.  or list a precise price range (1k to 2k, etc...)and I can steer you to some great time pieces.










-- Modified on 3/13/2008 7:06:55 AM

-- Modified on 3/13/2008 7:07:51 AM

Wow, some incredible watches have been mentioned, but a bit beyond what I'm looking for.  So to clarify, I'm not necessarily looking to buy a collector's watch or an heirloom, something under $1000.

For myself, I seldom wear a watch these days because since I usually carry a cell-phone, it kind of defeats the purpose.  I'll wear a watch usually if I'm going to a business meeting or a nice dinner.  Basically I consider it to be a piece of male jewelry.

And yeah, when it comes to men's watches it can go from the $50 Swatch to the $50K gold-plated Rolex.  I'd recommend actually that he check out some local retailers for a selection of different manufacturers / styles / price points.

You are up too late.

As a watch connoisseur, I have to note that Rolex doesn't make a gold plated watch.

xo Lisa

the 1k and under watch market is very hard.  because you are essentially getting a very expensive timex.        I'd have to think on this. the money for value meter is way off at this price point.

enough of my ramblings...  

glad to know you are into watches Lisa.
one of the finer things a person should have as part of their wardrobe.

great shoes, great clothes, and a great watch

this is so off topic its not even funny...

You can get a breitling for about 1k.

xo Lisa

I don't believe I'd settle for plating either.

Personally, I wear a Cellini. I don't know if it keeps the best time, but it looked so good in the case I couldn't help myself.

possibly pre-owned.  The mens chronos are all around 3k to 7k retail in stainless.  Not 100% sure though.   I am not a great breitling fan.  I have only one.   An Emergency.

I've got a Seiko that I bought 27 years ago.

At the time, me and the soon to be Mrs. were just window shopping when she saw a display of Seikos and started telling me what a fine watch they were, etc.

She did such a good sales job, that I decided to march right into the store and buy myself one.

I noticed that my amour's attitude had gotten a bit chilly.  I enquired if anything was upsetting her and she said yes, you were supposed to buy me the watch, not buy it for yourself.

And so, I learned one of life's valuable lessons.

Don't get married.

By the way, the Seiko looks great and keeps great time and the only maintenance I've ever done on it is to have the battery changed.

TagHauers are OK I guess. My job requires me to have one with a white face and cleary visible arabic numbers, not symbols, dots or other crap.  Indiglo and other low light gadgets have eased that requirement some.  I like Swiss Army, Rolex, and a have a Rado laying around somewhere.  My working watch is a plain ol' Timex.

I bought my boyfriend a very nice watch (Invicta) for Christmas.  It's very sturdy and good looking and gets great reviews (lol).  I bought it on Overstock for just over $100 and it retails for $495.

aint it the truth

I noticed that on my Rolex as well.  It's accurate within about 5 minutes a month.  But, as Lisa mentioned, there are plenty of places to look to find time, so in the meantime, I've got a nice looking watch.

I've purchased 3 "pre-owned" Rolexes, and while under $1,000 might be tough, you can get pretty close.  I've got to believe that other brands can be found via estate sale or jewelers that will hit your target, and still be great watches.

Where I live, pawn shops are also an option, but most places don't have as many as we do...

who can drop tens of thousands on a watch doesn't care if he is a minute or two late for an appointment.

To me, a watch is a piece of jewelery. If I really need to know what time it is, I'll look at my cell phone.

Breitling is the way to go.

Thankfully, I didn't spend that much on any of them, but you're right.  I use my cell to tell me how much to correct my watch by...

You can get them quite reasonably off the internet and they usually retail for double the price you would pay for them.

It reminds me of those beautifully crafted pieces from the early 1900s. It's a turn-on to see a man take one out. I knew I liked you.

Hugs,
Ciara

When I want to know what time it is, I look at my phone. If I want to spend money on jewelry, I buy jewelry, but then again I don't wear jewelry. Huh, must be the reason I don't like watches.

We'll have to get together someday and you can judge for yourself.

I have to confess, the first time I saw the Cellini I had no idea it was a Rolex. It almost jumped out of the case onto my wrist. IMHO there are some things that are worth paying for.

Swiss Army are good watches too . The original not Wenger but Victorix .

I rarely wear a watch, but tried that once for a formal affair with a nice watch that had been sitting in a drawer for many years.  But since it wasn't working, it just seemed silly.

Rolex if I want to annoy or intimidate certain people, Tag if want to go mainstream, Timex Digital when I work out or for weekends, and my "lucky" watch when I think I need some luck.  Usually wear the lucky watch when engaged in the hobby...

I grew out of wearing a watch, when I did wear one, it was a cheap one and I would generally destroy it a couple of months by destroying the face. For that reason I switched to the time on my cell phone.

That said I stopped wearing them.

Later on I figured a good watch would compliment my appearance.

A couple of years ago..I purchased a $400 Citizen eco-drive (no where near a Rolex but not a Timex either) and now have to send it in for repairs, since it will no longer charge.

In the 2 years I think I wore it maybe 5 times. The rest of the time it was just sitting their.

Almost makes me wish I had my first Boy Scout watch my parents gave me for X-MAS. It certainly was more reliable then the eco-drive

So regardless avoid the eco-drive.





 

That's the one with just a black dial and the two gold hands with a diamond where 12 would be.

I think it looks great and where it to fancy affairs (not that I get asked to too many), but there's just one small problem with it:

I can never figure out what time it is.

I don't even bother to change the battery in it any more.  What's the point?

I remember in the 90's when I was in college and first got one. I was also a fan of Sinatra and company. I just loved the culture of the glory days of Hollywood. My friends, who were all into the current pop and culture scene got to a point where one of them told me "Grow young!" instead of "Grow up".

I've seen some incredible pocket watches. Much more classy than the Patek Phillipes my friend collects. A geat conversation starter too when you pull a pocket watch out.

-- Modified on 3/14/2008 5:02:48 AM

I own 2 Breitlings and one Rolex.  A Breitling is a high quality aviator watch (John Travolta endorses them) that you can get for a couple of grand (for a base model, stainless).  Well worth the money.

is still right twice a day. lol