I want to get a new watch. I have been wearing nothing but beater watches for a while now and I want to get something that is a little bit classy, something that I could wear to the office and not feel like my watch is underdressing me (I work in a suit and tie environment), I also don’t want to spend too much money. (less than $200 is ideal) I have always fancied the idea of having an automatic watch, but a quartz watch wouldn’t be a dealbreaker if it was nice enough.
Any wristwatch enthusiasts out ther who have some recomendations of a nice mid priced watch?
I say go to the nearest department store and check some out. My brother had a nice looking Kenneth Cole watch that was under $200. I personally like the rectangular shaped watches for dressing up, but YMMV.
Slightly over budget - Luminox 1600 series. I too prefer mechanicals, and this is about the most affordable automatic I could find. There may be cheaper ones out there, but I like the tritium (brighter than any other I’ve seen) and the overall quality of a Swiss movement.
Good luck! If you find an automatic you like let us know, I’d love to hear about it.
Tissot’s PR 50 series is nice. I think it has a certain elegance in its simplicity. I’ve had mine for 3 years or so. Mine has a white face and black leather band. It’s avaiable in a few permutations of band type (leather or metal) and face color. It cost about $125 at a watch store in a mall, but is battery operated - the automatic version can be had for about $175 I believe (I regret now not having swung the extra bucks, but mind that the automatic version is somewhat thicker). It’s Swiss. In general you’ll find that Tissot is rather inexpensive compared to other Swiss watches. Tissot’s PR 50 site
I’ll add that Overstock.com seems to have great prices on watches sometimes. I like Hamilton watches and they’ve had some awesome deals on those in the past.
I jumped in here to mention Luminox, and found I got beat to it.
::: Shakes fist at Bobotheoptimist:::
My everyday watch is a Luminox Navy Seals watch. It is the best watch I have ever owned for one simple reason. No matter how dark it is, no mater what, I can read the dial without my glasses. Take a look here
I love my TAG and my Citizen watches, but in the middle of the night, I will take my Luminox every time.
One of the Seiko “Monster” series of watches may fit the bill, the Monster is available most commonly with either a Orange (Orange Monster) or Black (Black Monster) face, available with either a polymer band or a nicely made stainless steel bracelet
the Monsters are a basic, simple watch, they just tell the time/day/date, no stopwatch timers or excessive “Complications” (sub-dials in an analog watch, Chrono needles, power level meters, moonphases, etc…), they use Seiko’s robust, time-tested 7S26 Automatic (self-winding) movement, they’re wound by the use of a counterweighted rotor that winds the mainspring housing when you move your arm
No batteries to wear out, no Quartz electronics to fail (admittedly, failures are rare in Quartz timepieces), an Automatic is a fully mechanical watch, simple, time tested
the Black Monster would be less noticeable when worn with a suit, the Orange Monster, however, just has so much personality it’s hard not to like it
if you think the Monsters may be out of place for your situation, the Seiko 5 series are more understated, and also use the 7S26 movement
then again, there’s always a good, basic Casio G-Shock series (the G-Shock line has both ana-digi and straight digital models)
I wear Kenneth Cole watches almost exclusively and have for a while. They are generally classic looking with a small flair. They don’t look cheap at all and I get mine from Kenneth Cole outlet stores for usually less than $100.
Seiko is the family-preferred brand. They take a hell of a beating and keep on going. I am very hard on my things; my mom bought me my first Seiko when I was a teen because she was tired of buying me a new crap watch every month. I’m on Seiko no. 2, as my first one disappeared (I have a good idea what happened to it, but that’s a Pit thread unto itself). They are quite durable and look nice, too. I don’t see myself switching brands at any point in the future.
I like this watch a whole lot, it isn’t at all what i was looking for but it is COOL. Also, I wouldn’t have thought that I would dig a watch with an orange face, but somehow it really works.
Ok, so now I am looking for a second watch. :smack:
I checked out the links for the Luminoxs and Tissots, they look like great watches too, but I can’t seem to find a price on those websites, and amazon didn’t have them when I did a search (which doesn’t necessarily mean anything, amazons search engine kind of blows.)
I think something like the Luminox is what I am looking for, now I just need to find it.
Oh, I also really love the Omega Seamaster, but I don’t really see myself afording something like that any time soon.
I’ll go with Seiko. Mine is a simple analog time and day/date display, and has been mildly wetted and mildly crunched semi-frequently for five years, and still works fine. It was a bit over $100.
The MSRP for the 1600 series Luminox is around 600, but their quartz movements can be had as low as… well, under $300 I’d guess. Cabela’s carries some.
I might have to pick up a couple of these mentioned in this thread, although my primary interest is pocket watches, I never carry them so they aren’t as much fun as mechanical wrist watches.
I’d like to echo the sentiment for Seiko. Here’s my story:
In the first grade, my mother bought me a Mickey Mouse watch. I ended up winding it until it broke, the first day. She swore I would never be able to have a watch. The curse lasted for about 20 years. I had bought watches and they all broke. I had an Anne Klein watch the battery exploded after 6 months. I’ve had everything in the world go wrong with watches.
My husband bought me a Seiko Kinetic watch. No batteries to explode, no overwinding issues and a strong, sturdy band. I’ve had this watch about 12 years. I’ve worn it every day, all day. I’ve replaced the capacitor about 3 times. It keeps perfect time. It looks fabulous and is just beginning to have the gold wear down. I get compliments on it often. No part of the watch has ever broken. Not even the crystal.
You may spend a little more than you planned, but you will get your monies worth. I think my watch was around $350 back then. I’ve found several that are less than that.
This is the watch I have and it looks pretty much just like that, after 12 years of abuse. Seiko Kinetic
I’ve been eyeballing pilot watches, myself. Perhaps one of those might catch your interest? Take this one from Torgoen. for example. It’s a bit above your price range, but it’s got circular E6B flight computer/slide rule in the bezel. If that’s your thing, just think of how you could geek out on that!
