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Looking for suggestions for a men's watch

L

Liz Wolf-Spada

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
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Location
Wrightwood, CA
I would like to get my son a nice (but probably $200 or less) watch for his birthday in June as well as a travel alarm clock. He starts graduate school in August and has a 7 AM class 3 days a week, which for him is like a 4 Am class would be for me! He has a small wrist so it would need to be a band that could be made smaller by a jeweler. He will be reporting in a not so great area as part of his journalism program, so I don't want something that looks super expensive and would tempt someone to mug him for it.
Thanks,
Liz
 
OverStock Dot Com.

Click here for a huge selection of men's watches in the $150-$200 range.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
Liz, check out the Skagen watches at Costco. They're a great brand from Sweden (I think) that are very well made, stylish without being too flashy, and they work very well. The metal band is very adjustable.

The biggest advantage to Costco (besides the reasonable price) is that if there is a problem, or if your son just doesn't care for it, the watch can be easily returned.

Dave
 
Dave, I didn't find that brand on the Costco website. Maybe it is just in stores? Alan, that looks like a great site, if I only had a better idea what I was looking for. What is a "chronograph" watch?
Thanks,
Liz
 
You'll get a lot of opinions about what's best. I'm a pragmatist and a big fan of Casio electronic watches. They should be in your price range. Electronic watches aren't sexy, but mine has a variety of bells and whistles that make it extremely handy for me:

- data memory: I can store a limited amount of data (lock combinations, passwords, account numbers, phone numbers, etc.). This has become increasingly useful because my workplace has become more and more security conscious. Also useful for travel - do your remember your frequent flyer account numbers or your hotel rewards account numbers?
- second time zone: if he will be attending school in a time zone different than home, this allows checking the time at home quickly. (I love this feature for travel.)
-multiple alarms (though the alarm doesn't screech loud enough to get a real sleepy-head out of bed). He could set alarms for different classes, for example.
-timer (great for grilling - I don't overcook dinner any more.)
-stopwatch
-easy to read face with date, time, and day of the week / press a button to light the face up at night

I own 3 or 4 watches, but the Casio is so practical that it's the one I almost always wear.

(You're in Wrightwood, which is close to me. I found my watch at the Rancho Cucamonga Sears store (on Foothill near the 15) a year or two ago - about $130 and supposedly on sale.)
 
Liz Wolf-Spada said:
Dave, I didn't find that brand on the Costco website. Maybe it is just in stores? Alan, that looks like a great site, if I only had a better idea what I was looking for. What is a "chronograph" watch?
Thanks,
Liz
Click to expand...


The local stores stock what the corporate buyers provide, and the selection is often different than what is on the website. Supply and demand, I suppose, since the website probably sells more of an item than the local warehouse.

I recommend the brand because I wore one for several years, and it was great. It's life was abruptly ended by a clumsy person at a watch repair store who broke it while replacing the battery. She damaged it beyond repair, and I was unable to find that specific model again. I'm still bummed about it. BTW, the Skagen website shows a lot of what they sell, and I think has links to retrailers selling them. www.skagen.com. (I just learned they're from Denmark, not Sweden.)

A chronograph watch is one with a timer ring dial around the outer watch face, or digitally built in, that can be set to do elapsed time, countdown time, stopwatch, and so forth. It makes the wristwatch into a multi-function device.

Dave
 
I check DealCatcher.com every chance I get. There usually is a watch at a great price listed there everyday. I bought one last month for my son's upcoming birthday from SharkChronos or ChronosShark or something like that. It was a watch I found on Amazon for $450 that I bought for $80 (the markup on jewelry is outrageous).:) I might add that I bought a Seiko from Overstock about 5 years ago. It was an overseas model and both Seiko and the local store would have nothing to do with it. Overstock did take care of it, though.
 
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:D Check out this site for information on the Timex Data Link USB, $90.00.
I can change any information I want in the program and download it to the watch thru a USB cable that comes with it.
thru the computer you can (memory allowing):
choose three time zones
add many alarms (that can be set to not alarm using the watch)
add many, many contacts which includes name, address, email, tele #, and more
set watch options like day/night hours, hourly beep, alarm sounds
schedules
appointments
occassions
notes
plus several different types of timers.
I only use all 3 time zones, six alarms, watch options, and 19 contacts which takes up 5% of the watch's memory.
The biggest drawback is that everything except changing time zones and setting alarms to alarm or not has to be done thru the computer.
 
In the end, a guy's watch is such a personal thing. I have a drawer full of wonderful watches (most working fine) that people, employer, loved ones have given me. I try to wear whatever one someone has given me in their presence, but memory being what it is, that doesn't always work.

I have Skagens a couple of Rolex look-alikes, a Seiko or two and a small stash of Timexes. They all keep excellent time. My arm breaks out in a rash from the rubber watchbands, so I've learned that lesson- none of those for me.

So you might think, what kind of use might it get? Is he a 'dressy' guy? Sports-minded- maybe a 'diver-style'? Techy?, Don's suggestion of a Data-Link might work.

It might seem a little tacky, but you might either accompany him to a store that sells lots of watches and see what interests him or get him a Gift Certificate that he can exchange for one that he'll really use and not just gather dust in a drawer.

Whatever you choose, he'll love it and you can feel good that it will last a long time.

Jim Ricks
 
Timex?!?

I wouldn't buy a Timex if they wuza dollar a wagon load.
:shrug:
 
Cheap Watches.

No need to knock Timex. It takes a licking & keeps on ticking.

Timex is actually several steps up the scale from the el cheapo watches I wore back when I wore a watch -- not counting that amazing Bulova Accutron watch I wore for a long time, a long time ago.

Full Disclosure: An old retired guy like me has no need for a watch. Any no-name Florida flea market timepiece that's not too elaborate will do fine -- although my no-name quartz watch that I actually got at a Florida flea market is so seldom used that it just sits in a dresser drawer not working because its batteries have run down & it's not worth having them replaced. If I ever do need to know what time it is when I'm out & about, I can look at the display on the cell phone or the TomTom hand-held GPS unit. If I'm driving, I can look at the digital clock that's built into the car radio. Is this a great country or what ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
Experience

After they refused to honor my guarantee some 20 years ago, I knock 'em every chance I get.
:eek:
 
I have a Timex with an easy to read face and a Timex velcro watch band. I think my total cost is less than $20. Being velcro means band fits my small (or any other size) wrist. If band wears out, replace it for about $9. If watch stops, trash it and buy another for $10 - $15.

George
 
These are all good ideas. We are going up Memorial Day weekend for a memorial service for his dad, who passed on April 6. Maybe I can talk with him then. I may do the take him shopping thing when we are up for a week at the end of June. He uses his Iphone for data, but I like the idea of him having at least an alarm as a back up.
Liz
 
Your son may be old enough that he wears a watch - but my 19 year old daughter says "no one wears watches anymore, mom!" when I asked her if she wanted a watch for HS graduation last year! I think she does still use an alarm clock, but most kids seem to use their phone for checking time, keeping their calendar and setting an alarm!
 
I noticed that he was wearing a watch last time I saw him, one I had gotten him a long time ago. For a long time he wasn't wearing a watch, but he is working as a reporter for a daily paper and there are so many things he needs to be on time for, I think that's why he has gone back to a watch and not just his phone. He will be turning 27. When he starts classes at Berkeley he will also be working as part of the journalism program on various media reporting for the city of Richmond as well as having classes etc, so that's why I'm thinking, time for a new watch.
Liz
 
Maybe that's one of the signs you've become a real adult now - you figure out that it's easier to look at a watch than your phone! I can see in a job like his that it certainly seems more appropriate to look at your watch when you're meeting with someone than to pull out your cell phone.
 
GetawaysRus said:
You'll get a lot of opinions about what's best. I'm a pragmatist and a big fan of Casio electronic watches. They should be in your price range. Electronic watches aren't sexy, but mine has a variety of bells and whistles that make it extremely handy for me:

- data memory: I can store a limited amount of data (lock combinations, passwords, account numbers, phone numbers, etc.). This has become increasingly useful because my workplace has become more and more security conscious. Also useful for travel - do your remember your frequent flyer account numbers or your hotel rewards account numbers?
- second time zone: if he will be attending school in a time zone different than home, this allows checking the time at home quickly. (I love this feature for travel.)
-multiple alarms (though the alarm doesn't screech loud enough to get a real sleepy-head out of bed). He could set alarms for different classes, for example.
-timer (great for grilling - I don't overcook dinner any more.)
-stopwatch
-easy to read face with date, time, and day of the week / press a button to light the face up at night

I own 3 or 4 watches, but the Casio is so practical that it's the one I almost always wear.

(You're in Wrightwood, which is close to me. I found my watch at the Rancho Cucamonga Sears store (on Foothill near the 15) a year or two ago - about $130 and supposedly on sale.)
Click to expand...
I second this; I LOVE Casio watches! But hands down, the best type is a Casio G-Shock that is "atomic" & solar powered. They have several models to choose from with these features. The atomic feature means that it sends a radio frequency update periodically to the atomic clock in Colorado that sets the watch time with precision accuracy. The "solar" is self explanatory: solar cells on the watch face recharge the battery so that it never needs to be replaced. They have digital and analog (dial) versions.

I have this one as my daily wearer: Casio Men's G-Shock Atomic Tough Solar Atomic Watch #GW500A-1V
I also have one of these which is really "cool" looking if you want something nicer: Casio Men's G-Shock MT-G Multi-Band Solar Atomic Chronograph Watch #MTG1000-9

These are very large watches, so they have a very "masculine" appeal. They are tough, reliable, accurate beyond compare, and very nice looking to boot. Add to that the fact that it never has to be set, and never needs a new battery, and to me it is the perfect watch.

BTW, those are both excellent prices for those models also.
 
I'd recommend not getting a watch -- kids these days don't seem use them (unless they dive). Quality pens are similarly anachronistic. If your son goes into the business world, he'll want an Omega, Rolex, Cartier or Patek Philippe for "impress the clients" purposes.

I'd buy him airline tickets instead and send him somewhere fun prior to grad school.

A journalism student needs a small digital camera more than a watch, anyway. Or perhaps a copy of Quark Express -- it's not very sexy, but he'll use it every single day.

Another good $200 idea -- a quality satchel to carry the computer, notepads, recorder, pens, business cards, napkins with notes scribbled on them, etc. that journalists carry from place to place. You can splurge on a really good satchel, and not worry so much about muggings. http://www.samys.com/product_detail.php?item=1536

Edit: Also, a clip book for saving stories for interviews is an excellent idea: http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/item.action?itemId=1176
 
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