Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Who's got a nice watch? Traditional watches only, no smartwatches please.
- Thread starter JW8725
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not necessarily.
For example, I don't own "a number of" watches.
I own two; a Tissot that is now nearly 20 years old, - which deserves a new home as I never wear it - and an Omega - the watch I wear daily - that I bought in December 2009, - thus, it has been in my hands and on my wrist for more than 13 years; that is a watch that I had admired (and longed for) for two years prior to its purchase.
Prior to that, I used to own a Skagen watch, which is now, obviously, more than 20 years old, a lovely sturdy, mid range, Danish watch, which I gave to my brother, and which he still wears.
No shirt cuff, yes, that I can see.View attachment 2169580
Sorry @Scepticalscribe , no shirt cuff on this but there is a nice Fender Jazz Bass in the background.
The watch is a limited edition Christopher Ward C60 Atoll with a stunning fumé dial.
Sigh.
What can I say?
Well,.......nice timepiece.
If you search this thread there are 19 pages of results for 'Seiko', 6 pages for 'Casio' and a handful of posts for 'Pulsar', so cheaper watches are represented here.
In recent years smartwatches have dominated the sales of watches under $1000, so it's not entirely unexpected to see a drop off in posts featuring cheaper watches in this thread. Especially as it's posted on a forum that is dedicated to the company which currently makes the biggest selling smartwatch.
I came across a first gen Pulsar and thought it was a 'nice watch'. For the day.
Actually, some excellent observations.
I had entirely forgotten about the impact that Apple watches must have had on the watch market, even the used watch market - especially at the mid range level - and you make a very fair point about the fact that this site is dedicated to matters related to discussion of Apple and Apple products, which means that there are many threads discussing Apple watches, which a great many people choose to wear in lieu of what they would ahve worn twenty years ago.
These days, to further add to the comments made by both @laptech, and @OllyW, I would simply observe that quite a number of people do not have - or wear - any watch whatsoever and use their phone (or smart phone) to tell the time.
I will say that I have noticed that some of the high end jewellery stores that used to sell high end watches seem to do less business these days: Between Covid, the current recession-cost-of-living crises, the fact that some people have chosen to wear Apple watches, and others none, I would argue that the business (of selling high end watches) is a lot less brisk in some of the high end jewellery stores.
Attachments
Actually Swiss watch exports were at a record level last year but the number of watches was actually down, at roughly half the quantity from 20 years ago. Sales of expensive high end mechanical watches are still growing, with waiting lists of months or even years for many of the most desirable items. The second hand market has seen massive growth too and is expected to reach $30 billion in 2025.
Sales of cheaper watches are still falling (most probably due to the smart watch effect), though the $250 Swatch & Omega MoonSwatch collaboration was a massive success last year with over a million sold.
Pretty cold today so there’s a cuff on view. 
Thank you.
Cuff and watch are both being admired; well, the watch is admired, while the cuff is appreciated.
Hi all,
Looking for some buying advice.
My wife asked me what watch I would like for a major milestone birthday for me (old man).
I am not flashy and currently use an AW every single day and enjoy it but want to switch back to a traditional watch.
Budget:
$500 or so
No leather straps preferred
Professional career I normally wear suits/business casual when traveling
Weekend wear is more laid back, casual but would still want to wear a watch
What other considerations, brands or styles should I suggest that are a great watch in that price range?
Thanks for any feedback and links to some to look at.
Looking for some buying advice.
My wife asked me what watch I would like for a major milestone birthday for me (old man).
I am not flashy and currently use an AW every single day and enjoy it but want to switch back to a traditional watch.
Budget:
$500 or so
No leather straps preferred
Professional career I normally wear suits/business casual when traveling
Weekend wear is more laid back, casual but would still want to wear a watch
What other considerations, brands or styles should I suggest that are a great watch in that price range?
Thanks for any feedback and links to some to look at.
Hamilton, Orient, Seiko, Citizen, Bulova, Tissot, Timex are brands that make watches for the budget. Of course plenty of other micro brands exist as well. Try to get a sense of what style of watch do you want. With the information given you might like something like a the Tissot PRX 35mm Quartz. Below are a few questions to reflect on.
What type of watch do you want?
What type of band to do want?
What case size are you looking for?
What type of movement do you want?
Any specific materials you want? Example titanium, gold plated etc.
Do you want any complications on the watch? (world time, day/date, GMT etc)
Hope this helps
One of the 'space watches', if you are into that thing?
I really have been holding back from splurging on one mainly because of the AW, and that I wear it almost reflexively. I have a few TAG watches and can't see ever wearing them any longer, and most of the batteries are dead anyway, so a 'space watch' is a waste of beer money. *sigh*
Battery replacements are cheap and you'll have a watch that keeps perfect time for next three years with no charging necessary.
With the TAG's, if I want to insure the degree of waterproof protection, I've had to send them out. An expensive-ish time consuming process.
This is very helpful and my preliminary look in the field was Tissot/Citizen/Bulova and expensive side...Tag.
I like a bigger watch face, date is a necessity.
Movement, not sure what that means honestly as a watch newb.
I want metal that can stand up to an active lifestyle yet still go well with my business attire.
I have also considered like a GSHOCK or something similar from a day to day perspective AND adding a classier one.
I am a bit fickle, so I apologize. I just want to truly have a time piece I can thoroughly enjoy and pass on to my son in the future.
Movement is a primary consideration. Quartz means battery replacement every 3 years (perfect timekeeping). Automatic means winding through body movement (no battery) but you need to service it every 5 to 10 years to maintain accuracy, which can be expensive. Manual means self-wind (similar to automatic). The manual and automatic in your price range will probably range between +/- 5 to 15 seconds per day (depending on watch quality) so they will not have quartz accuracy. You will need to set them every few days to maintain accuracy. Watch lovers seem to love the none-quartz variety ... something to do about having a "soul."
I am a simple man and the battery replacements are fine in my book if thats the case on initial understanding.
Thank you for breaking that down.
As you've said you are a simple man and happy with quartz, I want to show you my favourite watch which is also by far my cheapest. I bought it in 2021 from Amazon US for $59.97 because it wasn't then available in Britain with the blue face you see. It's a Casio MDV-106B-2AVF, very widely known to watch geeks as the Casio Marlin because of the fish motif.
If you think of Casio watches as being nasty flyweight plasticky things, then think again. The Marlin is made of steel, is very tough and reliable, and has an absolutely top-notch movement. Top-notch? Yes, because not only does it deliver the expected quartz accuracy, but the second hand actually lines up with the index markers. You can, and I have done, pay ten times as much for a quartz watch on which the second hand doesn't even get close to the indexes.
It has its flaws. The date window is ludicrously small and really needs a cyclops, the rotating bezel is very difficult to grip, and the strap it's supplied with is junk. But it always feels right on my wrist. It seems the right weight and the right size, it's easy to read and not too showy, if I bang it on a handle while going through a doorway it's always unscathed, it's just the right watch for me, and no amount of money could buy me a more practical timepiece.
PS I have no connection with Casio, Amazon, or any other business!
That Casio is a nice looking watch.
That look has been copied so much by so many brands, but it still hasn't lost it's impact. Although the TAG Sports Elegance was and will always be a favorite of mine. Love love love that design.
Tangent: What helps the 'dive watch' idea not be a joke? The ring around the face only turns one direction. The idea behind that is that if it does turn, it subtracts from the bottom time. Divers used to use it as a 'bug' to indicate when the dive is up do to decompression tables. I had a faux 'dice watch' that the ring turned both directions. I tossed it because at the time I was diving quite a bit. Nope, just the potential for it turning the wrong way on a dive was enough...