Watch for my Birthday

There has to be some watch guys on here, my 25th birthday is coming up and I want to get myself something nice that will hopefully stand the test of time.

Top of my list is the Moonwatch because I don’t think there is a more liquid watch. Market for this is well established and the Speedmaster has been around for a long time with minimal changes. I don’t mind that it is manual-winding and I like that it has a story behind it.

I’m also considering a Longines MC Retrograde, Nomos Tangente Power Reserve and a Tag Aquaracer. Anymore suggestions in this sort of range?? No Patek/AP/JLC/ALS etc. please, maybe for my 30th birthday i’ll get one of those.

Have you considered Fossil?

Don’t get the Aquaracer, as Tag tends to get snubbed by watch snobs. The others are good suggestions, although I don’t know if you will actually be able to tolerate the manual winding Speedmaster ultimately (presumably, you have chosen this model due to cost reasons). Even an automatic watch becomes inconvenient, since you have to wear it every day or put it in a winder. There is a Nomos up in the list? Good job.

Also, I thought I should mention Tudor’s triumphant return to the US market. I am a supporter of this brand. I don’t think many dealers carry these yet though.

the kinetic motion watches are kinda annoying. I had one, and while initially cool., you do have to keep “charging” it

There are like 5 watch threads. Use the search function

I have an Aquaracer that I picked up a few years ago I’m not crazy about it. I’m kind of partial to Frederique Constant as far as mid-range watches go. Kind of a lower mid-range, though.

Out of those, I like the Omega the best.

I think I’d stretch a bit an get something like an IWC Pilot Chrono (I’m a big fan of nice watches but wear a seiko myself, so take my advice with a grain of salt hah)

These days a Victorinox Swiss Army came in my sight:

Well, I could stretch a bit and get a Speedmaster '57 but I wanted to stick to the original moonwatch design. Hopefully manual wind isn’t too tiresome, I can see myself actually enjoying it, and besides since there’s no date window it won’t be too big an issue to reset if the power dies.

Yes the Tudor Black Bay is incredibly popular but I think I want something a bit more understated.

I have a couple of winders already so keeping autos charged isn’t a problem.

I don’t really like IWC watches, the Pilot is a great watch but just not for me. There’s nothing wrong with Seiko btw, they make excellent watches.

i like the tag carrera, but the first one is really nice too

I prefer manual. I like winding and the cost of servicing is also lower. Then again my tastes are not mainstream.

Dont’ get the tag or the longines. If it’s a milestone gift for yourself get something more special. I have been eyeing the Nomos for a while too, they are quite nice but maybe also not right for the occasion.

I like the Tudor Blackbay but that depends on whether you are a movement snob or not. Take a look at Zeniths el primeros, but those are probably out of your budget. There are great deals on second hand watches… I would suggest you look into stretching your dollar for this purchase, and save up for a big one at 30.

I love the Omega Speedmaster and it is my go-to watch for everyday wear and tear. But the one I really love and only wear on special occasions is the IWC Portguese. Not sure what your budget is but the Speedmaster is a timeless classic, and I would also add that it is the brand donned by James Bond now (it ain’t Rolex anymore).

Nomos is good too but likely under-appreciated by the masses, if you care about that stuff.

For your 26th birthday, work hard and you can buy yourself one of these as a small upgrade

I could spend up to around 5-6k GBP if I really wanted to but I feel I should curb my spending a bit as I bought a car not too long ago…

Numi that ALS is beautiful, I would love to own one some day but for now I would rather a watch that isn’t too recognisable as expensive. I still ride public transport and can’t be flashing a £10k watch that looks like it’s worth every bit of that and then some. Part of the reason why i’m drawn to Nomos is that most people have never heard of it.

^ I watched this interesting video from Nomos the other day:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwpP_s8LV_Y]

I’m really tiring of the Movado Chronograph I bought myself as a present for finishing grad school. It’s a nice watch, but the battery dies every 3 years and I have to either ship it back to Movado or drive an hour to an authorized repair shop to get it changed. It’s in the shop right now and it failed the pressure test when they replaced the battery, so I won’t get it back for a month. I’m seriously considering just getting a Citizen Eco-Drive.

I really like the ALS’ as well - one of the watches I plan to buy in a few years time. you can’t go wrong with a speedie though, watchuseek is a great forum for info on buying your first watch, especially in your price range. This question has been beaten to death there and you’ll find a lot of diff brands you’ve never considered.

I’m not that into expensive watches, yet.

I like to have a variety over quality… leather band, blacked out, steal, big face, etc…

The watch I have gotten the most compliments on is a 30 dollar timex watch with a leather band that I bought at walmart. The other was a black one that I got for 80 bucks at pac sun or something. Note: I do have 1500 dollar plus watches, so the sample size is relevant.

OP - why not save it for a significant achievement?

  1. Buying yourself a birthday present is sort of weird in my book, do you wrap it?

  2. Never understood why anyone wears a fancy watch. Time is time, the rest is you wearing a bracelet.