[noopster]

^^ Am no expert but I like gifting (and being gifted!) watches so here are my two cents...

20-25K is a reasonable budget for good utilitarian watch brands like Citizen, Seiko, Skagen, Xylys (the high-end range from Titan), Tissot. I know you said no to fashion brands but recently visited a Swarovski showroom and was really impressed by some of their designs- that should fit in your budget as well.

Another thought- my wife prefers wearing her Fitbit to her Tissot these days! It's worth thinking over

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Hi Guys,

Need help from experts here. The last time I wanted to buy a watch for myself, I asked here and I got fabulous suggestions. This time, I need to buy a watch for gifting purpose. I need to gift a watch to my wife on our upcoming engagement anniversary.

Can experts kindly help me with some suggestions? My wife currently has watches from DKNY, Michael Kors and Fossil. I know these are all fashion brands but this time, I am thinking of buying her a non fashion brand. My budget is around 20k (maybe 25k in case I like the watch a lot). Any suggestions?

What type of watch are you looking for? Big or small? Automatic or quartz? If you want automatic, there is only Seiko and Orient at this price range. The base Tissot automatics maybe available for 25k.

If you prefer quartz, you can pick a nice chrono at this price range. I bought this (Link) a few months back for my significant other and paid around 19k after discounts. A little too blingy, i know, but she wears it only on special occasions.

If you want a clean design, look for Seiko premier or higher-end Citizen eco-drive. Also look for Hamilton, some of their quartz models come within your price range. Tissot, Victorinox and Wenger too have some decent quartz models in your price range. I prefer Japanese for quartz watches. Service and spare parts availability is better for Seiko and Citizen compared to the Swiss.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by deerhunter

If you prefer quartz, you can pick a nice chrono at this price range. I bought this (Link) a few months back for my significant other and paid around 19k after discounts. A little too blingy, i know, but she wears it only on special occasions.

The SEIKO watch you picked is really looking good. Did you buy it from an online website? OR from a physical shop? Which one if I may ask? The thing is that I wanted to give her a surprise but I am not sure if she will like my choice. Safe choice would be to let her pick her watch with my role being limited to swiping my credit card.

I am looking at Quartz movement only. Just trying to figure out what women like on a watch (Bling being one of them of course).

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by Saanil

The SEIKO watch you picked is really looking good. Did you buy it from an online website? OR from a physical shop? Which one if I may ask? The thing is that I wanted to give her a surprise but I am not sure if she will like my choice. Safe choice would be to let her pick her watch with my role being limited to swiping my credit card.

I am looking at Quartz movement only. Just trying to figure out what women like on a watch (Bling being one of them of course).

I picked it up from "Lifestyle", Chennai. Couldnt find the same model online. There was a sale going on when i bought it.

In my opinion, the most important thing to look for while buying a watch is the size. If it is too small/large for her taste, she may never wear it. Smaller size (<32 mm) used to be the trend earlier, but nowadays many prefer a larger size (37-39 mm). So find the diameter of her current favourite and buy something of similar size. The Seiko i bought is around 35mm, which is a very balanced size.

[noopster]

After mostly being a silent admirer in this thread, am finally daring to post my humble collection on this thread.

Each of these does duty in rotation as my primary work watch: Seiko chronograph gifted by the missus, Tissot quartz bought a few years ago and the Ecodrive gifted by my parents as a new job gift many years ago. The Seiko doubles up as a dress watch for weddings and the like:






This next one doesn't really belong in this thread, but I love wearing it on weekends: nameless Chinese stuff picked up in a Dubai supermarket!


Here they all are, posing for a photo shoot in a little watch box that my elder one and I did as a Sunday morning project (stripped out the Seiko's original box and trussed it around a bit).


This is the missus' collection- she isn't much of a watch person but I think after all these years some of it is catching. Eagle eyes on this thread will immediately spot the one that isn't original :

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by noopster

Eagle eyes on this thread will immediately spot the one that isn't original :

Is it the Longines one? I am not sure but looking at the font of the twelve o'clock, I thought it is the one. Please tell me if I am wrong.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Is it the Longines one? I am not sure but looking at the font of the twelve o'clock, I thought it is the one. Please tell me if I am wrong.

You hereby earn the title of "Eagle Eye"

Disclaimer: am not a supporter of fakes or copies and am not endorsing them. Watches are works of art and need to be appreciated as such. Consider this the knock-off Picasso you hang up as a joke in your bedroom!

[dark.knight]

Aaand I'm back, here's another YouTube review by Steve Hallock of one of the top-tier brands, with perhaps the most beautiful, detailed and stunning dial I've ever seen. The De Bethune Quetzalcoatl :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqmAhyZD8aM&t=415s

[JASMEET MATTOO]

Had been eyeing a G-shock ever since it was launched. My last casual wear watch was pretty similar in look from a distance - it was an ed hardy bought online from Flipkart. However, i wore it for 4 years and now got bored of it.

Finally bought the Casio G-shock G-Mix this year on my birthday. The MRP was Rs.9545.00 but got a discount for 1445, so final amount was Rs.8100.

The watch has a blue tooth connectivity feature and you can pair it with your phone and control the music functions of the phone through your watch.

[TheMariner]

One day while browsing through Amazon I came across an automatic watch from Titan. I bought it with a lot of trepidation wondering about the quality and the whole experience of buying something like this online. Fortunately, the watch was a real stunner with a transparent back case. I think the pictures don't do justice to the watch quality.
Anyone has any experiences like this ?

The watch:


The link to the watch.
http://www.amazon.in/Titan-Automatic-Chronograph-Wrist-90032Bl01/dp/B01IHR16KU/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1490592843&sr=8-12&keywords=titan+automatic+watches+for+men

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by TheMariner

Fortunately, the watch was a real stunner with a transparent back case. I think the pictures don't do justice to the watch quality.

Well, technically its a copy of the design aspects of many ultra expensive, much older watch brands. The guilloche machine cut pattern on the outer circumference is from Breguet, the petit tapisserie (small squares) on the inner circumference is used in many high end watches though they'd have a more pronounced 3D effect, the crown shape is taken from Cartier and the Roman markers are out of Breguet again. Only wish that they had made it all-stainless steel instead of gold-plating the watch, you've to be very careful with affordable watches that are gold-plated, they chip/fade very easily and that'll spoil the look.

The exposed balance-wheel on the watch face is called an open-heart.

[The Brutailer]

Pardon my ignorance as I'm a watch noob, but could someone explain the difference between an automatic and regular watch in a layman's language?

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

Pardon my ignorance as I'm a watch noob, but could someone explain the difference between an automatic and regular watch in a layman's language?

Well there is really, nothing called a regular watch, perhaps you can call quartz (battery operated) as regular watch. There are 3 kinds of watches based on price//affordability :

1) Mechanical(manual) watch : Here the watch is powered by a mainspring which is wound tightly, and then it regulates the power into the movement causing the hands to move until the spring winds itself out, then you'd need to rewind it again to make the watch work again. This is typically the most expensive coming from big brands, because its representative of the earliest form of watch-making and involves a lot of skill and use of precious metals/jewels inside the movement. Power reserve can vary from 1.5 days to 12+ days.

2) Automatic watch : Its identical to a mechanical/manual watch, except there is a winder built into the movement, the winder helps you to wind the movement of the watch while you wear it, it spins in mostly one direction with the help of your arm-motion and it can help you wind from anywhere between 20%-80% of the reserve without you having to touch the crown for winding. Depends on your physical activity of course. Automatic watches have a big price range from the most affordable to ultra-expensive. The most advanced winding system is dual side winding (Pellaton winding invented by IWC) where the winding arm will move both directions to charge the movement. Power reserve can be 1.5 days up to 14 days + winding efficiency which can go for months if worn regularly.

3) Quartz : Battery powered, simple, has a charge upto a year or even two and mostly, maintenance free. Most affordable of the lot as well. This makes most sense for the majority of the population without doubt. The other two are typically suitable only for high-end brands and often worn as dress watches/tool watches.

[shreyascashyap]

Been going through the posts on this thread from quite some time. Finally decided to post here. My collection, if I can call it that, is fairly small. One sports watch for outdoor activities and one formal watch for work.

The first watch is a Timex Expedition. It is more than 14 years old and I don't wear it anymore. I've saved it for sentimental reasons, it was my first proper watch. My brother gifted it to my with his first salary while I was still in high school. All it needs is a new battery and it's ready to go. It still has the original strap. MRP was Rs.1800 back in the day.


The watch I wear for my day to day use is Mondaine M-Watch. My mother picked it up when she was visiting Switzerland and gifted it to me 5 years ago when I got my first job after finishing college.

It's a simple chronograph showing the day, date and time. It's a tad too small on my hands but does the job perfectly. MRP was about 120Euros.


The third watch is what I use when I go outdoors on treks or hikes. It's a Casio ProTrek PRG-550 'Tough Solar'. It's solar powered and has a host of features like compass, barometer, altimeter, thermometer, world time and so on. I got this as a gift for my birthday a few years ago. MRP is about US$300.

I have a huge hand but this watch fits perfectly on my wrist. It's got some pretty nifty features like the analogue movement is put on hold when there is no light on the watch panel(only the digital clock will be running), auto back light on when there is twisting motion of the wrist and so on.


Funnily enough, every single watch I have used in my life has been gifted to me. I'll be getting married in a few months and I am looking to buy my first watch
I am looking at something in the 20-40k range. I would prefer either a metallic strap or a leather one. Not fond of gold or anything flashy, I am looking at something that would be classy yet understated. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by TheMariner

One day while browsing through Amazon I came across an automatic watch from Titan. I bought it with a lot of trepidation wondering about the quality and the whole experience of buying something like this online. Fortunately, the watch was a real stunner with a transparent back case. I think the pictures don't do justice to the watch quality.
Anyone has any experiences like this ?

That is a nice looking watch. Titan stopped producing mechanical watches (even though few remaining ones are available in their official online store), so this could well be a great collector's item.

Their earlier automatics used chinese movements, but later ones used either Seiko or Miyota(Citizen) movements. If yours is one of the later two (it will be written on the rotor), rest assured that your watch is going to last a lifetime. Do service the watch every 5-7 years if you are regularly using it, or else once every decade or so. If yours is a Miyota mvt, any local mechanic could service your watch (because HMTs used Miyota and thus parts are easier and cheaper to source).