Birth year watch

[Nola25]

Expecting my first child this year and was thinking about birth year watches.

What would you buy today with a view to giving to your child when they hit 18?

Not looking for and can’t afford a luxury brand, thinking along the lines of a decent Seiko or G Shock

[r159]

Get a mechanical/automatic Seiko, citizen, orient etc from about £100. Job done, loads of styles and there are more likely to be working for decades to come. The tricky bit will be to get one actually made the year you want as they could have been made a different year and held on stock, there are case codes which should be able tell you.

You might be able to get a Hamilton which use eta movements which can be serviced by any competent watch bod, watch price from about £340



I have a couple of manual wind birth year watches (timex and citizen) which I will pass to mine, they’ve been going for 47 years...

Edited by r159 on Monday 6th January 21:11

Edited by r159 on Monday 6th January 21:21

Edited by r159 on Monday 6th January 21:21

[Lee540]

Maybe one of the limited edition Seiko Samurai or Turtle?

Like “Save the Ocean”

Or.. a Timex Q Reissue 38?

[Hoofy]

What exactly is your budget?

I learnt yesterday that £30k buys you a cheap car.

[GCH]

Put their name down for a Tiffany & Co Patek 5711 and they may just about get it in time

[Snubs]

I'd suggest having a lot a the Seiko Presage line:

https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/presag...

Great watches that can be picked up from around £300-£400. You'll find a fair few owners and fans on these forums, including myself (I have the SSA343J1 at the bottom of the page). They're very smart watches that I think most people would be happy to receive for an 18th birthday.

[AmosMoses]

I'd go for a Seiko turtle, one of those in mint condition in 18 years time would be pretty cool.

[Nola25]

Thanks all

Realistic budget will be around £500 (I’ll probably spend more though, I always do!!😄

Both Seiko suggestions look nice, prefer the Turtle but then I have a soft spot for Seiko divers.

[ZesPak]

Snubs said:

I'd suggest having a lot a the Seiko Presage line:

https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/products/presag...

Great watches that can be picked up from around £300-£400. You'll find a fair few owners and fans on these forums, including myself (I have the SSA343J1 at the bottom of the page). They're very smart watches that I think most people would be happy to receive for an 18th birthday.

I don't know, gotten into watches later but I wouldn't have had much use for a Presage when turning 18.
An SKX on the other hand...

Nola25 said:

Thanks all

Realistic budget will be around £500 (I’ll probably spend more though, I always do!!??

Both Seiko suggestions look nice, prefer the Turtle but then I have a soft spot for Seiko divers.

Turtle/Samurai/SKX seem the way to go.

[Hoofy]

£500!

Laco?

[Gazzab]

Could you buy something ‘premium’ rather than a cheap watch? Few cheap watches will last 18 years or be desirable in 18 years.
At £10 a month you could pay for a nice watch over 18 years?

[alfaman]

I'd suggest getting a limited edition Zimbe Seiko. They are very limited diver models for the Thai market - typically only runs of under 1,000 units. Can be found on eBay or chrono 24.

[stevensdrs]

I'm not sure people will be wearing watches in 18 years time. I have a drawer full of watches but wear a fitbit which would have been science fiction 18 years ago.

[Gazzab]

stevensdrs said:

I'm not sure people will be wearing watches in 18 years time. I have a drawer full of watches but wear a fitbit which would have been science fiction 18 years ago.

Do you have a 1960s Rolex Sub in that drawer?

[stevensdrs]

Gazzab said:

stevensdrs said:

I'm not sure people will be wearing watches in 18 years time. I have a drawer full of watches but wear a fitbit which would have been science fiction 18 years ago.

Do you have a 1960s Rolex Sub in that drawer?

Not that one but there are 2 Rolex Oysters in there.

[ZesPak]

Gazzab said:

Could you buy something ‘premium’ rather than a cheap watch? Few cheap watches will last 18 years or be desirable in 18 years.
At £10 a month you could pay for a nice watch over 18 years?

Define "cheap"? Have you held an SKX? Turtle? Samurai?
Is it just the price?

Also, do you remember being 18? I wore rugged casios back then and still had to replace them every 2 years.

I think ~500 is a pretty high budget that gets you some proper watches.

[Nola25]

Gazzab said:

Could you buy something ‘premium’ rather than a cheap watch? Few cheap watches will last 18 years or be desirable in 18 years.
At £10 a month you could pay for a nice watch over 18 years?

I could but imagining me as an 18 yr old, I’d have been happier with something I could wear everyday and not be too worried if it got scratched, worn etc

Plus, he/she will be inheriting a couple of premium watches when I pop my clogs so they can wait till then 😄

[Nola25]

alfaman said:

I'd suggest getting a limited edition Zimbe Seiko. They are very limited diver models for the Thai market - typically only runs of under 1,000 units. Can be found on eBay or chrono 24.

Just had a look, they are nice!!

[Nola25]

stevensdrs said:

I'm not sure people will be wearing watches in 18 years time. I have a drawer full of watches but wear a fitbit which would have been science fiction 18 years ago.

I bet people said the same when digital/quartz watches came out, why bother with a wind up!

In all seriousness, I think a normal watch will always be around even when our phones/iPods/fitness trackers are a chip injected under the skin😄