1981 birth year watch

[matrignano]

Want to get a birth year watch for my best mate's 40th, budget around £500 or a few hundred more if more people chip in.

He's not massively into his watches but I think he would appreciate the gift.
He prefers simple round dressy watches.

Any suggestions please?

[gregs656]

If he isn't really into his watches, think of a different gift is my suggestion. Even if he was really into watches I think it is a complete minefield.

[r159]

I think you’re going to struggle, not enough budget for something premium, brands which would be in budget might be a but underwhelming.

If they are into watches then maybe a Accurist or Rotary with an eta movement if you can find one..

Buler watches of the 70s/80s are ok if you can date them. Timex are another option I don’t think they were made in the uk by then which is a shame (maybe too busy making the Sinclair ZX81)

Quartz was the thing in the late 70s/early 80s. In the 1981 book of dreams there is a cracking Seiko ‘royal oak’ quartz a bit like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Seiko-Sq-Sports-10...

[romeodelta]

You could get a very nice vintage Omega for that.

I have a gold Geneve from around that era, which also matches the simple round dress requirement.

But yes, it is it bit of a minefield and there is plenty of due diligence required, especially for a gift.

[Dicky Knee]

Chrono24 is a place to start. This is the result from putting `1981 in the search criteria with a max price of £1000. The Omega looks nice. Something to bear in mind is that watches from this era are generally quite a bit smaller than the current fashion.

https://www.chrono24.co.uk/search/index.htm?curren...

Edited to add. Not birth year (and you will probably be paying a premium for a 1981 this year) but a very nice 'classic' style in your budget, you could do a lot worse than this:

https://www.creationwatches.com/products/hamilton-...

Edited by Dicky Knee on Thursday 25th February 16:33

[matrignano]

Thank you all.

It does seem that the Omega Geneva is the better bet, and it doesn't have to be made in exactly 1981, I just have to tell him it was

Bit difficult to find one that's not completely wrecked, with an original buckle AND some sort of box within my budget... but will keep looking