A special and elegant watch. Budget: £250

[Fuzzarr]

Hello, fellow watch lovers.

I've been browsing this forum for months and only now have reason to get a topic started. Since I saw some very tempting deals on Amazon in the run up to (and following) Christmas, my watch lust has grown significantly!

My birthday is coming up in a couple of months and my parents have said they'd like to get me a nice watch to mark the occasion. I would estimate the budget to be around £250 and I am open minded about designs. I just want something that is interesting to look at but classy and above all, looks/feels special.

I appreciate that you perhaps need to be looking at upwards of a grand to get something truly magnificent, but I have seen some nice looking options. I'd love to see your suggestions though, so please bombard me with links!

Thanks very much.

[MLC166]

Lots of great watches available at the moment for under 250. If you want classy then this Seiko automatic might suit you,

http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/1370669/se...

Its a great watch at a cracking price. Its also a Japanese made Seiko which is something Seiko fans look for.

[FrankAbagnale]

I liked the first one on their "sale" page.



http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/9413448/hu...

Edited by FrankAbagnale on Tuesday 20th January 10:07

If you want something more itneresting, try searching Skeleton watches. You can see the mechanisms and they are quite cool.

Edited by FrankAbagnale on Tuesday 20th January 10:09

[Dicky Knee]

Hamilton have some nice watches that would come in somewhere around budget from Creation:

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/hamilton-w...

or

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/hamilton-w...

[scrwright]

C3 or C5 Christopher Ward comes in under budget
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/watches/dress/c5q...
http://www.christopherward.co.uk/watches/dress/c3m...

[nunpuncher]

It's a little bit more but you can get some of the Steinharts for just under £300. Hamilton are another good suggestion but i'd go to shop and haggle, just this lunchtime I was in a stockists and was offered a "token gesture' discount so could probably push that a bit. Some decent Tissots for around that price as well. It really depends on what your taste is. I tend to avoid the Boss/Armani type brands, i'd much rather have a Seiko.

[Orchardab]

How about a Matthew Humphries Design watch?
Slightly expensive for what they are but look really cool and are nice on the wrist.

http://www.matthewhumphriesdesignwatches.com/produ...

[TheJimi]

Dicky Knee said:

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/hamilton-w...

That's a lovely thing from a great brand

[Fuzzarr]

Thanks very much for the suggestions so far. I didn't even know some of these brands existed.

I like the look of the Boss watch but the Christopher Ward C3 Malvern Chronograph MKII is appealing to me in a big way. Bit of a dilemma of which face/strap combo to go with, but one of those could be a winner.

Last week I spotted a couple of Citizen Eco Drive watches with Red Arrows branding, some of them had pretty busy faces but it seems the lower-priced models are a bit cleaner in design. Like this one - https://www.firstclasswatches.co.uk/citizen-red-ar... - does anyone have experience of these, or Eco Drives in general?

Also a forum search yesterday brought the Tissot PRC200 to my attention, but that looks to be over budget quite a bit - http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/9534873/ti...

Some of the Steinharts looks very nice indeed but again they're perhaps out of reach, but a few Seikos have caught my eye and they seem to be highly regarded.

More suggestions welcome!

[BRMMA]

I do like the PRC 200 and recently purchased a Tissot Quickster (black leather strap, white face) which i really like, though i'm not sure it's special or elegant

I'd suggest for the budget you have the Hamilton is about as good quality as you'll find. The Citizen and especially the Seiko would probably be the best value for money in terms of their engineering but i know some people don't appreciate the brand or view them as special

[Fuzzarr]

I wasn't sure about the Hamilton at first but it is growing on me a lot, I think next time I'm near a supplier I'll have a look at some in person. It's certainly classy.

Cheers for all of the input so far.

[Dicky Knee]

Here is the Tissot pretty much on budget:

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/tissot-chr...

Have a browse through the Creation website. They have a decent range and excellent pricing. Although there is a possibility you will be charged import duty if you are unlucky.

[BrassMan]

These are quite nice. Under budget, doesn't photograph well, terrible strap available in 38mm or 42mm, no water resistance worth mentioning. Not sure what maintenance is like, but it was apparently once known as a Venus 175. Sapphire is available if acrylic puts you off.

[glazbagun]

Hamilton or perhaps a second hand Longines or Omega from the 60's if you can buy one from someone you trust.

They look very elegant and are more "special" than many watches in your budget, but may be a little on hte small side for todays tastes.

[BoRED S2upid]

Can't argue with a Tissot or CW for that budget. CW being more unique your unlikely to see another they aren't mass produced like say a Seiko.

[Hoofy]

Orchardab said:

How about a Matthew Humphries Design watch?
Slightly expensive for what they are but look really cool and are nice on the wrist.

http://www.matthewhumphriesdesignwatches.com/produ...

I am such a watch geek. I saw them and thought, "Hm, they look a bit Seiko."

[Bradgate]

My everyday watch is a Tissot Couturier. I've owned it for 5 years, it has been faultless and it still looks smart and feels very well made.

How about this.....?

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/tissot-chr...

[SVS]

I'd massively recommend any Orient Star watch These are an utter, utter bargain on CreationWatches.com.

Orient Star makes watches that look and feel magnificent in the metal. (Photos don't do them justice.) In terms of build quality, fit and finish, Orient Star is right up there with some £1000-2000 watches from well known Swiss brands. E.g. I'd take an Orient Star over many a TAG Heuer.

An Orient Star would feel a bit more special even than a Hamilton / Tissot (which is a good compliment) and a lot more special than a Boss watch (which isn't difficult).

The only downsides to Orient Star are the box (doesn't look special) and the leather strap (it's OK, but certainly not special). However, you don't wear the box! And, if you want a nicer one, you can change the strap yourself or at any jeweler.

NB: Don't confuse Orient and Orient Star. Orient watches are like Toyota, whereas Orient Star is like Lexus. Confusingly, Orient also has a '3 Star' range that's lower quality.

Edited by SVS on Wednesday 21st January 20:21

[AnimalBob]

Smiths Everest seems like a bargain at £245 I've been considering picking one up for a while now.

http://www.timefactors.com/smiths.htm

[sad61t]

The EcoDrive face is quite thick as it has to contain the solar panel, this means any cut-outs (for date, etc.) are recessed further than on a normal watch and can be in shadow. There's also a subtle texture to the dial, so printed characters are not quite flat. If fully charged, it will sit in a drawer for about six months before stopping. I've heard the battery life is about a decade, after which it's cheaper to replace than repair. This is at the £99 price point:

(Click for bigger pic.)

The C3 chrono is just lovely - the dial has a sunburst effect and the sub-dials too but at 90' offset so they contrast. It's 39mm, solidly built and sits comfortably on the wrist with a reasonable weight. The quartz movement has some nice chrono features, like pause and interval (continues timing while paused and catches up on resume). This is the anthracite dial on the bracelet: