What watch £2-300.

[Eddw86]

Sorry to add to the influx of 'what watch' threads recently, however after finding this forum a couple months back I have become hooked! As such I thought I would share a recent condundrum with you.

I have recently graduated from university and upon recieving my result (2:1 BSc Hons dontcha know) I have been offered a decent watch as a present, this watch will be kept for years, needs to look classy and be 'quality'. Unfortunately not upto the value of a Speedy Pro, which I adore with a passion - this forum has given me expensive taste! The budget is probably £200 rising to £300 if necessary.

I'm assuming you will recommend something Seiko, however I must warn you that I am not a fan of the 'Monster'... As said I would like something classy and quality. It would be used for everyday and smart functions, so I'm thinking on a bracelet.
As said I absolutely adore the look of the Speedy Pro so if anyone knows anything that looks similar or wants to donate one to me

Thanks.

[W00DY]

Christopher ward do some nice stuff at this price range. Howabout this:



http://www.christopherward.co.uk/pd2_MENS_C7-RAPID...

[TheD]

I got this and I love it.

[Wadeski]

Seiko Power Design Chrono for sir?





Quartz at that budget (the autos are £2k) but a lovely watch eithe way. And is a dead ringer for swiss sports chronos.

[Eddw86]

Really like all the suggestions so far. Keep them coming!

Also recommendations on places to try on/purchase? Any room for haggling at this price range?

[Wadeski]

the one i posted is import only, but you can get lots of good pics from seiyajapan or higuchi-inc.

you should get one for about £350 IIRC.

Also, look at the Seiko Premier Kinetics:



try one on in H.Samuels (they sell them for about £500) then if you like it, buy it online for about £300 as its an old model they launched about 3 years ago thats being phased out.

[Eddw86]

Wadeski, what is the deal with import only watches? Any issues with warranty, fitting etc? As I do like the black faced one you posted.

I don't know much about Christoper Ward either?

Keep them coming!

[Wadeski]

by fitting im guessing you mean the strap - if so, its just like any other watch, you just pop the links out until it fits your wrist or pay a jeweller £10 to do it for you.

warranty is the standard Seiko warranty, Seiko UK will send it back to Japan for its 5 year or so service, which happens with some of the UK models as well.

[Alexj800]

Don't know what the RRP of these are, but an ebay seller with excellent feedback is selling this new on Buy it Now for £133.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tissot-T-CLASSIC-PR50-BLACK-...

[Alexj800]

I like this one better:



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LATEST-NEW-TISSOT-CHRONOGRAP...

[Agoogy]

Tissot is on my short list at this price point (with black/yellow leather or rubber strap)...but I also keep a eye on these guys....

http://www.lum-tec.com/m_chronograph_2009

or go 'loco' with:

http://www.tokyoflash.com/en/watches/1/

Edited by Agoogy on Tuesday 30th June 12:10

[Colonial]

The Tissot PRC-200 would be my automatic choice to be honest.

[Mattt]

The PRC200 is nice, but I prefer my Certina DS First which you can pick up for that price from the net.



Not sold in the UK AFAIK, so a bit rarer than most others.

Edited by Mattt on Wednesday 1st July 11:01

[aberdeeneuan]

I looked at those lumtec watches recently, but too many stories online about badly fitting bezels put me off them. Don't know if the new ones are better though? At this money there are a few on the christopher ward site that i liked, but most are quartz and i wanted an auto so that put me off a bit. Those tissot watches look interesting though.

[motordave]

The PR50 (on the leather strap) looks much nicer in the flesh and cost about £170 new IIRC. You could also look at some Dreyfus & Co watches in your price, for something smarter. Maybe

http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/detail/R/538...

[kibbbs]

Hamilton Khaki King Scuba is hard to beat for this price. Love mine and of late having been wearing it more than my speedmaster,


http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Hamilton-...

[Eddw86]

Thanks for your help guys, been away for a few days so this thread has been my treat for myself tonight!

From the suggestions in thisnand in other threads I have narrowed it down (well not really) to:

Tissot PRC200: I dont know much about Tissot, are they well thought of? Good quality? etc?

http://www.watchshopuk.com/gents-tissot-prc200-wat...

Seiko Daytona Chrono: Is Ebay the only place to purchase this? Would like to try it on first.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEIKO-MENS-DAYTONA-CHRONOGRAPH-ALARM-200M-WATCH-BLACK_W0QQitemZ290327602590QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Jewelery_Watches_Watches_MensWatches_GL?hash=item4398dfa59e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A3

The Seiko Power Design Chrono: Import only, not sure where to get one from/what happens if dont like it?

http://static.zoovy.com/img/kseiya/W640-H480-Bffff...

Certina DS Podium: Import only perhaps and not sure on price.

http://www.certina.com/Collection/Gents/SPORT-Clas...

I think that's it for now...

Thoughts so far? To those who's suggestions aren't included, trust me every watch posted has been admired and considered, but I am looking for a certain type/style that the above all fit as Im sure you can see the similarity.

Any other suggestions?

I noticed you advising another poster about tzuk.com and second hand. Am I likely to get anything decent second hand for that budget really?

Thanks for the advice so far.

Im still trying to understand the different innards - quartz, auto etc. This forum has taken hours from me and is sure to take many many pounds from me in the near future!

Edited by Eddw86 on Saturday 4th July 02:37

[Alexj800]

Tissot definitley has more swank factor as they are a very long standing Swiss company with a fine heritage. I think it looks better than the others suggested too. I'm not too keen on big painted bezels.

I cant comment on if they are well made or not. I'd hope so as their watches are quite expensive in shops. Shame it's not an automatic as there's just something really nice about hearing your watch wind itself up and it ticking.

[CommanderJameson]

Seiko Alpinist?



(I'm thinking of picking up one of those)

There's a black-faced version, too:

Edited by CommanderJameson on Saturday 4th July 15:54

[BigAlinEmbra]

If you're willing to veer away from brand new then you could get a vintage Omega Seamaster of Constellation for that sort of money.
Maybe not on a bracelet, but definitely classy.

If it's 30 years old and still looks good now, then you can be pretty sure it will look good in another 30 years time.
Maybe something less likely with a watch more "of the moment".