Watchlopnik - Old man watch search

"ZHP Sparky, the 5th" (e30s2k) 08/02/2018 at 14:29 • Filed to: None

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My Father-In-Law has been helping us with a bunch of house renovation work and I wanted to do something nice for him by buying him a new watch. Nothing fancy, just know his current watch is beat to shit and recently stopped running (identical to watch pictured below) -

Learning that his old man requirements are making it a bit more challenging than I thought, along with the features I’d like to be able to give him in his new watch (given that he likes mechanics, techy things, etc.) Breaking out (his) needs vs (my) wants, if the oppo watch community has any suggestions:

  NEEDS (his):

- Silver casing with gold accents

- Metal stretchy strap (sigh)

- Numbers on the dial, not just markings

- Illuminated hands/backlight

- A bit on the larger side, 40-43mm would be good

NEEDS (mine):

- Decent watch brand (Citizen, Seiko, etc.), instead of fashion brand (CK, Fossil, etc.)

- Less than $200 price

- Water resistant

Wants:

- Interesting movement: automatic, solar, etc.

- Chronograph functions (a timer could actually be really handy for him)

- Scratch resistant bezel (know sapphire is probably out of this price range, but there may be other options?)

These combinations are becoming really tough to find something within. I know it won’t be anything particularly nice, which is fine since he’s not a fancy guy and will mostly be wearing it around running errands, building things, etc. Just need something a bit nicer than his broken Timex.

Also open to just buying an expansion strap separately and fitting it on to a watch that comes with a different strap, as long as a fit exists.

Chariotoflove > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 15:28

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If I may, “water resistant” for many watches means won’t water log if splashed by accident. That’s not enough. I recommend water proof to a specified number of atmospheres as a hard requirement.

I recommend Fossil be considered because of its relatively low price combined with great warranty and good quality. In the old man category, Seiko has always been good, just not as good of a warranty.

In the fashion watch category, I recommend staying away from Skagen. I have several. They are pretty but have relatively soft crystals. 

Textured Soy Protein > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 15:42

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Gold accents on cheap watches are horrible, but here are some ideas.

Invicta Pro Diver 16981 - $65 - quartz, luminescent hands, extra dials are day, date & seconds, “s cratch resistant flame fusion crystal” whatever that means

Invicta Pro Diver 13867 - $79 - same specs as above

Seiko 5 Automatic SNKL95 - $90- automatic, luminescent hands, day/date display, hardlex crystal (the band is cheap crap folded links, not solid)

Seiko SNE370 - $122 - solar powered, luminescent hands, day/date display, hardlex crystal (the band is is still folded links, but less crappy )  

Swatch YOS458G - $175 - quartz, date display, chronograph, luminous hands, mineral crystal

If he’s willing to give up the numbers on the dial for an actual light rather than lume on the hands, there’s a couple options from Casio’s Edifice line.

EFR547SG-7A9V - $98 - chronograph, date display, mineral crystal

EFR-537SG-1AVCF - $119 - same specs as above

Sovande > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 15:51

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Upgrade him...

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F382531556166

That’s bronze, not gold. Made in the USA by Shinola, which I thin k is owned by Fossil... $200

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Textured Soy Protein 08/02/2018 at 16:06

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Wow thanks for all of this. Yeah, I know gold accents are horrible...and honestly he means something more subtle than most of those pictures, more along the lines of those Seikos...but yeah this felt almost impossible.

Those Seikos look like good not too busy options though, thanks. Only thing is the stupid strap, but hopefully there is a solution for that.

In his defense, a lot of these requirements are what his wife believes he needs in a watch, more than actual known requirements of his own. 

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Sovande 08/02/2018 at 16:08

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Not familiar with the Filson brand...will have to look in to it. Think this is a bit too hip for his tastes, and he probably needs the day readout so he doesn’t forget what day of the week it is, but will look in to it. Thanks! 

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Chariotoflove 08/02/2018 at 16:10

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Thanks for the info, agreed on water proof specs.

I’ll look into Fossil to see if they have anything that might be restrained enough for him without being too modern looking. I just haven’t been a fan of that brand for reasons that I know are for the most part superficial, especially at this price point.

Textured Soy Protein > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 16:20

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Then i f anything I’d probably go for the solar Seiko. I had a cheap Seiko automatic similar to the one above and it didn’t keep very good time, the power reserve was short, and the band was crappy. The band on the solar one seems tolerable. I don’t know if it’s actually folded or what. It just has those lines on the sides of the links. Each link might be a thicker piece of metal that’s just folded once, vs. the automatic is a small piece of metal with another piece of metal wrapped around it. But if you look at the inside of the bracelets, the automatic one you can see where the metal has been folded in, the solar one seems better.

6cyl > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 16:20

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This one seems to check most of the boxes:  https://www.timex.com/easy-reader-38mm-stainless-steel-watch-expansion-band-with-date/Easy-Reader-38mm-Stainless-Steel-Watch-Expansion-Band-with-Date.html?dwvar_Easy-Reader-38mm-Stainless-Steel-Watch-Expansion-Band-with-Date_color=Chrome-Two-Tone-Blue&cgid=men-shop-all

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 16:31

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Oh god..... Shudders .... My father in law was recently gifted his dads Rolex with those awful things. Thankfully he hates them too. They should be outlawed by the Geneva convention as torture devices.

I would highly reco mm end Seiko as you said, but that style is so far off my radar I can’t be much help. I see if I can find something

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 08/02/2018 at 16:41

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Found some, but I don’t think there is a watch out there that fulfills all the requirements

https://www.jomashop.com/citizen-watch-bl8144-54h.html

https://www.jomashop.com/seiko-watch-sgeh68p1.html

https://www.jomashop.com/certina-watch-c034-417-22-047-00.html

https://www.jomashop.com/seiko-watch-ssb309p1.html

Best of luck!

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Textured Soy Protein 08/02/2018 at 18:16

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Yeah, for sure. The solar one pretty much meets all the requirements except for strap. Showed it to my wife and she’s 100% on board with this option. Thanks again! 

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By 08/02/2018 at 18:21

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Haha seriously. I almost screamed when my wife informed me that this is a great idea, but you need to find a stretchy strap. Thought she was joking for a second. And then later she tells me it also needs to have big numbers, not just notches. ARGH!

Think we’re going with the solar Seiko TSP recommended that is very similar to the sapphire glassed one you had listed. Appreciate the help. Thank god we’re only spending like $100 on this thing. If it were something fancier I’d be all “this is a friggin $#,000 watch…grow up and learn to put a clasp on!”.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > 6cyl 08/02/2018 at 18:23

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You’re right...it’s actually very similar to the watch he currently has. The blue dial makes it look a little nicer too. I should suggest this if the wife thinks that the stretchy band is an absolute must for him. Hell it’s 1/3 the price of the alternative too, if he likes it better fine by me man!