Help Me Buy a Dress Watch
 

I've been wanting to buy a second pair of watch for the longest time now. I have loved wrist watches since my parents gave me my first digital watch for my 5th birthday. I currently wear a Fossil Blue Speedway:

http://www.christ.de/produktbilder/large/82218963_g.jpg

Now, I am not knowledgeable about what watch brands are good or not. I only have a few requirements and I am looking for suggestions.

Requirements:

1) Must be under $200.
2) Must be a dress watch
3) No titanium
4) Must have a leather strap

I realize that my price limit is a huge bottleneck, but that is the absolute most I can spend at this point.

Here's what I've been looking at lately:

http://www.ewatches.com/media/largenologo/331LSLBO.jpg

It's a Skagen watch with a price tag of $150.

I am open to suggestions and recommendations. Thanks.

I have a Bulova from sears that my parents got me for xmas last year. It was definitely under 200$. And it's really awesome. I like it.

Do you have a picture or a link to the watch?

You can't really go wrong with Fossil's watches. Their dress watches go for about $95 for strap and about $115 for a metal one. And, if you don't like any you see, you can make your own for $65. The custom one may not be as dressy as you want, but I thought I'd bring that to your attention.

Website: www.fossil.com

As mentioned in my first post, I own a Fossil watch so I did some research on their website before making the purchase. The reason I ask for advice here is because I did not find anything I really liked on their website and I really don't know any other reliable wrist watch brands that aren't ridiculously expensive.

Another person recommended me a Nixon brand of watch. I took a look at their selection and found one watch I really liked. It is called The Esquire CS:

http://image.nixonnow.com/image/prod.../A260-hero.jpg

The price range is $230-280 depending on the trim (the gold plated one in the picture is $280). I have never heard of this brand before today. Does anyone have any experience with Nixon watches?

My wife has a couple Nixon watches and likes them.

buy a fake rolex.

seriously go to a jeweler and just see what the have that you like. pictures to watches don't necessarily tell you how large the face is on your wrist.

http://www.bulova.com/brands/bulova/...96g53&x=25&y=3
it's listed at 135$ on their site but i'm sure it was less than that.

I really like the look. but you might think the numbers are too big?

My other watch is a Citizen. is had the metal bracelet but it's really great!
this one was a little over 200$ (CND).

why do you need the leather?

here: this is what my citizen looks like. and i mean exactly. I think bulova and citizen are stealing their styles from each others!
http://www.bulova.com/brands/bulova/...gin=collection

The Citizen watch is not much different from the Fossil I have right now. I need leather because I want a completely different feel from the watch I have right now, which is 100% stainless steel. Also, leather is more upscale than metal, in my opinion.

Heh, you are right about the numbers. I prefer the discreet look of lines/tacks/etc instead of numbers in a wrist watch.

I love Skagen watches; they aren't too flashy, but they are clearly dressy. And they tend not to be bulky. (I think the metal mesh bands on them are nice as well; they aren't like the clunky metal bands you would find on other watches.)

Yeah, I kinda noticed that after I posted.:sad:

If you have a Nordstrom's Rack in your area, you can probably find a pretty good watch for cheap. I found an awesome Ralph Lauren (I believe) dress watch for about $40 there. The only issue I had was it was too big for my skinny ass wrist.

You could also go to either a BC or another skate shop. They usually have pretty high-end watches as well.

I do have a Nordstrom Rack near me. Good idea, I should go there.

How skinny is your wrist? Mine is really skinny, which is also one of the reasons I want a leather strap.

My wrists are tiny, and the Skagen metal mesh bands are comfortable.

I do not own one, but it is hard to get a better watch for the money than Invicta. I've heard them called the poor man's Rolex. Many of them are mechanically wound (which I find attractive in a dress watch) and they have some very nice styles at reasonable prices.

Examples, all under $200, from http://www.discountwatchstore.com/ :

http://www.discountwatchstore.com/im...32160_full.jpg

http://www.discountwatchstore.com/im...15687_full.jpg

http://www.discountwatchstore.com/im...15720_full.jpg

Wow, that first one is amazing. I might think of buying myself a new one as well, since my Seiko has gone kaput. Thanks for the link twistedmosaic.

Oh, and LoganSnake, good luck in finding a nice wristwatch. You might want to try the TV infomercials about watches; I saw some awesome shark-skin and crocodile-skin watches for reasonable monies. Just a thought. :D

I know, i'm pissed, I almost talked myself into buying that watch, too, and I definitely wasn't on the market for one...hah. The one pictured is $180, they have one with a smaller face for $90 that if it was in stock I'd buy two and give one to my dad for father's day, heh.

Here's the rest of their skeletons: http://www.discountwatchstore.com/st...w)_119366.html

Wow. That skeleton watch is pretty damn sweet! My boss has a skeleton watch too. The only difference is that his was around 25 grand (he's a watch collector and has some $150,000+ pieces). Thanks. I'll look more into the brand.

Do you know if they're reliable?

They're about 7" around.

That discount watch site's pretty cool, and that skeleton watch is awesome.

I know they have a reputation as being extremely high quality watches for the money. There are several Inviticas in the sub-$500 range that rival Rolex in everything but name.

I think I found the watch I really like.

http://www.xrono.ru/photo/672.jpg

Only $266 from a prestigious watchmaker in Moscow. I'm still shopping around but this is a definite candidate.

that is nice! but kinda pricey.
have you looked into getting a 24hr watch?
http://www.24hourwatch.info/

http://home.kpnplanet.nl/~astikkers@.../aviation1.jpg

http://home.kpnplanet.nl/~astikkers@...eat327x400.jpg

http://home.kpnplanet.nl/~astikkers@...doastronic.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/5...1170e7b9_o.jpg

http://www.glycineairman.info/

I had no idea they made 24 hour watches. Thanks for the links. However, that is definitely not my cup o' tea. Too messy for my tastes.

As a novel idea, have you thought of becoming a cleanskin. I used to love good dress watches, but some years ago my favourite packed it in so I decided to see if I could go without. After some withdrawal symptoms (looking at my empty wrist) I found it was great and very freeing (like not wearing underwear :) ). After all, other than the jewellery aspect of it, you don't need it for the time. Every where you look there is a digital clock somewhere, on your mobile, in your car, pda, etc.

Kenneth Cole New York -- a favorite of mine -- often has some great watches right in your price range:

http://www.kennethcole.com/scripts/s...S&viewall=true

However, if you can find a store near you, I highly recommend the experience, as I tend to find a higher class selection.

http://www.seikousa.com/Product.aspx?productId=728
There's a similar model without the date, but I can't find it on the US website only the Australian one. Anyway here's a picture of it at least.
http://www.seiko.com.au/watch_images.../SFP982P_2.jpg

cyklone, a bare wrist is out of the question. I stopped wearing a watch in my freshman year of high school and lasted until my junior year. Then I went back to wearing a watch. It's as much a part of me as my hair.

macmanmike6100, I completely forgot about Kenneth Cole watches. I'll give them a look. Thanks.

aKula, is Seiko a reputable brand? I basically want a watch that would not only compliment my formal/outgoing attire but also invoke the thought of "that guy's got class".

I just found out about this brand, and it looks to be quite the epitome of class with function and reason:
Cerruti 1881
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/4...67911c.jpg?v=0

http://www.cerrutiwatches.com

The quick google seach I did showed that most of the brand's watches fall just below the two-hundred mark, yet still preserve some exceptional quality.

Maybe this is what you will find as fitting to your tastes, browse a bit, compare.

Thanks for the link, Jet.

I just recently found a watch I really like on a website I haven't previously seen among Google search results. Most websites that carry it state the original price was around $900, but for some reason it is $170 now. Should I be suspicious or is that common with watches that are no longer in production?

http://shop.com.edgesuite.net/ccimg....g_23059473.jpg

You should go to your local watch & timepiece dealer and ask about the brand name of the watch, as well as the quality to be expected of them.

Although you may not want to buy a watch from those sorts of vendors, it also keen to note that they make a living by being more knowledgable than the next about all varieties of wristwatches.

So, find a store or vendor near you to assist you, because you can't always trust what you see here on the net. :thumbsup:

I have been going to stores for the past couple of days, trying on the watches I've found online. Some of the brands are not even sold in stores as they are imports, such as the case with the watch above. Many of those imports are genuine Swiss made watches of reputable quality, but not many people around here know about them, that's why it's a bit hard.

nothing to say

Thanks pocon, but I don't like Movados either. Too barren for my tastes. I like my hour markings in some form.

Logan, I know watches pretty well (I'd like to think). What are you going to be wearing with this, like what is your style? What color is your skin and hair?

Skin color - pale
Hair color - medium shade of brown

My dress style has been described as classy/preppy by numerous people so I'll go with that. With this watch, I will be mostly wearing dress/fancy casual shirts and pants with shiny black or matte cream colored dress shoes. For a reference of what I would like to purchase, here's a pic of Seiko Spirit:

http://static.zoovy.com/img/kseiya/W...s_scvs013a.jpg

This is ultimately what I want, but it is somewhat out of my reach at a price of $280. So if you can find anything similar to that, that'd be great.

Logan,

Is this a dress watch for a night out on the town or for your day-to-day work wearing? If it's for work, you may want to consider a metal band, as it's sort of a power couture thing these days. A lot of high-rolling executives have forsaken leather watches in board meetings for a stylish metal band. It's the watch equivalent of a "power tie".

For evenings out, I agree that leather can very often "look" better with many current styles. Just a thought!

No, this is definitely for nights out and dress-up outings. I will continue wearing my stainless steel Fossil from the original post to work.

Cool thread, I love watches and am constantly in danger of buying more than I need. A 24-hour watch is definitely on my list now!!

I have just bought the coolest watch ever!

http://i20.tinypic.com/5ej2gh.jpg

It's a 24-hour watch made by Utinam in France. This one has the 12 at the top, and also has a little hour hand displaying standard 12 hour time (I might have that removed by my watchmaker). I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Finally shelled out for a serious watch - a Breitling Superocean Steelfish. On a leather strap it looks classy enough to go with a suit, yet is chunky enough to look like an everyday watch. Not cheap though.