Watch for a Christmas Gift

zulubabe

I'm planning on buying a watch for a Christmas gift and am looking for advice. My price range is £50 ideally but will push that up to £60 at the very maximum for a watch I really like the look of.

I was just wondering whether anyone had any ideas?

I like the look of this one:

http://www.johnlewis.com/lorus-men's-leather-strap-watch/p1629239?colour=Black%20/%20Blue

But not sure if I should go for it or not.

Thanks

sarah1972

zulubabe wrote: »

I'm planning on buying a watch for a Christmas gift and am looking for advice. My price range is £50 ideally but will push that up to £60 at the very maximum for a watch I really like the look of.

I was just wondering whether anyone had any ideas?

I like the look of this one:

http://www.johnlewis.com/lorus-men's-leather-strap-watch/p1629239?colour=Black%20/%20Blue

But not sure if I should go for it or not.

Thanks

It may be worth you looking at kinetic or solar watches as opposed to battery ones especially if you want a waterproof one, my hubby had a quote for £50 to replace the battery and re waterproof his watch from our local jewellers which was more than the watch cost him originally.

We both now have kinetic ones so there will never be a need for a battery.

Does it have to be a leather strap? Some people prefer them but some hate them, especially if they are going to swim in it, the leather doesn't dry aswell as a metal strap and water can get trapped underneath the leather and make your arm sweaty/itchy (if that makes sense?)

zulubabe

Well I've changed my mind and found 2 watches which I really like the look of - anyone had any experience with Rotary / Seiko - much appreciated if you can give me your opinion on which one to go for as I'm well and truly stumped!

http://www.watchshop.com/mens-rotary-exclusive-watch-gs00288-04-p99977832.html

http://www.watchshop.com/mens-seiko-5-automatic-watch-snxs77-p99934880.html

Joe_Horner

Ok, a watchmaker's perspective:

The Lorus is a decent watch for the price, 3 year battery life and the movement in it (Hattori VX43) is exactly the same (apart from the numbers stamped on the back plate) as the Seiko 7N43 which they used in watches up to £250 or so.

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The Rotary has the benefit of a respected name, and the overall build will reflect that. Don't know what the movement is off the top of my head but it'll either be Miyota (Citizen) or Ronda (long-standing Swiss maker). Both should be reliable and long lasting provided they don't get damaged by water or battery leakage.

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The Seiko is a little different, obviously, because it has an automatic (self winding) mechanical movement. There are plus and minus sides to that:

It won't be anything like as accurate as even a cheap £10 quartz. Virtually all battery watches are specified as accurate to about 1/2 second per day and most are better than that in practice. Even the very best of Swiss mechanical chronometers are only rated to be accurate within +6 / -4 seconds per day. That's nearly 10x less accurate than a cheap quartz and is just a limitation of the older technology. The standard Seiko spec for their autos, iirc, is something like +30 / -20 seconds per day. In practice most will be accurate within about 10 seconds per day but they won't guarantee that.

Also, as an automatic, if you don't wear it it will stop after about 1 1/2 - 2 days. Also, if you wear it every day but don't move around much (think desk job all day then sitting in front of the telly) then it may not keep itself wound enough to keep running. The Seiko autos can't be hand wound so, if this happens, you'll have to shake it for a minute or so to wake it up now and then.

On the plus side of mechanicals is that, looked after and serviced occasionally, they can last almost forever - even in this price range. I regularly get Seikos in for service from the 1980s and even a few from the 60s / 70s and it's a rare case when they can't be kept running.

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All have reasonable parts back-up if needed. Lorus tend to supply complete replacement watches rather than parts if needed, but the design is such that things like generic (aftermarket) glasses are easily available in case of accidents.

Both Seiko and Rotary will supply parts and don't insist that you use their dealer network like more and more Swiss brands are doing - that can make a BIG difference to repair prices!

In short, all will be good buys, the Seiko may be a little less convenient but has heirloom potential if looked after. The rest really comes down to which you like the look / feel of best in real life.

sarah1972

zulubabe wrote: »

Well I've changed my mind and found 2 watches which I really like the look of - anyone had any experience with Rotary / Seiko - much appreciated if you can give me your opinion on which one to go for as I'm well and truly stumped!

http://www.watchshop.com/mens-rotary-exclusive-watch-gs00288-04-p99977832.html

http://www.watchshop.com/mens-seiko-5-automatic-watch-snxs77-p99934880.html

I have a Rotary which I send off for a service every 2 years, bear in mind that Rotary have a lifetime guarantee.

Hubby has a kinetic Seiko which was £400 or so and he loves it, the timing is spot on whereas my Rotary has had to be sent in 3 times for gaining time, the last time resulting in a replacement watch which has now also started gaining time.

The good thing is you need hardly any movement of the wrist to keep it going as my 84 year old grandad proves with his, both hubby and grandad are pleased with there Seiko's and happy that they will never need a battery.

zulubabe

The Seiko has excellent reviews so I went for that but I'm wondering whether I should have gone for the Rotary. I can't see the person I'm buying it for spending more than the watch is worth just to service it - so I tend to think of the Lifetime Guarantee as a bit of a misnomer. I may return the Seiko though. I will see what the person I bought it for thinks of it.

sarah1972

zulubabe wrote: »

The Seiko has excellent reviews so I went for that but I'm wondering whether I should have gone for the Rotary. I can't see the person I'm buying it for spending more than the watch is worth just to service it - so I tend to think of the Lifetime Guarantee as a bit of a misnomer. I may return the Seiko though. I will see what the person I bought it for thinks of it.

You don't pay for servicing? You just post it to Rotary and they do it and return it to you. All I pay is postage which is £6

zulubabe

sarah1972 wrote: »

You don't pay for servicing? You just post it to Rotary and they do it and return it to you. All I pay is postage which is £6

Hi Sarah

I contacted Rotary themselves & was told that the servicing is chargeable - at the moment its a special offer of £25 + £6 postage - I'm not sure how you are getting it for free but well done you.

Due to this I've decided to steer clear of Rotary until I've chatted to the gift recipient about what he feels about it.

sarah1972

zulubabe wrote: »

Hi Sarah

I contacted Rotary themselves & was told that the servicing is chargeable - at the moment its a special offer of £25 + £6 postage - I'm not sure how you are getting it for free but well done you.

Due to this I've decided to steer clear of Rotary until I've chatted to the gift recipient about what he feels about it.

Wow, they must have changed it then.

I have only ever paid £6 postage and always got it for free.

Mind you £25 is a bargain, especially as its only every 3 years to keep the guarantee valid. (I send mine every 2 years but only because its free)

Good idea chatting to the recipient as a watch is such a personal thing.
Good luck with your shopping expeditions

sarah1972

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