A Watch for Dad’s Retirement

How about this Orient. Fits the requirements except its an automatic movement and comes in just over $200

No idea of his wrist size but as I was reading your post I was thinking high legibility, indestructible solar quartz.

And that brought to mind the Citizen BN0118-55E. It’s titanium and has an adjustable clasp but it’s not gold tone.

I will cogitate a bit more but as I’m not a gold tone wearer that’s a bit of a blind spot for me.

Hopefully other crunchers will jump in with insightful suggestions.

Less tool watch and less adjustability at the clasp but … gold tone.

Find a solar powered seiko or citizen field watch

I really like this watch, but knowing it won’t be daily-worn makes me hesitate on an automatic — even with a higher power reserve I lean towards the “foolproof” quartz option

I have a Seiko 7N43 that ticks a lot of the boxes, but I would prefer a dial with Arabic numerals

This Mathey-Tissot satisfies all of your requirements, plus it's Swiss made, a nice bonus. You can find it on Amazon for less than $90 right now. There are two sizes, so depending on his wrist size...

Classy, elegant, quartz, easy to read, not expensive but looks it. 👍

(They also make them in gold tone.)

For a quartz watch you can't beat Citizen. Go to Amazon and search "gold Citizen watches for men" and a bunch will show up.

For $232 you can get him this Eco-Drive watch. It's a quartz watch that never needs to have a new battery installed.

Hey Alan,

First of all, congrats to your dad on his upcoming retirement 🎉.

Okay, so my recommendations are:

1. Vintage Omega Seamaster - looking over at eBay, it looks like you can pick one up around $500 so a little on the higher end of the budget but not crazy amounts to spend on a watch.

2. Seiko SUR Essentials - this is probably interesting for you, there’s a 2-tone gold one available. I’ve seen it in the flesh and I think it’s really good value for the price.

3. Tissot Visodate - if you like the vintage look but don’t want the hassle, this could be interesting. They also have a black and gold variant if that’s more up your alley.

Good luck friend!

The Seiko Dolce SACM150 came to mind. It might range into "fancy," but it's certainly "nice" and "classy." And gold. It also appears to be more in the $300 range, but you don't have to tell him that. And to top it off it has a high accuracy quartz movement, which is terrific for the price; you'd otherwise be looking at a Grand Seiko or Citizen Chronomaster. So it checks a watch geek box too. And I just noticed that it's only 5.3mm thick! 🤯 But also 34mm diameter. So old school dress watch. Hmm, maybe I need to pick one up for myself. 😬

There's a review here on WatchCrunch (and I stole their picture).

https://www.watchcrunch.com/thiago/reviews/seiko-sacm150-review-8166

That's a good looking watch but OP wants a date.

I would 2nd this! I have a Bambino 3. You can also find these around the 150 mark sometimes too.

Really love mine. Would suggested replacing the strap though. I have a suede strap on my and I don't love it.

I’d go straight to Seiko. Get a nice gold tone quartz like the one below (pic from Amazon site). I’ve had a couple Seiko quartz watches over the years and they work great.

My Dad sounds similar...I got him this, and he loves it...no batteries to change, he loves gold, its not as pink as the picture makes it. $225, but I think you could find it lower if you shopped around.

Rotary do some very nice quartz pieces, and I'm loving the recent Timex's.

Citizen Eco Drive. I have mine for 20 years and never had a service and it keeps on going. No battery to change and no winding. Or a nice Timex Waterbury or Modern Easy Reader. All great watches that will last.

This Seiko is currently on sale at Jomahop for $120.

https://www.jomashop.com/seiko-classic-watch-sur303.html

How about something from Rotary. They make some great quartz pieces:

Rotary is actually a really old company, started in 1895. But their business model has changed to make affordable quartz watches. As an owner of several Rotary watches, I can confirm that their build quality is quite good for the price. This dress watch is $230.

Ok this one caught me off guard. Rotary finally has a Cartier Santos Dumont homage! This one is $314. The silver is $286. Wow what a beauty. This one is pretty tempting... I might have to make an impulse purchase without telling the missus...

Rotary Windsor always gives me those grandpa vibes. $329

RW 1895, lovely. (currently out of stock)

Perhaps something that gives off that Rolex Oyster Perpetual feeling for $343 (ref: GB05521/04)

How about the brew metric gold

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a watch like that — it’s unique

Like most questions on this website, it can be answered with, "There's a Glycine for that!" All of the below can be had for under $150 right now, though the gold tone requirement is not met. That said, you'd probably be better off getting him something not gold tone that will rub off over time.

https://www.ashford.com/glycine-gl1015.html

https://www.ashford.com/glycine-gl1053.html

https://www.ashford.com/glycine-gl1017.html

https://www.ashford.com/glycine-gl0352.html

This watch! 👍🏻

Bambino 👌

I opted for a Timex Dybabeat (which I *of course* had to wear test for quality assurance) — he’s always been it I technical things so I think the non-quartz electric movement will fascinate him