I am not the ‘official gift guide curator here art WWR, but I have been doing them throughout my tenure, and it is December, so I figured I would put out my version of the 2016 Holiday gift guide. I am going by price, with the least expensive products (yes, there are things other than watches, though not many) first, and building from there. So you can stop when you get to your price limit. My other rule is that they have to be products available for retail sale, so no crowdfunded watches (unless they are now available for retail sale), and they have to be products we have shown on our pages (and yes, Watching the Web counts). So here you go:
For my first pick, at just under $100, we have the Frederique Constant Analytics Accuracy Timer, which I wrote about in yesterdays’ Watching the Web (which is why I am counting it). Unless he have an accuracy measurement device already, I can’t imagine a watch nerd who won’t want one of these.
At a hair under $200, I really like the Withings Active in steel. I don’t need another, tinier screen in my life (60″ TV, 32″ TV, computer, iPad and phone, I have to draw the line somewhere), but a connected device does have appeal. The Withings does everything I could ask it to do, track an activity and sleep, and it does it in a package that looks like a watch.
Coming in at just under $400, the Bauhaus watch V4 by Kent Wang is a clean design with blued hands, two design elements that hit me in my soft spots. For me, the 38mm case is just a tad too small, l, but the watch is thin at 10mm and sports and a Miyota 9015 automatic movement. The V3 is a hair thicker due to the slightly thicker bezel.
How about an homage watch? The NTH Nacken is a pretty close homage to the Tudor style, but at about 1/7th of the price ($600), for a fully capable dive watch. From across the room, someone might mistake it for the Tudor, but it isn’t trying to be a knock off, and there are definite differences between the watches.
If you can live with a 34mm case, or the lady in your life wants a Swiss automatic movement, may I suggest the Max Bill Junghans Colour Seasons collection for $690. I have been able to take a look at Max Bill Junghans watches at a roadshow, and they are lovely timepieces. They are elegant and readable, plus they actually have a history related to the Bauhaus movement.
Stepping up to $885, there is the TWCO Sea Rescue Diver, with a blacked out case, dial, and strap mated with white hands and indexes and orange highlights. It is not an understated watch.
For just under $1,000 , Tempest offers a forged carbon cased watch, with a bold, modern look, 200 m of water resistance, and a Miyota automatic movement. Yes, it was on Kickstarter, but the brand is well established and you can buy direct from the brand’s web store.
At just over $1,000, there sits the Christopher Ward C60 Trident in Titanium. The C60 is a solid diver with a Swiss movement (either the ETA 2824-2 or the Sellita SW200-1), and the titanium case makes the deal that much sweeter.
Stepping up a wee bit, I have the Junghans (yes this is their second entry) Meister Driver. It is a nice mix of modern and vintage, though I do with the Germans would get into the +40mm case sizes. Junghans crystals tend to b rather curved, so they use acrylic plexiglass instead of sapphire, but they are rather lovely watches.
Few companies can just crush it out of the park each and every time up to bat. Oak & Oscar is one of those brands. For their second release, the Sandford, there are still stainless steel models available at $,1850. The Oak & Oscar just edged out the Alpina Alpiner 4 GMT in the same price range.
At a hair over $2,000 comes the Mühle-Glashütte’s Terrasport IV GMT. There are a number of GMT watches on this list, simply because they one of the most useful of complications. This German-made beauty on the leather strap blends the dials and hands of a Flieger style watch with a more modern and understated crown.
In the neighborhood of $3,000 comes a watch that probably is not available, but that is because it is a one-off. Have no fear though, Vortic has other movements and cases for you to select in order to find you own one of a kind watch.
For my full on splurge pick in the $10,000 range, how about the Planet Ocean Deep Black by Omega. You get ceramic plus liquid metal n the watch, a carbon strap, a GMT complication, and a sweet, sweet looking package.
