PM Rolex vs. Patek/AP/VC/etc. for milestone birthday gift

[dannyboy2233]

Hi forum!

My father is having a milestone birthday soon, and my family would like to celebrate by purchasing him a nice watch. He is interested in watches and is relatively knowledgeable, but currently has no high-end timepieces. For reference, I know a decent amount about watches (though not nearly as much as your average TRF member) and the rest of my family cares little about the hobby, so picking this piece falls almost entirely to me (yay!).

I've spent many hours speaking with my dad about watches over the years, and I know his biggest pet peeve is watches that go unworn, so our goal is to buy him a grail-esque piece that he can wear every day without worrying about damage. It's also worth mentioning that he is an understated and humble guy, so ostentatious watches (diamonds, Serti dials, etc.) are off the table.

He's always coveted the Submariner (especially recent iterations), so my first thought was a 116619 Smurf (white gold with blue bezel); it's a beautiful color combination, it's precious metal, and it's far more understated than yellow gold. Plus, it doesn't carry the same price premium as the similarly-understated platinum models. In this same vein, I would also consider a recent-model BLRO GMT in white gold, or a 228238 (or similar) Day-Date in white gold.

Once I began considering Day-Dates, I realized that the classic yellow gold Day-Date is in a league of its own, which made me wonder whether I was wrong in excluding all yellow gold models from consideration.

I also realized that, if we were spending $20k+ on a watch, we were approaching Patek territory. My dad has always thought highly of the brand, but my uncle has a Nautilus that never impressed him much. I felt silly looking at watches in this price range without considering Patek, but I wasn't sure what to search for. My dad has always thought the Aquanaut looks comical, and the Calatrava is too dressy to be a daily driver (my dad wears a dress shirt to work every day, but doesn't wear suits often).

Ultimately, my question is this: for the price of a white/yellow gold Submariner, GMT, or Day-Date, is there a similarly wearable and timeless option from Patek, Vacheron Constantin, AP, etc. that is worth looking at? Also, is the yellow gold Day-Date as ostentatious as it seems, or can it be worn subtly? While I'd love to make this decision on my own, I feel I should probably consult those who have actually owned some of these pieces :) Thanks in advance for your responses!

Dan