Help choosing first mechanical watch for son

[samson66]

Good morning fellow TRF forum members.

Wanted to see if you could provide me some guidance. My son turns 16 next month. I would like to get him his first mechanical watch for his birthday. He previously had my old Invicta (don't flame me, this was before my Rolex education began) which has now stopped working. This was a battery operated Daytona ripoff style watch.

I'd like to get him an affordable first mechanical watch (non-Rolex). He will most likely beat the crap out of it and may wind up losing it I'm guessing. But I hope he will learn to appreciate mechanical watches and maybe eventually I will get him into the Rolex world if he shows he can take care of it and appreciates it.

So for now I'm just looking for an affordable, but quality mechanical watch in the 40mm range, sports watch, I would say in the <$300 range. It's not that I can't afford a more expensive watch, but he has to earn that by showing me he will take care of this one.

Can you offer me some suggestions? $200 or less would be great but I would go a little higher if needed. Needs to be waterproof, auto winding, sports model like.

Thanks in advance!

[beshannon]

Seiko

[JamieBLNR]

Ooooh. Lots of choices and I am sure that the more educated will provide more examples.

My top two would be:-

Seiko SKX 009 or 007.
Citizen Promaster NY0040

Appreciate they are both dive watches but for an all-rounder at that price point I'd say they are hard to beat.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[samson66]

Would you both say that Seiko is the highest quality mechanical watch in the ~$200 price range?

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by samson66

Would you both say that Seiko is the highest quality mechanical watch in the ~$200 price range?

Without a doubt



Seiko SKX009K

[JamieBLNR]

That's a big shout but arguably anything from the "Seiko 5" range was built to be just that.

There are 00s of Seiko 5s to pick from as well.

You'll almost certainly find something you like in that range, if none of the suggestions here are what you're after.

Timefactors have some awesome watches too, although they may be above your price point.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[turnleftgofast]

Originally Posted by samson66

Would you both say that Seiko is the highest quality mechanical watch in the ~$200 price range?

An admirable gesture, OP.

In answer to your question, they’re potentially not ‘the highest quality’ as there are lots of brands out there, but they’ll be very close, and Seiko has a great brand name to boot.

Seiko really punches above its weight when it comes to quality for the money. Several of their automatic watches in the sub-$500 range are icons and beloved by the community. SARB and SKX lines come to mind.

[Big Tone]

I bought my son an Invicta diver for his first watch last year as a birthday gift. Resembles the Rolex Sub. 40mm and was in the $100-150 range if I recall and it’s automatic. Bought it from Sam’s Club with an extended warranty. So far so good. He likes it and it has held up well. And it has a Seiko movement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WaxedElvis]

Seiko would be good choice. Also take a look at Orient - lots of "sport" styles to choose from, hard to beat for the price.

[Alex6340]

I would recommend to look at some automatic Tissot watches.
You get a lot for the money


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[samson66]

Sort of liking this one from the Seiko 5 series.

Wondering about the size though. About everything in their diving series is in the 42-43mm range. Too big for a 16 year old, 150lbs you think?

[JamieBLNR]

That looks like a watch lots of people mod into a "fifty five fathoms"... Down the rabbit hole!

SKX series has to be the one to go for as a starter diver... For me.

It was my first "proper watch" and still gets time on the wrist today.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[malarky_hk]

Swatch system 51.

Perfect for a 16 year old. Lots of choices to choose from and great value for money.

[samson66]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Kind of leaning towards the Seiko SNZF17 aka the "Sea Urchin"

Any thoughts on this watch? Seems to have generally good reviews everywhere I look. 41mm diameter would work I think. Price ~$150 sounds very reasonable. I like the bracelet.

[tryptobphan]

Originally Posted by samson66

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Kind of leaning towards the Seiko SNZF17 aka the "Sea Urchin"

Any thoughts on this watch? Seems to have generally good reviews everywhere I look. 41mm diameter would work I think. Price ~$150 sounds very reasonable. I like the bracelet.

I'm going to be honest. I hate this watch.

Many years ago, when I was getting into watches, I wanted a sports watch and a dress watch to be my entire collection. I didn't need any more than 2 for specific occasions. I bought an Omega De Ville Prestige as a dress watch and I loved it. I wanted an Omega Seamaster Professional 300 Diver or Seamaster 300, but I couldn't justify the $4.4K and $6.6K prices, respectively. However, I still wanted a sports watch so I did my research, read reviews, and looked at Youtube video reviews. The obvious candidate was the Seiko Five Sport Dive Watch you have here, except I chose the blue dial model and bought it from Amazon.com due to all the great reviews there, too.

Less than 2 weeks of ownership, I accidentally hit the watch on the side of a wall. The bezel cracked, the mineral crystal was scraped and cracked and I couldn't get the scratches off. Also, the bezel was misaligned from the very beginning, it could never align itself quite right to the hour markers and indexes on the dial.

I immediately bought the Omega Seamaster 300 the next weekend. The crazy part? I brought that Omega Seamaster 300 to the same wall and slammed this watch against it purposefully harder than the Seiko Five Sport just to see what would happen. The steel part got scratched lightly, but the ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal had no damage. To this day, the Omega Seamaster 300 looks pristine besides some scratches on the steel parts due to wear and tear, including hitting that wall.

I never once regretted spending thousands of dollars on an Omega Seamaster 300 and I wear it on a daily basis even now. But I'll never be able to get back the $200 I spent on that Seiko Five Sport Dive Watch.

Lesson? Sapphire crystal is the way to go. Hardlex crystal is terrible. Bezel quality is subpar on the Seiko Five Sport. If you're going to get your son a watch, I would consider better Seikos, especially if he's active with sports or has a lot of physical activities throughout the days. At the very least, consider a watch with a sapphire crystal.

My suggestion? The Orient Mako USA. Tough, reliable, well designed, in-house movement, and affordable. You can find this on Orient's official website. You can watch reviews of it on Youtube. I've purchased this watch as gifts for people who are not into watches and they've enjoyed it. It's not a Rolex, but it's a very good watch. Lots of watch for the money.

To be fair, I wouldn't have gotten as deep as I have with my watch hobby without the Seiko Five Sport. I literally keep that watch in my collection to this day to remind myself that it's sometimes better to spend more for a better quality watch I won't regret.

Go Orient or if you go Seiko, get one with a sapphire crystal.

EDIT: To answer your earlier questions about this watch. I'm about your son's size, maybe a bit bigger (e.g. 160 lbs), but my wrist size is 6.5". The measurements for the Seiko Five Sport Dive Watch: Case diameter 42mm, Height 14mm, and Lug-to-Lug 48mm. It wears on a the larger side for my wrist, but I think it looks fine on me. It wears slightly bigger than my Omega Seamaster 300, Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, and Rolex Submariner 114060.

[turnleftgofast]

Originally Posted by tryptobphan

I immediately bought the Omega Seamaster 300 the next weekend. The crazy part? I brought that Omega Seamaster 300 to the same wall and slammed this watch against it purposefully harder than the Seiko Five Sport just to see what would happen.

Brave!

[samson66]

Originally Posted by tryptobphan

I'm going to be honest. I hate this watch.

Many years ago, when I was getting into watches, I wanted a sports watch and a dress watch to be my entire collection. I didn't need any more than 2 for specific occasions. I bought an Omega De Ville Prestige as a dress watch and I loved it. I wanted an Omega Seamaster Professional 300 Diver or Seamaster 300, but I couldn't justify the $4.4K and $6.6K prices, respectively. However, I still wanted a sports watch so I did my research, read reviews, and looked at Youtube video reviews. The obvious candidate was the Seiko Five Sport Dive Watch you have here, except I chose the blue dial model and bought it from Amazon.com due to all the great reviews there, too.

Less than 2 weeks of ownership, I accidentally hit the watch on the side of a wall. The bezel cracked, the mineral crystal was scraped and cracked and I couldn't get the scratches off. Also, the bezel was misaligned from the very beginning, it could never align itself quite right to the hour markers and indexes on the dial.

I immediately bought the Omega Seamaster 300 the next weekend. The crazy part? I brought that Omega Seamaster 300 to the same wall and slammed this watch against it purposefully harder than the Seiko Five Sport just to see what would happen. The steel part got scratched lightly, but the ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal had no damage. To this day, the Omega Seamaster 300 looks pristine besides some scratches on the steel parts due to wear and tear, including hitting that wall.

I never once regretted spending thousands of dollars on an Omega Seamaster 300 and I wear it on a daily basis even now. But I'll never be able to get back the $200 I spent on that Seiko Five Sport Dive Watch.

Lesson? Sapphire crystal is the way to go. Hardlex crystal is terrible. Bezel quality is subpar on the Seiko Five Sport. If you're going to get your son a watch, I would consider better Seikos, especially if he's active with sports or has a lot of physical activities throughout the days. At the very least, consider a watch with a sapphire crystal.

My suggestion? The Orient Mako USA. Tough, reliable, well designed, in-house movement, and affordable. You can find this on Orient's official website. You can watch reviews of it on Youtube. I've purchased this watch as gifts for people who are not into watches and they've enjoyed it. It's not a Rolex, but it's a very good watch. Lots of watch for the money.

To be fair, I wouldn't have gotten as deep as I have with my watch hobby without the Seiko Five Sport. I literally keep that watch in my collection to this day to remind myself that it's sometimes better to spend more for a better quality watch I won't regret.

Go Orient or if you go Seiko, get one with a sapphire crystal.

EDIT: To answer your earlier questions about this watch. I'm about your son's size, maybe a bit bigger (e.g. 160 lbs), but my wrist size is 6.5". The measurements for the Seiko Five Sport Dive Watch: Case diameter 42mm, Height 14mm, and Lug-to-Lug 48mm. It wears on a the larger side for my wrist, but I think it looks fine on me. It wears slightly bigger than my Omega Seamaster 300, Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, and Rolex Submariner 114060.

Thanks for the feedback. The Orient watches look really nice but are a little more $$$ than I wanted to spend at this point. Until my son proves he can take care of a watch and not lose it I'm not going to throw down $300+ on a watch for him. If he proves he can take care of this one I'll shoot a little higher in a couple years

Interesting how the specs differ on the sea urchin on every page I see them. Watched a YT review and he put calipers on one and got a little over 41mm diameter and less than 13mm thickness. Lug-to-lug agreed with your numbers.

[imperio]

Originally Posted by tryptobphan

I immediately bought the Omega Seamaster 300 the next weekend. The crazy part? I brought that Omega Seamaster 300 to the same wall and slammed this watch against it purposefully harder than the Seiko Five Sport just to see what would happen.

You trying to b phanny?

[tryptobphan]

Originally Posted by imperio

You trying to b phanny?

Haha. No, true story. People have noticed that I like "testing" my watches sometimes. I actually like how much of a tank certain watches can be (e.g. Orient Mako USA, Omega Seamaster and Rolex Submariner). They are impressive.

Again, I attribute certain quirks I have for watch collecting to the Seiko Five Sport. I learned a lot from owning that watch and even the mishaps along the way.

I'm just trying to help someone who may give a child a watch that may push the wearer away from watches in general. I know if I were a teenager looking to own a mechanical watch and my watch immediately gets scratched, cracked, or even broken then I'd be disappointed. It's one thing to break a watch by using a hammer, but it's another when someone just accidentally scrapes the watch against a wall, doorway, car door, or something similar.

[Daveh3196]

If he’s not a diver or looking for a dive watch, this is a good alternative and under$150 -

https://www.amazon.com/SEIKO-SPORTS-...oUL&ref=plSrch


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Maxy]

$60 - Full day-date automatic in-house movement. (Btw Rolex charges $20K for same features! )

[Maxy]

Originally Posted by samson66

Thanks for the feedback. The Orient watches look really nice but are a little more $$$ than I wanted to spend at this point. Until my son proves he can take care of a watch and not lose it I'm not going to throw down $300+ on a watch for him. If he proves he can take care of this one I'll shoot a little higher in a couple years

Interesting how the specs differ on the sea urchin on every page I see them. Watched a YT review and he put calipers on one and got a little over 41mm diameter and less than 13mm thickness. Lug-to-lug agreed with your numbers.

Only Orient I would recommend is the Orient Mako II USA - It is the best out there but will be above $250 (with coupons I think) but retails for $375.

https://www.orientwatchusa.com/shop/...es/saa0200cw9/

[Kevin.S]

Hamilton, or Glycine ...plenty of great watches to be had at very reasonable prices ...happy hunting.

[tryptobphan]

Originally Posted by samson66

Thanks for the feedback. The Orient watches look really nice but are a little more $$$ than I wanted to spend at this point. Until my son proves he can take care of a watch and not lose it I'm not going to throw down $300+ on a watch for him. If he proves he can take care of this one I'll shoot a little higher in a couple years

Interesting how the specs differ on the sea urchin on every page I see them. Watched a YT review and he put calipers on one and got a little over 41mm diameter and less than 13mm thickness. Lug-to-lug agreed with your numbers.

Very good points you bring up, too. If it's his first watch and you don't want to spend $300+ then the Orient Mako USA will be out of the picture since it's a little above $300.

However, my only suggestion for a first time watch will be something with a sapphire crystal. There are many watches out there with sapphire crystals for less than $200 whether it's Seiko, Orient (non-diver models), Hamilton, Tissot, etc.

Is your son more into dress watches or sport watches, by the way?

Also, if there's a Macy's nearby, you can take your son to the store and take a look at the models there such as Seiko, Citizen, Hamilton, etc. I think it'll be cool to see what watches your son would like after looking at some. Sometimes it's the fun of researching that makes someone appreciate the watch even more.

[samson66]

Originally Posted by tryptobphan

Very good points you bring up, too. If it's his first watch and you don't want to spend $300+ then the Orient Mako USA will be out of the picture since it's a little above $300.

However, my only suggestion for a first time watch will be something with a sapphire crystal. There are many watches out there with sapphire crystals for less than $200 whether it's Seiko, Orient (non-diver models), Hamilton, Tissot, etc.

Is your son more into dress watches or sport watches, by the way?

Also, if there's a Macy's nearby, you can take your son to the store and take a look at the models there such as Seiko, Citizen, Hamilton, etc. I think it'll be cool to see what watches your son would like after looking at some. Sometimes it's the fun of researching that makes someone appreciate the watch even more.

He's more into sports watches. Watch he can wear with shorts and a t-shirt and wear in the water. Honestly he will be thrilled with whatever I wind up getting him I'm sure. I'll keep the cost down this time around and surprise him. Hopefully he gets into the hobby and I can surprise him with a Rolex one day, like after college graduation, but we'll see...

[Earnyourturns]

I recently asked a similar question. Have a look at the attached thread for some great advice and to see what I eventually got my son.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=606405

I also posted in the Seiko section under the thread below

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=607649

[turnleftgofast]

Originally Posted by Earnyourturns

I recently asked a similar question. Have a look at the attached thread for some great advice and to see what I eventually got my son.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=606405

I also posted in the Seiko section under the thread title

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=608735

Thought you got him that psychedelic Swatch for a minute there

SKX is a very solid choice.

[incontrol]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Without a doubt







Seiko SKX009K

Easily! The best and very reliable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tryptobphan]

Originally Posted by samson66

He's more into sports watches. Watch he can wear with shorts and a t-shirt and wear in the water. Honestly he will be thrilled with whatever I wind up getting him I'm sure. I'll keep the cost down this time around and surprise him. Hopefully he gets into the hobby and I can surprise him with a Rolex one day, like after college graduation, but we'll see...

If that's the case then the Seiko Five Sport Diver will be just fine. Aside from the bezel and crystal cracking and scratching from an accidental hit on the wall, the watch itself is quite good.

Good:
I'm fond of the blue dial and the bezel has a nice rotating action and sound. The strap itself is very comfortable when sized correctly. Also, I like that it has the Date and Day at the 3 o'clock position. The weight of the watch is quite substantial, it feels heavy, which can be a good or bad thing, but I consider it a good thing for a sports watch. I actually love the overall aesthetics of the watch.

Bad:
The lume is not so good though. Actually, the lume itself is bright for a short while, but the amount of lume on the dial is not a generous amount. The bezel itself doesn't even have any lume, so it's useless if you go diving and need a timer. Also, hardlex mineral crystal isn't very tough.

Keep us posted! I think it'll be a great experience for you and your son. I hope he gets drawn into the world of watches too.

[dmash]

Skx007

I’d wear that watch regardless of owning more expensive pieces. It looks fantastic on a NATO and it’s one thing he could keep forever. If his tastes grew richer, he could still use it as a vacation watch. Honestly, the thing with the cheaper watches IS to put them on strap. All the bracelets are kind of garbage at that price point (at no fault to the companies, I mean come on, what could they produce for that cheap?). Putting it on leather, canvas or rubber actually makes it look *more* expensive and nicer.

Here’s a pic showing on a leather and canvas NATO along with OEM