Reply With QuoteGive him one of your own. Given the fact he can buy anything he likes, why bother trying to guess what he likes? A watch with a bit of personal history though is irreplaceable
Hi All - I’m after some help....
It’s my sons 21st later this year and I’d said I’d get him a nice watch - he knows I like watches, but he does too. The thing is, when he turns 21he inherits a sizeable sum of money and can afford to buy any watch he wants (or a house actually). He knows about the money, I doubt he’d go out and buy a sub or similar, but the point is I could do with some inspiration for a watch about the £1k mark.
Watch needs to be new, from a recognisable brand and probably at least 40mm+
He’s had Seiko divers, g-shocks and a Panerai homage too. I had thought something like an Oris diver might be along the right lines....
Thoughts?
Give him one of your own. Given the fact he can buy anything he likes, why bother trying to guess what he likes? A watch with a bit of personal history though is irreplaceable
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Give him his Birthday card and an envelope stuffed to the brim with £20’s. Then take him to the Metro Centre, try a few on then pick one together :)
As above a big part of the experience is the looking and research. Go on the journey with him with a budget in mind.
We bought our daughter a secondhand Omega Bond quartz (off this forum) for the same money for her 21st. It hasn't been off her wrist for the last 18 months.
It's a tough one, hard for anyone to recommend a specific model. If I had the ability to buy an watch I wanted (and I like watches), getting one of my parents would for a milestone like my 21st I'd probably be thinking it'll be something super expensive –*which for a 21 year old who has enough cash to buy a house - a grand doesn't seem like it.
Or get something with meaning. And that's the bit that's tricky for us to help with. I really liked the idea of the member who fixed up his dad's old watch for a birthday – that had real meaning. How about a getting him a copy of your favourite watch so you both have one, or one you wore at 21, or a birth year watch – something he'll really cherish.
agree!Originally Posted by relaxer7
Personally I’d go down this route. A watch with some personal history and sentiment will mean a lot more no matter what the cost imo.
Bearing in mind as well as turning 21, he will inherit a sizeable chunk of money, he might choose to buy a watch that celebrates both these events, with a really special watch that could a sound investment for future.
I would open up the dialogue with your son - what would he prefer?
I asked my parents to contribute the lions share for my 16610 submariner, but i still contributed about 30% and it made it very special, we bought it together and i got the watch of my dreams - a watch i will never sell for many reasons, not just sentimental but i genuine cornerstone of a collection
Having said that, i also received a tag 2000 for my 18th birthday and that is another watch i will never sell, it holds so much sentimental value.
How about a CWC RN automatic? Good looking, reliable & you won't see many...
My almost standard response to the “watch for a grand” question thesedays is the Sinn 556. Might fail on a couple of your criteria here though ( is it arecognised brand? And maybe a touch on the small size?). How about a Longines VHP as an alternative?
I do like the idea of getting your son involved in choosing the watch though. He will be wearing it and so has to like it. Whatever way it goes, he is a lucky lad. A family willing and able to give him a generous gifton a milestone birthday, an inheritance which should goaways to setting him up for life, and at twenty one, the fun of a long and fruitful life just opening up before him. Congrats on the birthday and good luck to him.
Thanks for replies - all food for thought. I know that a watch for a grand is tricky at the best of times!
Something sentimental is a good shout, and actually I do have a Sinn 556i which may work, but feel maybe a bit small for him. Longines is a possible....a toughie! Oh, I also like the CWC route!
My Dad took me to Hatton Garden for my 21st (17 years ago now), it was a great day out, nice experience as he guided me on what to buy, I didn’t have a clue back then (still don’t really now). He was a black cab driver, loved a barter, always got embarrassed when he said “what can you do for cash mate” etc etc. Anyway I walked away with a Longines Flagship Automatic on a bracelet for £600(ish) because we paid in cash and he repeatedly told the man it was my birthday. Still have the receipt, think list price was around £1000
Anyway, to put a downer on it, my old man passed away 7 years ago but I can still remember everything about that day. Meeting him at Tin Pan Alley, driving over in his cab, can even remember what was playing on his CD player! The Jewish man that served me, getting it resized... you get the point
I would say ask him, but personally I would much prefer that memory than anyway watch my old man would have passed down to me. Even though he didn’t wear a watch lol.
I would echo the sentiments above and go out together and get one ?
Memories of having spent the day trying on watches with your dad until you found the one you want will be much better than just giving him a watch?
I know that my son just wants my time but is also into watches so if I told him he could go watch shopping with me he’d love it and remember!
As for a rough idea of what for £1000 I’m not 100% sure to be honest but I’m guessing that a Longines diver may fit into the price bracket??
Chris
Ps my sons only 11 but you have me thinking I should start saving now in order to buy him a Rolex Sub from 2007(birth year) then put it away??!! I know Rolex Sub is a bit of a cliche for a 21st but he knows his watches and would love one I’m sure!!
We discussed this same thing with my son. His response was that he didn’t want anything that expensive to have the responsibility for and he is quite happy with the £10 Casio he has. Which given an older one has already been smacked up on a drunken uni night is probably one his more sensible decisions!
Love this line.
So powerful when you look at the seller in the eye, say the words, and then........silence.
The silence will get you a deal.👍👍
At 21st he's a big lad, maybe cut down on the pies?
Last edited by number2; 12th June 2018 at 10:13.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I’d for a Longines Hydroconquest for sub £1k. Go for the 41mm auto. Good size, Swiss made, recognisable brand. As others have said, take him with you but perhaps that’s one to look at. Good luck!
Modern, 40+ mm, recognisable. Quite a few available! Sinn has a nice range, so does Guinand - you can pick it up at the factory if you want! As you said: Oris. And a long list of other Swiss watches, including a few Omega Seamasters or IWC. Then the mentioned CWC (good suggestion) and what about Bremont. Perhaps not my own choice, but it fits the bill.
M
If he is inheriting so much money, get him to buy YOU a new watch on his birthday
+1 for going with him and choosing, I still have my Bravingtons Renown (my 18th),recently serviced by Duncan, and also my Tissot pr516 (my 25th), whenever I look at them/wear them I'm reminded of my Dad, long gone now, and the trips to King Cross/Bromley to buy them and all the other memories. Given that my 18th was 48 years ago I would say they endure and have more significance than any other and more expensive watches that I have (and regularly flip!) Cheers, John B4
I cant imagine my watch crazy son saying no to any watch whether it was cheap or expensive and he's only 11(soon)???? Fairplay to your son for making that call at a time when image matters most?!!
Chris
I think the going out together is a great shout...Newcastle has a few places we can trawl round too!
My eldest has already lost 2 watches I've bought for him, total cost c£250. Needless to say we both agree he doesn't need another until the risk of misplacing it has diminished!
With that in mind, and remembering the daft stuff my mates did as young men (Cumberland wrestling outside a restaurant in Benidorm??!), I'd be inclined to hold back on anything too high value unless he's sensible or mature or both. There's loads of great watches for a few hundred quid so let him choose and facilitate trading it via here as he learns what he likes. Father: son time 😉
Although I think the idea is great I also think the risks are far to high for a young lad.
I personally would be more inclined to purchase a watch <£200, maybe something like a seiko divers.
Completely this. At 21 you're still partying and having reckless adventures. This is not the age for a watch that deserves to be babied... But even so, as the cost is almost irrelevant in this unusual case, maybe blow the full budget on something adventure-friendly (not a dress watch).
Tbh a lot of people in the teens/twenties no longer bother with watches. They just use their mobile phones when they need the time since they are surgically attached to them.
I would recommend an Omega Seamaster 41mm James Bond Blue dial Quartz with Red writing on dial as its timeless....
I concur with this. He can then add to the funds given to him and buy whatever he wants.
Plus you and your son get to spend some Q time together.
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If he is going receive enough money to buy a house when hes 21( very privileged position & he likes watches)then why is the watch budget only 1k ?
Last edited by jonny; 13th June 2018 at 17:46.
Metro centre has some decent jewellers.
Deals can be done at some.
There also David Summerfield who carry some cracking pre owned and unworn
Take ur boy and choose together..
Enjoy.
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I would echo the sentiments above. The objects that i treasure the most are those that remind me of the ones that i love and that i was asked if i would like.
One’s an inheritance and the other is a present from his parents?
I think that the suggestion to let him choose (or even whether he wants a watch) is probably the best idea; perhaps do some research together so he’s not limited to high street brands.
My dad bought me a gold watch for my 21st.
To be honest it wasn't to my taste even then, but it was and always will be irreplaceable as it's the watch my dad gave me for my 21st.
I still wear it for family events, sadly one in recent times was his funeral, but others were my daughter's graduation ceremonies, so it's with me through good and bad.
The suggestion that a watch could only be special if it cost 'as much as a house', if true of most 21 year olds, is a sad indictment on our times...
I bought a Hydroconquest for my 50th, with contributions from my wife and parents and I think it's a great watch for the money. If someone said they'd swap it for a Rolex, but I could never sell the Rolex, I wouldn't bother, personally...
M
Last edited by snowman; 23rd June 2018 at 20:11.
My grandparents agreed to get me a watch for my 21st - I chose it and they paid for it. I ended up with a Heuer 2000 Chrono - one of the first ever quartz chronographs. It saw me through naval service as a navigator, a bit of diving and then work in the City. It eventually became rather worn and unreliable and I flogged it to help pay for my first mechanical chrono.
Had a TZUK'er been advising me, I might have ended up with a Speedmaster, a Sub 1680 or a SD 1665, all of which were around the same price at the time, or a Daytona, which I could have bought if I matched my grandparents' gift - it was only twice the price (around £600, I think) of the quartz Heuer. Although they had paid for it, it didn't really have much sentimental attachment for me.
So I agree with getting your son to choose. Though you might want to put a few options in front of him.
If I were 21 again, for £1000 now, I'd be really pleased with a new CWC Diver (I actually had three of them by age 23, all on my loan charge as the ship's Diving Officer); a used quartz SMP 2264 - a kind of super upgraded Seiko diver; or one of the Revue Thommen Airspeed chronos I keep getting drawn back to. Or I might want add some my own money - as I should have done at that age - to get something newer and/or more valuable. Perhaps a new X-33 (a lousy investment but very practical, like my Heuer was!); an SMP 2254 or 2234 GMT; a Speedy Pro, or a Sinn of some sort. Let him choose, but spend some time looking at pictures and then find somewhere you can look at the shortlist, like Watchfinders.
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