New to watches, looking for some opinions

[clean3]

Hey guys I'm looking at getting a watch (well from my gf) for graduation, and she's still in school so I don't want to ask for something way over the top so I'm trying to keep it around $500 or so. Anyways, I've found three that I really like and was looking for some opinions from some people who knows watches.

Here's the three I found

[JasonCSU]

Nice choices. Hamiton and Tissot have some great watches.

[gtron]

i really enjoy tissot. one of the watches i wear almost daily is tissot.

[BEM-S4]

Tread lightly, watches can be like crack cocaine. Today you're getting a Tissot from your gf, tomorrow you're pimping her out for a rose gold Patek. As you build your collection be sure to properly insure and invest in a proper winder. Buy stuff you like and enjoy wearing, trying to buy for resale value or investment purposes is a complete waste of time. Otherwise enjoy!

PS: Personal rule of thumb, will become more important as you get into this stuff for real. For your next watch, whenever you decide there is going to be a next watch, wait to buy until you want the same thing for six months and error on the side of quality movement vs flashy features. It's easy to get distracted, things are shiny with buttons and dials and helium release valves and shark mesh bracelets and a million other things you can pack into a timepiece. If you honestly want the same thing for 6 months straight you won't freak out and regret it the next time something shiny catches your eye.

[twin fed]

Both are nice watches and reputable companies. I personally have a Hamilton Khaki Automatic as my daily and love it.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by twin fed

Both are nice watches and reputable companies. I personally have a Hamilton Khaki Automatic as my daily and love it.

I also have one and I absolutely love it.

[1MOREMOD]

i have both hamilton (lloyd chrono and khaki auto) and tissot (luxury auto). i prefer the hamilton of the ones you selected.

[tony20009]

Tissot and Hamilton are practically twins...not just the watches you selected but also as companies. Both of them are squarely the mainstream of the Swatch Group's assortment of brands. The offerings from those two brands are all but identical in substance -- same movements, same level of case construction, etc. Looks are the only reason I can identify for choosing one over the other, among the three you've identified since both are going to have good old ETA inside.

You can check with the respective makers to see if one of them might carry the ETA 2892 movement inside. It's a slightly nicer movement in terms of accuracy and consistency, but that's not to say you should have any reservation about a 2824 movement. All the same, if you can get a 2892 new watch for ~$300, you should jump on it ASAP, but I'll tell you now that I wouldn't spend too much time looking for one.

FWIW, I like the looks of the Hamilton best, but I also am nearly certain that watch will be fairly hard to read in low light because of the silver hands and silver dial. If you see yourself wearing the watch in dark bars and nightclubs, go for the first Tissot.

Of the three, I'd say the middle one is more of a "general purpose" style, whereas the first and last are squarely dress watches. Personally, when it comes to sanely priced watches, I prefer dress styles and sport styles to general purpose styles. That's my preference because -- and this is purely a personal taste thing, not a judgement call and not an pronouncement -- because modestly priced watches that are made to ride the middle ground tend to my eye look rather bland. I feel they don't look bad at all, but neither do they have that little something to make them, well, not so dull looking.

One thing I like about dressy styles is that they dress down better than casual ones and general purpose ones dress up. The reason is because dressy watch styles have flair and that flair is what makes them versatile because it's a strong enough statement that big swings of contrast end up not looking strange. Cloth watch bands are by far the easiest and least expensive way to generate the high contrast look, although it can also be accomplished with other types of straps and bracelets. It's just that the latter route can often cost as much or more than the watch when the watch costs less than $500.

Buy a striped grosgrain band for a dress watch with Roman numerals and you'll have a super cool looking watch that will look stylishly dressy in a relaxed, at ease, "old money" sort of way. It'll work just as well with jeans/shorts and a t-shirt as it will with a suit. Put it on a swanky lizard strap and it's perfect for black tie. On a bracelet having small-ish links as those pictured are and it'll straddle the lines from totally casual to full on dress. The lizard strap would be better for formal, but the bracelet will suffice if need be.

Here are a few examples:

https://www.blacklapel.com/thecompas...r-custom-suit/






So long as the watch face has a little bit of panache, you'll find that the grosgrain band's colorfulness (sometimes called NATO strap -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosgrain#Watch_Bands) spices up a watch to the point that the juxtaposition of the band's "whimsy" with a suit makes it work as shown above. Think of it as the wrist analogue to wearing "fun" socks with a suit and you'll understand. Of course you can go subtle and use a solid color too. (For a range of colors, check out Brooks Brothers, J Press and J Crew, but there are many other suppliers besides those three. )

The only caveat I'd offer re: grosgrain bands is that you'll probably want to eschew madras plaids with suits, but from blazer and slacks on down the casual ladder, the madras will be fine. Scotch plaids will work with suits.

To close, I would strongly suggest you try on each watch before deciding. Generally, a test drive will make it super clear which you like best or whether you really don't like any of them or whatever. IIRC, all three are current styles, so you should not have much trouble finding them at a mall watch store.

All the best.

[clean3]

Thanks guys, yall brought up stuff I didnt even really consider like reading in the dark and such, I've never been into watches and have a few buddies with some nice ones and it really got me interested. The first watch i got was my dad's old seiko and that got me interested too. also, just snooping through seiko's website I found this le grand sport and was looking for some opinions on it to