Currently wearing my Rotary Sea dragon from 1994 which has been on my wrist now for 21 years ! It's nice, but only a £100 watch and it's done me well.

I'm quite attached to it. Thinking back, it was on my wrist during my finals, my first proper job, weddings, funerals and christenings.....tough times, good times.

Anyway, I'm after something new. But so many watches these days are too big for my "normal" [small] wrists, so limited choice.

Mrs G wants to get me one as an engagement present, [I know, we've only been together for 18 years] so using her engagement ring as equivalent value, I'm looking at a watch of around £240,000. [don't tell her, but it was cheaper than that]

So, any ideas on a good replacement for my £100 Rotary?

Criteria: Not too big. Chronograph, Sapphire Crystal. Quite like titanium. Also looked at Citizen Eco drive, but mostly too big.

I'm not going expensive i.e. Omega Seamaster territory, so up to £600 ...maybe a little more will be fine.

My current favourite is the Certina DS Podium with the blue dial.

Watch


Certina is not really on my radar, so any opinions would be great.

Thanks !!

save her 530 quid and get a Christian lars , light on the wrist but classy looking , well made watch.

If you like titanium, have a look at Seiko.

I've had mine for about 15 years of pretty constant use and it's stood the test of time well. Weighs virtually nothing so I notice if I wear one of my others.

Seiko's UK headquarters is close by us in Maidenhead, so I have always taken it there for battery changes. Seals are changed and tested so it is still waterproof. Walk in service or by return of post.

Cheers both. Some things to consider there.

I'll sell you my used Seamaster for less than 600!

I too hate big watches; I have a 1960s mechanical Tissot automatic which I like but for day to day I have a titanium Skagen with a 34mm case. Looking at their website, most of their range now is 40mm or more; may as well strap an eight day clock to my wrist.

If I ever have a few grand to throw at a watch, I rather fancy a Breguet - a 5157 or a 5930 would be nice. "It's my birthday soon", he said hopefully...

Whatever you do, do not buy this watch.

Stauer Graves '33

Are you looking for Quartz or a 'proper' mechanical watch?

If the latter, take a look at the Steinhart range - VERY well respected amongst watch geeks, as they use a proper Swiss movement (ETA like many Tags and Breitlings) but they keep their prices very reasonable (close to your budget for a chronograph and way inside for a diver or similar)

Also look at Christopher Ward

http://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/chronographs.html

If you want Quartz, Seiko is definitely worth a look, as is Skagen (I have a Skagen Titanium with carbon face and mesh strap - very nice and extremley light on the wrist and way inside budget

Tissot Touch Solar. Fantastic watch, on my wish list. I have the Tissot touch 2 and love it. The barometer is very accurate and the compass has also proved useful. Plus stopwatch and countdown timers, all in an unfussy design.

Seiko's are also great, the Kinetic range are nice and they are doing some good Solar watches too like this one.

I also have a mechanical Oris TT Divers, which according to Nigel is a "proper" watch I love it but it costs £90 to service every 2 years and to keep it well you should have it in a watch winder when not wearing it.

I haven't worn a watch for twenty years - don't see the point, its on your phone. And after a while you can pretty much estimate the time - within about 15 minutes - at any point of the day.

Which fails to explain the apple watch and the various android watches...

It's jewellery for Gents. Especially with a good mechanical watch there is something wonderful in a piece of precision mechanical engineering on your wrist. I don't always have a phone on me or want to dig it out of my pocket, especially when cycling.

Different watches make different statements, It's not for all but unlike a tattoo it can be removed

Go into any AppleStore and see the tumbleweed around the watch tables.

I believe they call those "Genii".

I haven't worn a watch since I was in primary school and that one was a Knight Rider replica one

I'm allergic to any with metal on and plastic ones get sweaty and smelly.

So, about 33 years since I last wore a watch

Thanks all. Quite a conversation topic this. Lots of ideas for me to consider. This is a decision I've been pondering for about 5 years now !!

And yes, while I can get the time from my phone, a watch is an excuse to wear some bling !!

Skagen titanium already on the list, as is the Citizen Ecodrive titanium which I really like, except they are too big. The Ecodrive movement also makes the case quite thick to accommodate the solar panel etc.

I do like Tissot, so will check them out. I'll also give all the other recommendations due consideration and full cost benefit analysis [focussing on the "anal" aspects].

I am torn between the full automation of a techno-watch like the Casio Edifice, and the mechanical beauty of a precision time piece. The thing that annoys me about the latter is the lack of perpetual calendar on some. If I'm spending bucks on a watch, I don't want to be changing the date by hand.

So, the answer may be to get a cheap Casio G-Shock for general use, and a posher watch for all the dinner parties, key note speeches, presidential campaigns and award ceremonies I attend. [Who am I kidding].

I do like the techno watches which are radio controlled to the atomic clock, so you are always the correct time to the millisecond. But to get all these features in a metal watch costs big money.

The quest continues.

Seeing as you mention the appeal of the atomic clock linked watch, it sounds like accuracy is fairly high on your "want" list, in which case, I'd suggest an automatic is probably not going to float your boat.

I used to wear an thirty year old Seiko quartz - looked pretty decent and was spectacularly accurate (<1 second per annum). However, it was a chrono, with a white face and silver hands and my generally worsening eyesight meant I couldn't actually see what the time was, never mind the date or the chrono dials

So - I bought a black-dialed, white-handed automatic diver watch with no date and I can now tell the time again. Its not accurate (loses about three seconds a week, so about 150 times worse than the old daily-beater Seiko) but I like it and that's all that counts.

That Certina looks fairly sizeable considering you don't like bigger watches? I'd love a good Automatic but cannot justify spending thousands on a nice Heuer at the moment. As such I have a fair few nice quartz watches which I like. Not so sure I would notice a watch that would lose 'seconds' per month so I'm happy with Quartz movement performances. I do a few repairs on the sides...... You would be amazed at how little some movements cost compared to their new asking price. I'd vote for TW Steel. I know they have been slated by some for being a little pretentious - but I think they look great - decent price - good finish and the couple I have always raise a comment - especially with their F1 tie-in these days with Lotus/Force India......

Plus they now do a slimline rage.......

I have some 70's Seiko automatics and a modded Seiko divers auto from the 80's. Chunky stainless!

+1 for the Steinhart. I went for a Stowa in the end, but was very tempted by Steinhart.

probably not your thing, but vintage pre-owned are also worth a look:-

http://wornandwound.com/watch-finder/

the only word of warning is that the search of 'the one' can become a bit of an addiction...

I used to hanker after a Tag Heuer Carrera, believing the hype that they were superb Swiss watches. However, when I found myself in the position to take the plunge, I did some research and found that they simply aren't worth the money. "£30 movement in a £3,000 watch" is a common comment - yes, they look good and they are actually half-decent watches, but they simply aren't worth the inflated prices being asked. They generally use ETA movements, plus their "in-house" movement, which was actually a Seiko movement that they have modified sufficiently to call it their own.

Breitling are just as bad, with seriously bling watches housing relatively ordinary ETA movements, but still commanding high prices.

IMHO, Tag and Breitling are good watches - maybe £750-£1,000 worth, but the marketing people have created a successful aspirational brand that people will always pay a heavy premium for.

This is why I like Steinhart so much - broadly similar ETA movements but at a vastly reduced price point

Good advice on here. I suspected that many premium brands use similar internals to bog standards ones .... bit like cars eh??

I heard the Fiat Coupe is based on a crappy old Tipo. As if.

I have a few Automatic watches, a couple of Quartz movements and an Apple Watch, I kind of wear the Apple most as its just handy though on nights out, I tend to wear my Eterna Porsche Design Chrono, ironically the woman in my Morrisons local was most disappointed that I had the PD watch on last night and paid for my items using my debit card (rather than using apple pay on my watch) ... "Oh you haven't got your expensive watch on tonight" she said

Depending what your budget is, get on here http://www.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/forum/6-sales-watch-clock-related-items-only/ and you may find just what you are after

Which has led me to this set of pictures of the inside of my watch: http://watchguy.co.uk/cgi-bin/library?action=show_photos&wat_id=1556

Check out the Seiko 6139 series of automatic watches from the 70's. A well respected movement , some nice looking chronographs and even with a full service still affordable.Prices on the up though, a bit like something else I could mention.

Yes Gents - Quartz movements are ridiculously cheap - Most common Miyota (Citizen)movements are about a fiver!? Another favourite of mine currently are - Autodromo
The Prototipo is a take on the Heuer Autavia for alot less dollar.... I know they are a bit of a cliche but I'd still love a genuine Blue-faced McQueen Heuer Monaco or a Silverstone.........

Great article - very informative - thanks

Kinda backs up (some of) what I was saying - ETA movements are generally pretty good, but are ubiquitous, which dilutes their appeal and negates any mechanical superiority, reducing several watch manufacturers to marketing their stylistic attributes only

I would have no hesitation in recommending a watch with an ETA movement, but not at Tag's or Breitling's price-point

I quite like unconventional watches like those made by Nava (eg: the Ora), Ziiiro and Projects (eg: Free Time)

I'm getting into watches more and more as the years go buy...

I recently bought this from a relatively new maker, they are based in Monte Carlo.

Zeades

I also bought one of these (all black version - 3051.BO) a couple of years ago, it is carbon based and light as a feather...the luminosity is really great at night, never seen anything like it! That got me thinking ...... it's so bright, not really suitable for stealth!!

Stealth Watch