WATCH POP

Before everyone bails out of here, I need to ask for some help. I will be getting married this spring, and thought the idea of buying my wife-to-be a watch as a wedding present was rather appealing. My thinking is that she would find a watch to be a more 'special' gift, due to my interest in them, rather than some other type of random jewelery. So, if you married guys could seek the opinion of your wife on this issue, I would appeciate it. But please note, I will NOT be held responsible if a can of worms is opened. Thank You. Make sure it is clearly a woman's watch that you would never wear or you run the risk of- "You bought this for yourself!" WANTED: Omega Dynamic Date 1990's Some women are genuinely enthusiastic about wristwatches. But most women don't care much about them at all, so long as they work and aren't ugly.

For example, my wife doesn't care, and never wears the nice watch that I got her. And she abuses the heck out of her everyday watch -- it is really not a pretty thing to see. Think bricks, cinder blocks, and about friction and scratches. Think about contact with door jambs and rock walls. Think about being buried in the sand at the beach. That rough treatment would be agonizing if the watch cost more than $100 or so. :-(

Notoriously, my wife even posted a watch review on the TZ Watch Review Forum, singing the praises of the $19 pink and purple plastic watch that she bought at WalMart. She was ribbing me. I got the point.

I am including a photo of her horror-show watch, which she loves.

So ... based on my own experience, a watch will not have any particular special meaning just because it is a watch. More than likely, the gift will be overlooked if your wife-to-be isn't already interested.

Cheers!

-- Bokonon Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan Dude... i feel your pain... Mason. My wife is also stubborn and has a bad temper ... like certain other members of her family. Like as Aaron Burr, a distant relative of hers, and the man doing the shooting in this notorious engraving.



Don't ever tell her that her taste in watches is bad. You might get shot. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan Most women don't go for automatics -- due to the accuracy and maintenance issues, not to mention their vulnerability to getting damaged when they are dropped, mashed, kicked ... Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan WANTED: Omega Dynamic Date 1990's My wife is a tall girl with fairly large diameter wrists but she doesn't like large watches. She used to have lots of cheap designer watches and wore them to match here clothes until I bought her a TAG Sport Elegance (smallest ladies model). Now, that't the only watch she wears almost every day. She also has an Omega ladies constellation and a diamond Baume Mercier. I'd say a watch would be a great wedding gift as long as it's quartz and small enough to clearly be a ladies watch. Ray K Orlando, Florida I just dropped a wad of cash on a watch for the wife for valentines day. Problem with wives is that most of them don't appreciate the mechanical marvel that it is. They look at it as another piece of jewelry. I personally think it would be a great gift, but dont be disappointed if it does not have the desired effect of getting her interested in your hobby. My wife was like, and how many diamonds does the dial have, or I need a two tone watch so I can wear silver and gold jewelry with it. She could care less about the brand, the history, or my interest in them, only that it looked nice.
Any way, good luck with the wife. Maybe instead of suprising her with something you might think she likes, let her pick the watch with you so she might be more able to share your passion for them. Then again, prepare yourself for six months of indeciceveness. I don't grow the beans, I just count them not about watches as much as it is about jewelry. If she is enthusiastic about jewelry, then a watch falls in that category.

Also, will she be dressing in business attire? Do you go to the opera or theatre or balls?

Something like a two-tone Omega AT or Rolex Lady Datejust, or some such, will be appropriate and appreciated.

My S.O. is currently wearing a nice gold-plated Oris day/dat/moonphase on a croc strap (Thanks to Dave Marskell) for business attire. She has jewelry watches from a friend who is a jewelry designer. A. Charles Beddoe Harvard, MA I will be getting married this spring, and thought the idea of buying my wife-to-be a watch as a wedding present was rather appealing. My thinking is that she would find a watch to be a more 'special' gift, due to my interest in them, rather than some other type of random jewelery.
Scott, congratulations. It seems to be a wonderful idea. My wife doesn't care much about watches, but she cares a lot about the first watch I bought her: Seamaster Bond. She got several watches with a lot of diamonds on it, but the Bond Seamaster is the one she wears almost everyday. As a matter of fact, she asked me not ever thinking of selling/trading my Seamaster Bond, which she considered a pair. About other watches, she rarely comments on them, except she really likes the looks of the Broad Arrow (another untouchable to my understanding). That's about her interest in watches.

I have seen it in person and the pic certainly does not do it justice. A very nice watch that goes with casual and dressy attire.

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy? Albert Einstein My two cents worth: think of jewelry that can be worn on the wrist and which also shows the time.

My next two cents worth (and this will stand you in good stead for however long you both shall live): ask *her* what are the things you do that show her that you value her.

Good luck :) Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan Personally I like the ladies speedmasters. Especially on a leather strap. Just looks cool imo. ...so I could justify my own addiction.



Quartz movement, gold and stainless for versatility of wearage.

However, I had picked out a Stainless Constellation Automatic for her. (Better movement methinks, but less gold!) It was rejected. Lucky the AD was fantastic in allowing me to return the first and swap it for the above model that my wife picked out off the webpage. (How romantic, eh?!)

(As an aside, I also got her a pink Swatch as a daily beater, but she'll only wear that to the gym or when gardening, etc. The Swatch is the loudest ticking watch I've ever heard - I can hear it across the living room when we're watching TV. So she won't wear it that often, and hence the Omega is now looking a bit second hand. Although, when the cell died in the Omega after a couple of months, Omega Australia replaced it under warranty and also buffed up the bracelet and case... very nice of them)

Anyhoo, lessons learned:
- Check with your AD that you can return the watch (unworn of course) and swap it. My guy did this on the condition that he didn't give me the warranty card etc for the first watch just in case - which as it turned out was what happened. Maybe pick an AD that also sells jewellery so you can have more options upon a return.

- Unless you really know what she likes, then tread carefully. It's a lot of money to buy something that she may really not like that much. Maybe while you're loitering outside the AD window shopping (you know you do it, we all do), try to get an idea of what she likes

- Use a spy. Talk to her friends - they'll have a good idea if she's had her eye on a piece of jewellery, rather than a watch. And that'll show that you've got her interests at heart, and you're willing to put in the miles to make her happy.

Good luck.
Tim. Buzz's opinion of a Speedy from Nasa debrief!! "It was one of those things...I had a watch on but I don't think I looked at it. Which would probably say that I should have had it set at something so that it was just not a normal time going around, but going from some specific...It was a lousy watch to have on the surface. It just didn't give good numbers as far as a stopwatch type thing. To have gone to all that expense and then to have crews out on the surface with just an ordinary watch, in retrospect, is a mistaken priority somewhere." Veritas non facta etiam si haec dicta in lingua mortua. Thanks to all of you, I now have some outside opinions and experiences to consider. We were doing some cleaning around the house over the weekend, and she happened upon a Rolex catalog among the pile of car magazines and watch brochures. She did mention the blue Lady DateJust as catching her eye. That comment made me think of a blue ladies AT.(If I don't have a Rolex yet, she certainly isn't getting one!!!) I don't think she would wear a watch every day, so I thought the quartz would be the way to go.(I have enough trouble keeping my 3 automatics running) Anyhow, I still have a few months to ponder it. Thank You again for the suggestions and experiences. My fiancee just read your post and thinks your wife is awesome.

She's been talking about posting a picture when she saw your wife's pink watch and really made her day and, If she happens to come to Houston, she'll be delighted to buy her a drink and compare notes. ...all women like Cartier stuff, including the watches. That's what I would suggest - perhaps a nice Tank Francaise. I just got my wife a Cartier Tank Francaise (medium size, stainless steel) for her 40th birthday. I don't think most women would appreciate an Omega the same way they would a Cartier. Cartier is jewelry first, and time piece second - IMO On a never ending quest for the perfect watch collection... Buy her the stuff that she's interested in, not what you're interested in. So if she does not care much for watches, don't get her a watch. If she's into watches, then you're a fortunate man. But what's special to us isn't necessarily special to them. Go with HER interests, whether it be jewelery, furniture, shoes, artwork, etc.

These are some of my favorite pieces of art. The guy does incredibly detailed marble etchings. You don't get the full effect until you see them in person. Just one idea to open the box.

Happy hunting,

Josh Rubin







i didn't read any of the previous responses, i'm lazy today.
My wife wouldn't let me spend money on a watch for her. She just couldn't grasp the idea. So I bought her a vintage ladies seamaster for about $200.
She really likes it and started thumbing through my watch catalogs.
So this year she got a ladies Connie (pic follows). It's automatic, but since it is quick set she didn't occasionally having to ask me to set it. But now I've made room on my winder and she is happier. Now she only has to ask me to get it off the winder.

I think a watch is great idea, may spark her interest, and grease the skids for you next watch purchase.

the connie...


and her beater...
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein ... on the TZ Watch Reviews forum. It is scary.

My wife IS awesome. Thanks! :-) Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan I second the Cartier option. Occasionally when I need to fall asleep, I look through one of my wife's fashion magazines. Seems like Cartier watches are featured more than other brands.