I have a friend who wants to buy a nice anniversary gift for her husband, who's father used to work for Bulova many years ago. I think he already owns a semi-beaten Seiko diver.

Spending 'limit' is $1000.

It would most likely be an everyday wearer for an active, ~52 year-old guy, medium sized wrist.

Looks like he currently wears a Seiko diver, not sure which one... She thinks he'd be OK with pre-owned, but also wants the option to return the watch if he doesn't care for it. Perhaps that eliminates pre-owned, but at such a low spending limit I told her there's not a very large number of nice watches to choose from.

Edit: My thoughts so far in this price range are something from a quality micro-brand such as Halios, or even the Kickstarter watch, Traska. I'm thinking she'd probably go a bit higher on the spending limit as well.

Anyway, any suggestions/ideas are appreciated!

 

What were your ideas for them, as you now them best?

 

I just added my ideas to my original thread post above...

 

Interesting....it's a pity that he already wears a Seiko diver. A brand new Seiko SBDC053 on a strap can be had for $625.00 on the Bay. It is by far the best bang for the buck of any watch I owned. The quality is outstanding. I have yet to submit it to the scrutiny of @Archer but I'm confident that his review will be positive when I get around to dropping it of with him..



I managed to get the SS bracelet as well. $145.00, also on the Bay



Edit: Watch is 42mm on my slight 7.25 inch wrist..

 

That's a real beauty, and probably one that he would love. I'll def add that to the 'possibles' list... thanks!

I was hoping there might be a nice Sinn that might fall close to $1K price, but no, unless pre-owned and returnable...

 

Also...a pre-owned Quartz Omega Bond is in the realm of the >$1k budget...a real classic as well

 

Amongst the micro brands, Baltic does really nice watches but the problem with micro brands frankly is you don't know if they will endure, what customer service you might get etc. I've read someone complain on IG about a Dan Henry watch having functional problems and he was not being taken care of. For a 20 year anniversary present, that seems a bit iffy.
Again for something solid and moderate budget I would suggest Tissot or Hamilton.
That Seiko @Faz posted looks fantastic but it may duplicate what he's already using.
Or I would suggest trying to find the Longines Heritage 1945 pre-owned at a lower price than retail.

 

Hamilton is a great suggestion I hadn't thought of...

 

Noting wrong either about a more "urban" Seiko which would complement the diver.
After all, and AFAIK, Seiko is considered one of the more interesting manufactures these days.

 

My choices after a minute of thought

 

And this, about 275 USD

 

Love that Hamilton Khaki! If it wasn't for the date window, I'd get that one for myself!!

 

What about the mechanical khaki?

 

Yeah the date window also takes away the accuracy to its vintage counterpart, but besides that love the design and brand

 

If his father used to work for BULOVA, how about for ~$650 - https://www.bulova.com/collections/special-edition-watches

 

Fantastic idea! The Bulova moon watch!

I also like very much this version of the Tissot Visiodate (@ConElPueblo suggested it to someone else just a few days ago.... and he totally sold me on it). It's also nice indeed with mesh bracelet.

 

Ditto on the Bulova. Need to price that one, but because of his dad’s history, and the cool-factor, that will be my #1 suggestion.. Thanks @dscoogs and all the fine minds in this thread !

 

Not keen on the bulova lunar whatever they call it. Too big. Quartz.

Have fun
-kfw

 

That looks familiar...