I'm sure many of us have faced this problem. We want to buy the woman in our life a nice Omega. However- and who's to blame her- this woman simply cannot be bothered with mechanical watches, resetting the time yet again, re-setting the date and forgetting to check which 12 is which, hurrying to work shaking her wrist in the air like someone with tennis elbow, all the rest of it.

She has a Tissot mechanical and a Mondaine quartz with a station-clock inspired dial (a happy momento of a trip to Switzerland and the inordinate amount of time she spent sitting around waiting for a train.) (She is Japanese).

The Tissot sits in it's box most of the year. The Mondaine gets all the wrist time.

So small wrist (I mean tiny) and femine style no Romans or bezals and quartz (or handwound). There's no lady's Omega with a power reserve indicator, right? All hints, suggestions gratefully considered.

 

Just to clarify, she’s not interested in using a watch winder?

 

Nice idea but no.

 

Constellation 28 or smaller would be nice (quartz)

 

Hi there, what’s your budget? What’s her style?
If she likes Mondaine maybe she likes understated things and no frills.

Off the bat I would say go for a Cartier tank or Hermes quartz.
More importantly, ask her for her opinion and go with her to try it on. Does she even want a watch? If she’s happy with her Mondaine, or happy to wear a 60 euro quartz watch for 10 years (like I used to), maybe the money better be saved for a beautiful romantic trip.

PS- why would they put a power reserve indicator on a quartz watch?

 

Yes I quite like it too. But she has no real use for a bezal.

 

Yes, you are right, Mondaine is her style. She probably is perfectly happy with it as you say. But I think that most of us here would agree that bonding with more than one watch can be done. It's difficult but you just have to grit your teeth.

Cartier Tank is an interesting one. Does Cartier have good quartz movements do you know?

The other thing is that Cartier and Hermes are more fashion brands in Japan. Omega & Rolex and Seiko are the top watch brands.

The power reserve indicator question was a bit of backsliding on my part. I know that if I get her an auto it will never get worn. I know she needs a nice quartz. Just thinking that an auto with a PRI and 50 or 60 hours of reserve might work. She is active. Dunno what the Tissot Reserve is but clearly not enough. A PRI might make the mechanical more acceptable.

Anyway thanks for the thoughts. Oh...budget...a quarter of a million but not half a million. That would be too expensive.

Yen.

 

I believe Cartier uses ETA quartz movements.

Another suggestion would be the Chanel J12 33mm quartz. A bit more modern looking

 

I inherited some money from a beloved grandmother a dozen years ago and had the same dilemma. I wanted a 2254.50 and my wife wanted a matching ladies model with black wave dial and date. We discussed the quartz or automatic option for my wife who was not really into watches. In the end, we opted for quartz and she wears it more often, as a result. Not having to set the time, date and wind it when she puts it on makes it much easier when she is in a hurry.

 

Trust me — if your wife prefers the simplicity of quartz, buy her a quartz watch. You are throwing money away buying a mechanical watch If she never wears it. My wife has several watches, some mechanical, but her go to watches are an Omega Aqua Terra, a Cartier Tank Solo, and a Precista Chronograph (all quartz).

She has one Steinhart automatic diver that she wears occasionally, but always gripes about having to reset it and wind it because it has run down. She never even bothers to set the date. I gave her a winder and she never remembered to put the watch on it.

 

In a manner of speaking, they often do - the EOL (End Of Life) indicator for the battery, where for example the seconds hand will tick every 4 seconds instead of every second. It tells you when the battery voltage has dropped and it's time to replace the battery.

 

I would go for a quartz for my wife.
I do not think that she wants to be bothered to set the time once the power reserve runs out. Also I think that they are tougher watches.
The DeVille line had some quartz watches in their ladies collection.

 

No idea what quartz movements Cartier has but I’m assuming they’re ETA.
I’m not in Japan but suprised to hear Cartier called a “fashion” brand, it’s a top luxury jeweler. Hermes is indeed more of a “fashion” brand but it’s a top luxury maker of saddle and travel leather goods, which branched out indeed into selling watches equipped with their famous and outstanding leather straps.

As for which brands to choose and wanting her to bond with something she might not want... are you buying this for you or for her?

 

I would second @Syrte's suggestion of a Cartier tank quartz or Hermes quartz. They are both classic and stylish. Mrs. Kaapstad's go-to watches are a classic yellow gold Cartier tank in quartz or a medium-size Cartier tank francaise in quartz. Sadly, she has no interest in automatic or manual wind watches. She switches them out (and a few other fashion watches) on a daily basis to coordinate with whatever she's wearing and doesn't want to bother with setting the time or winding a watch.

 

Good idea, the white ones look really cool and stylish.
However they are much more of a fashion statement, if the watch is supposed to last 20 years+ there’s no telling whether the style will be as enduring as the Cartier or the Hermes. The Hermes designs called “Arceau”, “Cape Cod” and “Heure H” have been around since the 1990s at least and are standing the test of time as they are still worn by young women.

 

Chanel just dropped a 20th anniversary edition of the J12, so presumably it's been around for a while.

 

Cartier is my recommendation too and they really hold their value if she's not happy with it.

There is the classic small Rose Gold Tank Solo, but you can also consider small Panthère too (which wears loose more like a jewellery bracelet) as you mentioned small wrists.

For some reason there are very few good photos of these two watches on the Internet, they look way better in real life. Here are two photos that perhaps do them justice... and I would check Youtube videos for more details...

Cartier Tank Solo Quartz W5200024 in Rose Gold,



Cartier Panthère (Panther) Quartz Steel WSPN0006,


Image from - https://tsingapore.com/article/a-graceful-rebirth-of-panthere-de-cartier
Image is a still from Sofia Coppola's film CREDIT: Andrew Durham/Cartier

 

I'm a bit surprised about the majority dismissal of Omega quartz ladies watches in favour of Chanel, and Cartier. Am I missing something?
Is buying someone a square watch risky?
Romans might be an annoyance. Not sure I'd enjoy a Seiko with Grass Script numerals.
The Mondaine and Tissot are both white dialled.
Anyone had an MOP dial? Aqua Terra?

 

My wife has worn the same watch for almost 40 years, which is well before I met her. It’s a Cartier mechanical that her Mom bought her as a teenager. She always says to me “why would I ever want anything else” So, +1 for Cartier...especially since it means I get 100% of the new watch budget!

 

I'm surprised that you're noting Cartier is a fashion brand in Japan. Cartier (according to Morgan Stanley) is number three in the top sales for Swiss Luxury watch sales right behind Rolex and Omega.

Below is from 2019 and I think they were also ranked third in 2018,



With a quarter of a million budget, then might I suggest the Serpenti Tubogas,