My wife's fitbit is broken. She has taken an interest in my beater watch--a Wenger 097-0665 with a black dial and titanium band. She doesn't mind it, but it doesn't look right on her, so I want to get her something good. But, if she goes through another phase of not wearing a watch, I want the watch to not be too feminine for me to wear.

Some optional reading:

Twenty years ago I was amassing a collection of low-end Seiko's that needed various small repairs, but weren't worth the expense. Every jeweler told me, "if it were Swiss, we could fix it now." So, I bought an Omega Seamaster almost as an impulse buy, and I haven't had an issue with it since. I'm a believer in the Swiss quality, and I would prefer to buy her something good. I'll pass my Seamaster to my son one day, and I hope that the new watch will be my daughter's.

Back to the topic:
Her main requirement is that she can read it in the middle of the night.
I would prefer an automatic movement over quartz. If I get her quartz, it will likely be G-shock.
She takes her watches of for showers, but I would like it to be water resistant enough for swimming.
A case size less than 39mm should work. My wife is 5'9" and athletic.
Her price limit will be $40. I'll consider suggestions up to $4000 MSRP, but less expensive option will be better.

So, what do you suggest?
Thanks in advance!

 

Vintage is out for shower wear.
Modern dive watch is too big for a woman (IMHO) due to ridiculous sizes in contemporary dive watches.
Rolex sub sounds out of budget.
How about Nomos? Seems Unisex and perhaps just check water resistance?
Junghans Max Bill same style and cheaper.
Those budgets are way above $40 however.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

A Rolex Sub is likely out of the budget, but I'm looking at Explorers to see if there are some in the price range. In any case, that's the look I think she would like. I was looking at Junghan's for myself, but I don't think it would look right on her (could be beneficial to me).

I'm not sticking to her budget, as I probably over estimated it--It's more likely $4...Venezuelan. Before they knocked the zeros off.

 

I would take another look at Seiko, specifically the Seiko 5 line.

http://www.watchsleuth.com/seiko5finder/

 

Take a look at this deal:

https://www.jomashop.com/seiko-watch-snkk09.html

 

Similar situation here and I‘m currently in favour of the new 36mm version of the Longines Legend Diver, see https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/longines-legend-diver-36mm-hands-on

 

The latest Tudor release at Baselworld which everyone seems to like could also be an option with Explorer look and perhaps not the price tag?
Not sure what the size is though for a woman’s wrist.
I should also recommend the Longines Legend Diver 36mm. Will update with more info shortly.

 

[QUOTE="Syrte, post: 1040113, member: 17821"
How about Nomos? Seems Unisex and perhaps just check water resistance?
/QUOTE]

Thank you for the Nomos suggestion. This is looking like a possibility.



https://nomos-glashuette.com/en/club/club-neomatik-atlantic-741

 

I've been looking at the Legend Diver as well. It would be great for me, but probably too masculine for her.

 

haha so funny we posted at the same
Time! Here’s a picture of the Legend Diver in question. Tried on my small female wrist -5.5 inches -13cm. But I know there are men who would prefer it to the large men’s model (which is definitely absolutely unwearable for a woman).

 

I have a Yelang V1020 beater from China. At 40mm, it may be too large, but it's automatic, under $300, water resistant to 100m, and its T100 lume is so bright it can be used as a nightlight.

 

I really do like the Longines. Big indices and lots of lume are my tastes. I think she would think it is too masculine and accuse me of buying another watch for myself. She would only be half wrong. But, she doesn't mind the Wenger...

 

Well maybe you just show her this thread and she sees those are recommendations by members and ask her what she thinks?
Also the mother of pearl version (which I think Hodinkee posted in their review) looks much more “feminine”.
You would have a hard time wearing it. But maybe she’s right and you should not set as a condition that you should be able to wear it?
what all guys advise who have successfully purchased watches for their wife, the right way to do it if you want her to wear it is just take her out shopping to choose for herself and then you won’t have to worry.

 

Speaking of Seiko, this is one that I've been considering for her:

https://www.jomashop.com/seiko-watch-snk807.html

 

The Longines 36mm is becoming a leader in this race. It would be smaller on me, but the dial would make it acceptable for a man.

I just found the Junghan's Master Driver that looks good, too.

 

Ding ding ding! This is correct! You could just bring her to some quality places and see if she likes anything or show her some of the threads. I can see if you want to surprise her and all that you wouldn’t do it that way, but if it is a surprise, I would advise making sure you save the receipts and ensure a return policy is in place.

 

I have one of those in black. Had it for 5 or 6 years. Decent lume and pretty bombproof. Possibly the best value in an automatic watch. Period.

 

Why not a new Hamilton khaki navy? They have small sizes.

https://www.hamiltonwatch.com/en-int/h78215553-khaki-navy-pioneer-auto.html

 

I'm currently wearing the 40mm version of the Orgs Divers Sixty-Five on my extremely manly wrist (*cough*) and it comes in a 36mm version too:



The one shown here is a bi-colur version with a bronze bezel, comes with different (funky!) numerals and/or all-steel case too.

I highly recommend it

 

Check this out! Seiko 5 Sports, day date made in Japan. I purchased this from Sky Watches, $119.00 plus $5.00 shipping about 8 mos ago. It's light, comfy and has a green dial with army green strap.