How about the oakley judge? http://professionalwatches.com/oakley_judge__-thumb-450x343.jpg Might be a bit too funky for your brother, but it certainly has the wow factor
Recently ordered (but not yet received... only a few more days to wait!) a Tissot T-Touch Titanium Expert with a Ti strap as well as body... easily the best watch for £500 or thereabouts atm, and take that from a watch lover and practically collector now... I chose the Ttouch for my latest purchase just because I love how it looks and functions, and because its so SO light! See it here
Thanks for all the comments! Have looked through those watches, and as someone stated, they just arn't "bling" enough, nice names and respectable brands and all that, but they arn't lookers if you know what I mean. It does indeed, will pass it on to him anyway!
Ok just a thought. Now what are the chances of getting something similar to a Rolex for £500? What I mean by this, Rolexs normally have a big face, and look quite funky yet very smart. Is there any other makes that do the same thing?
Slim to nil for an actual Rolex I would say. They are generally seen as overpriced for the money anyway, basically Rolex are to watches what Bose are to audio equiptment (no offence intended if you are a Rolex fan, each to their own) There are a large number of submariner based watches there if its just the look you are after. A mentionable one is the Defaubre Ocean series, which is available in various sizes and colors. What is your brother actually looking from this watch? Is it just something to basically show off with a flashy name? I forgot to mention earlier, if I was spending £500 I would probably go for a Hamilton, and as mentioned earlier Stowa have some nice pieces in that price range.
For 500, skip the quartzes, please. I somehow feel they lack that 'class' that goes with the automatics.
The Rolex look is pretty common have a peek through the pics in the watch thread - http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=155270 or even browse some local jewellery shops A real Rolex for £500 isn't going to happen, Tudor is quite a bit cheaper but will still set him back a couple grand at least. There's always replicas, but even the better ones are pretty easily spotted by a slightly trained eye.
I forgot try http://www.bulova.ch aswell. I have a soft spot for them as they invented the accutron. The current range are all about showing off and being flash tbh.
thanks for the argos jab - hilarious! yes i have looked at the site, i actually specifically did so after first looking at this thread. I still think they are ugly. Just overly chunky and nothing subtle about them at all.
I have a weak spot for Citizen's eco drive range as well... some of the mens range are stunning watches that definately have the wow factor
Agreed, I have two Citizen Eco Drives - one smarter one for work and one simpler one for outdoorsy stuff. They're great - no batteries, no winding just feed them a little sun now and then and they're happy. They have a great range as well, something for everyone.
That would be my usual recommendation, but it seems the guy is looking for something that looks flashy and has a big name, rather than have a nice auto that requires more care and attention. Autos and mechanicals are for those that respect the craftsmanship put into watches, which (no offence) doesnt seem to be the case here. In my view from reading what the OP has said, what is required here is as big a name as possible for £500, hence my original recommendation of a quartz Tag or Omega, which gives the optimal bang per buck for the users requirements.
Indeed thats the best watch a man could ever own. When you break/scratch the good one, it's back to the trusty old casio. Marvellous!
Not really, he doesn't really care about names, it just needs to look flashy and smart. Been looking at Christopher Ward and that website seems to have reasonable priced watches!
Personally I'd have a look at Timefactors Well made, Swiss movements. Eddie is a nice guy as well. Cheers, Smashie (watch whore)
I'm ambivalent towards mega-expensive watches, mainly because the sentence means nothing to me, and I've got a nasty feeling it means nothing to a lot of the wealthy businessmen who buy them either :-/ If he actually knows about watches and has a passion for them then your brother's spending his money well, but the fact that you're seeking out the arbitrarily 'best' watch for that price on his behalf suggests to me he just wants a clockwork ego massage, which I wouldn't pay £500 for, personally.
Nothing good about Ronda movements, just a cheap swiss movement. ETA is where it is at. Edit: Spoke too soon. I was only looking at one model, he uses a real variety of movements. Some pretty good.
Not too bothered about names, but this series by Timex is real nice imo. http://www.sunnywatches.com/watches/more-timex-tx.html Also, very good review + comments below it. http://www.crunchgear.com/2007/04/23/timex-tx-730-hands-on/
