bertram31.com

The wife wants a casual watch.
The seiko she has had has been in and out of the shop too many times.

I don't wear a watch and thus don't know anything about watches.

Budget is 200 to 400 bucks. Don't want anything jewel encrusted or flashy.

Looking for a good everyday watch, or at least she is.

Thanks for your help.

Harv probably knows a corner in Brooklin that you can get a 2000.00 rolex for 50.00. That would be in your budget. You could send the balance to me in cool t-shirts

Since its a gift I assume in should be NIB (new-in-box). Could be a quartz (battery) or automatic (self-winding) movement I suppose. $200-400 is a little bit of a dead zone in the watch biz. Lots of choices above and below that range. Anyway, here's a few options:

Citizen Eco-Drive - Solar powered quartz movement, excellent quality, low price, low maintenance, lots of choices.

Oris - An excellent value in Swiss automatic watches. Pricing generally starts just past the range you described. This one caught my eye on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Oris-Big-Crown-Dive ... dZViewItem

Technomarine - Trendy fashion watches in a variety of styles, materials, colors and prices.

Invicta - You've seen them on QVC. Again, a variety of styles and prices. Many are "Swiss Made" though that doesn't always mean much. Build quality varies by model.

Hamilton - A well known name, reasonable pricing and quality, somewhat unimaginative styling.

Baume & Mercier -Consider stretching your budget by a couple hundred and looking at B&M. Top quality, beautiful styling and well known name. This option makes you a hero I think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BAUME-MERCIER-H ... dZViewItem

Maurice LaCroix - Almost forgot this one and its a great option. Priced right in your range. Great quality and looks, and an increasingly well known brand. I kind of like the Sphere as seen on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Maurice-Lacroix-Lad ... dZViewItem

Check 'em all out on ebay or the company websites. If she's liable to return or exchange it buy locally, otherwise consider saving by buying on-line or on ebay.

Bruce,

SteveZ is right on. I like the Citizen and my mom recently bought me an Invicta, and it is a nice watch.

Not much of a fan of the Rolex anymore, despite the supposed panache. The bezel on mine has fallen off countless times...'nuff said.

Good luck!

Dug

I have a Citizen Eco-drive that I love! All titanium and very light.

Dug, you must have gotten yours from the same corner Harv got me mine, cause I have the same problem

One more, Coach watches are nice looking, good quality and are a desirable brand. I just saw a bunch at BJ's for <$250.

timmy ,you with a rolex . you need to get married so that wifey can buy ya a real one regards neil

Why?? your cathy got a rich, single(dont really matter to me) good looking friend who's life she wants to ruin?
married is for quiters, like AA.

Steve,
Thanks for the suggestions, narrowed it down and saved me a bunch of time and probably a couple of lives.

And Timmy, your help was unvaluable as always.

Thanks all.

Bruce , you know I try to help anyway I can, being of limited ablities

Last year in St Thomas I bought my first watch in forty years. Citizens- $300, beautiful dependable. Those would probably be the only criterion women would use in making the selection themselves.