# When your gf/wife is hard to please.. The search is long/hard!



## j0oftheworld (Sep 1, 2018)

My gf is a tiny Colombian girl who when I met her she had a few "fashion" watches mostly gold some of which weren't even running. 
Being together over 5yrs she's not really become interested in watches but is a strong supporter in my hobbies. 
She even got me my SKX007 for Christmas! #keeper

Well, I few years ago I had bought her some bags/gear from Jomashop and just flipped through ladies watch selection. 
Score! Silver, MOP w. diamond bezel Bulova. Great little watch that fits her tiny wrists and got her out of the gold-only mode.

I've always been kinda bummed that her watches were only used when she's getting dressed up. 
So began the search.. Daily watch.. hahahahahaha... rrrrright...

Over the past year I've sent her screenshots from Instagram, websites, ran around town to jewelers. 
She's got self proclaimed "expensive tastes" so of course the Rolex meteorite dial womens datejust among others were her "faves". 
One theme that has re-emerged over and over was an "all black" watch. Leaving mostly more cheesy fashion watches.

Enter Ashford Labor Day Sale: Rado True Specchio Womens R27084152:
Store floor model that's completely new w. all the extras. 
I'm really hoping she loves, wears it and fuels the fire to join the madness! 

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Anyone else put in some serious work spreading the WIS love @ home!? 
What kind of watches are you ladies out there rocking? Or, what have you gents purchase for your better half that have scored big?

:-!


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## KCZ (Feb 25, 2012)

j0oftheworld said:


> What kind of watches are you ladies out there rocking?


https://www.watchuseek.com/f469/womw-ladies-edition-677856.html


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## BillSWPA (Feb 19, 2015)

My wife's criteria:

1) Small and feminine.
2) Conservative, traditional styling.
3) Arabic numerals for easy readability. Roman numerals would also likely work, but unnumbered markers are less preferred.
4) Diamonds are a plus.
5) Although she wore leather bands before we met, she has come to see the advantages of bracelets.
6) Quartz movement. She understands two things about automatic movements: they are less accurate and more expensive to service.

My criteria (not necessarily important to her):

1) Water resistance, with a strong preference for a screw-down crown.
2) Lume.
3) Date.
4) Second hand (less critical).

My last purchase for her was either this or something very similar to it which was on clearance from Princeton Watches at the time (Valentine's Day 2010). I bought the last one they had in stock at a really good price.

https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-Womens...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0031U3XD2

This watch checked all of the boxes except for the screw-down crown, so I am being careful to have the seals replaced about every 5 years. She loves the two tone, and I have not seen any noticable wear on the gold colored portions in several years.

When our 15th anniversary was coming up recently, I started looking for a way to upgrade her watch. After looking at what I estimate to be several hundred options, I ultimately realized that given her criteria, an upgrade would be almost impossible.

The big limiting factor is the combination of small and feminine with Arabic numerals (or something other than simply markers). That combination is almost impossible to find. Getting the 3 (date window), 6, 9, and 12 was the best I could do. A few watches have just 6 and 12, and most have nothing other than markers for 1-11.

When I did find something that checked most of the boxes, I found that I could easily think of a reason why she would like it less than what she already had. It might have a screw down crown, but would not have diamonds when hers does. it might have diamonds, but have only hour markers and be water resistant to only 50m as opposed to her current 100m. it might cost a lot more, but contain a quartz movement with no greater accuracy than the one in her present watch (small and high accuracy quartz do not seem to go together), and for the extra money the only upgrade might be the name on the dial (which she would be unlikely to recogzine). It might have a mechanical movement which she might not be thrilled with. I did come across some really, really attractive options, but was questioning whether they would be right for her.

After realizing that my chances of screwing up the purchase were higher than my chances of getting it right, I decided against surprise and talked to her about what she might want. Her answer: she was happy with what she had, and I should start looking at flowers. Happy with what we have is not a bad place to be.

I understood that it was a discontinued model when I bought it, but it appears from my link that more might be available? If so, I highly recommend it.


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## j0oftheworld (Sep 1, 2018)

Some serious deja vu reading your post! :-d Sounds like we should send them watch shopping together. 
Her no-go's were numbered bezels. Said they look "manly" / "sporty", hence the fancy taste. I was hoping she would like something along the <30mm Tag F1 ladies, etc.
She also loves roman dials and really liked the Michelle line even with square dial at our local jeweler. Seems like finding a good price on the Michelle's is next to impossible. 
Another issue was once we started pushing +30mm she felt they were too large.

That Seiko is great! Unique bracelet and a real high-end look to the case/dial.

Here's a web pic of her Bulova:










Hoping she loves the Rado enough to wear it consistently.


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## BillSWPA (Feb 19, 2015)

j0oftheworld said:


> Some serious deja vu reading your post! :-d Sounds like we should send them watch shopping together.
> Her no-go's were numbered bezels. Said they look "manly" / "sporty", hence the fancy taste. I was hoping she would like something along the <30mm Tag F1 ladies, etc.
> She also loves roman dials and really liked the Michelle line even with square dial at our local jeweler. Seems like finding a good price on the Michelle's is next to impossible.
> Another issue was once we started pushing +30mm she felt they were too large.
> ...


That is a nice looking Bulova as well as nice looking Rado. I came very close to getting my wife a Rado, but the whole number/marker issue made me question whether she would like it. Rado can also be a little non-traditional, which made surprising my wife more risky. I am intrigued by their heavy use of ceramic.

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## Ravenne (Jun 6, 2016)

Love that Rado! Hope she likes/liked it!

The roles are reversed in this house. I'm the watch lover and my husband up to now has shown zero interest in watches (he always said he doesn't need one because he has his phone to tell the time. I told him he's missing the point). He recently ordered the new Apple watch, so we'll see how that goes. LOL! But I'd love to be able to shop for men's watches for him! Maybe one day.

I have a handful of watches, some get more wrist time than others. But here's my "checklist."

- Decent water resistance (enough that I don't stress about washing dishes or getting rained on)
- Some sort of "timer" function. I use that to time my lunches/breaks at work, and any watch that doesn't have that ends up as weekend wear only, and that makes me sad.
- Date, because I rarely know what day it is, and I need help there.
- Strong preference for roman numerals or indices. I'll take arabic numbers if it's a mix with indices, though.
- Slight preference for bracelets, but only because my wrists are so tiny that leather bands are often still too big for me on the smallest hole, and I have to punch a new one.
- Sentimental value (aka, dad bought it for me)
- Bonus points if it's got rose gold (preferably not on the case/bracelet, just under the crystal where it can't rub away

And my little watch family:








My current favorite (and newest) is the Tissot PRC 200. It checks almost all of the boxes except for sentimental value. And the leather band actually fits with the extra bulk from the deployant clasp. Score!

Ignore the Coach. That was a "Hey you like watches, so here's a watch I found." Not sure if I like it enough to keep though.


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## j0oftheworld (Sep 1, 2018)

Great collection! My GF actually really liked the Tissot when I sent it to her but it wasn't a "love it" so I didn't want to splurge on something that gets dusty. 
She also liked the Tissot classic w. roman numerals but after going to the Rolex dealer the "fluted" bezel became a "love it" item for the dress watches. 
That baby-g is cool.. and gotta love the Steinhart sub!! I've got a Steinhart 44mm Ti pilot watch.


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## Ravenne (Jun 6, 2016)

Thanks! The diver is actually a Victorinox Maverick. I like Steinharts, but they’re still too big for me. This is the smallest diver I could find (34mm) and I was thrilled to find a diver that didn’t look like a stack of dinner plates on me. 

Did you show her a video of the PRC 200? Photos don’t do that watch justice. The face is that shimmery white, and I was blown away by how beautiful it is when I saw it in person for the first time. It’s not a photogenic watch though. 

If she likes detailing on bezels, Tissot makes something similar to my little Carson (top left) but with extra bezel details. The Bridgeport. I almost went with that one, but I just preferred the black hands and crown on the Carson. I get preferring the Datejust’s fluted bezel though. It’s awfully pretty. 


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## KCZ (Feb 25, 2012)

Here's that Victorinox with the dark green dial. Given its absence of a screw down crown, I'd be careful about getting it wet even with the 100m water resistance.


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## j0oftheworld (Sep 1, 2018)

If she takes to the Rado the Tissot Bridgeport / Carson are on the list!  
Our local jeweler is a Tissot dealer so I'll have to "be curious" oneday we're in and have them pull it from the case. 
Her/My son's nickname for me is double-o-dad.. I'm pretty good at this type of stuff. hahaha


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## KCZ (Feb 25, 2012)

Unless you're looking for a very sporty watch like a diver, Tissot has a good variety of nice models.


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## Ravenne (Jun 6, 2016)

KCZ said:


> Here's that Victorinox with the dark green dial. Given its absence of a screw down crown, I'd be careful about getting it wet even with the 100m water resistance.
> 
> View attachment 13495145


Agreed. It's definitely not a functional dive watch. But I figure as long as you aren't swimming with it or dunking your hands up to the elbows, it'll be alright. I would've loved a screw down crown, but I wasn't exactly spoiled for choice for decent mid size divers in my price range. Lol! It was basically either this or the SKX013. And I just don't like that one as much as the Maverick visually.

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## BillSWPA (Feb 19, 2015)

One of my biggest complaints by far with the watches typically designed for ladies is the lack of a screw down crown.

Water resistance is important to me. Not only do my kids enjoy swimming, but getting wet is part of being a parent. Additionally, watches get wet in other ways. I might sweat all over it during my morning workout, and then rinse it off in the sink.

Every single watch I have ever owned without a screw down crown has ultimately had water get in. Most were inexpensive manually wound watches which often failed the first time I took them swimming. One fashion watch with a 50m rating, and a Victorinox with a 100m rating were able to go 5-6 years before failing.

My wife's current watch is rated to 100m but does not have a screw down crown. I have been careful to replace the seals every 5 years. So far, so good, but it leaves me uncomfortable.

I have yet to have a watch fail to keep water out with a screw down crown, and many of them have had their original seals for a long time.


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## Ravenne (Jun 6, 2016)

Yeah, I do really wish screw down crowns were easier to find in womens' watches. Only my PRC200 has a screw down crown, and my Baby-G has no crown to speak of, so I expect its 100m rating is fairly reliable. I haven't had any issues so far with my other watches. I've had the Carson and Maverick for a couple years now, the two Fossils for over a decade. And that little silver one got worn hard for several years. It was the first watch I ever wore consistently and I was not gentle with it. Little thing just keeps on going...

I'm not very adventurous or athletic, so I don't often encounter situations where my watch is likely to get wet. No kids either. My two Fossils are the most susceptible, I expect, but they don't get worn often nowadays. So far so good. Hope this post didn't just jinx it.


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## KCZ (Feb 25, 2012)

Ravenne said:


> Agreed. It's definitely not a functional dive watch. But I figure as long as you aren't swimming with it or dunking your hands up to the elbows, it'll be alright. I would've loved a screw down crown, but I wasn't exactly spoiled for choice for decent mid size divers in my price range. Lol! It was basically either this or the SKX013. And I just don't like that one as much as the Maverick visually.


Have you seen this? Similar to the Maverick in size, price, etc, but with a screw down crown, 200m water resistance, and nicer bracelet.








https://www.deepbluewatches.com/lasprbl1.html


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## Ravenne (Jun 6, 2016)

I don't think I ever ran across that one when I was hunting. It's really nice! It does have the same hour markers as the SKX013 which is the main reason I chose the Maverick over it. I can't help but see little corndogs! LOL! That being said, I do find the Sea Princess much more appealing than the SKX, more feminine, so I may get that one of these days. For now I'm happy with the Maverick, but if anything ever happens to it water-wise, I'll definitely consider getting that instead. I keep a running wishlist on my phone of potential watches, and this just got added to it. Thanks!


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## BillSWPA (Feb 19, 2015)

I have had two different G-Shocks and 1 other Casio digital. None of them ever failed to be waterproof, and one of the G-Shocks went on a dive.

The Casios typically lasted through about 1 1/2 batteries and 2 resin bands. Both G-Shocks died when my attempt to install a 3rd resin band destroyed the deteriorated polymer casing, after about 10 years of use.



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## De Wolfe (Jul 23, 2015)

One thing I have learnt from experience is never guess what watch (or anything pricy) she will like! Choose a bunch of option and take her to try them in person and see what she likes.


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## KCZ (Feb 25, 2012)

Ravenne said:


> I don't think I ever ran across that one when I was hunting. It's really nice! It does have the same hour markers as the SKX013 which is the main reason I chose the Maverick over it. I can't help but see little corndogs! LOL! That being said, I do find the Sea Princess much more appealing than the SKX, more feminine, so I may get that one of these days. For now I'm happy with the Maverick, but if anything ever happens to it water-wise, I'll definitely consider getting that instead. I keep a running wishlist on my phone of potential watches, and this just got added to it. Thanks!


Dang it! Now I'm going to be seeing corndogs whenever I look at mine. :-d


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## Londongirl (Sep 30, 2018)

Never been a fan of diamonds. I'd always much rather have the date function, but that seems to be a lower priority in the design ethos of women's watches.


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## j0oftheworld (Sep 1, 2018)

Finally snapped a pic of my gf's actual watch:


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