Last week’s watch and watch accessories gift ideas had a $500 USD budget. This week, MotoringExposure cranks it up to $2500 USD, and we guess you should owe your family and loved ones who are buying you these gifts big time.
This week, we only stick to watches. We have picked five watches up to $2500 USD for you to pick as a holiday gift. We, of course, don’t use retail prices here. You know how to get discounts (wink wink). For this article we used the Chrono24 marketplace as a reference for prices on watches.
We are including one vintage or pre-owned watch; just to be sure we have covered all possible scenarios. The vintage watch we selected is the Rolex Datejust, a classic beauty that we’ve spoken about a few times before here at MotoringExposure. A guy who calls himself a watch collector should definitely have one of these ‘mother of all modern wrist watches’ in his collection. We selected a reference 1603, which means this is a Datejust with ‘pie-pan’ dial, stick markers, plexi crystal, engine-turned bezel and a jubilee bracelet. Due to its size of only 36 millimeter, this would also be a perfect gift for a woman.
Our second watch gift suggestion is a brand new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph, a watch that is very popular in the UK, Australia and, of course, the USA. It is one of the most popular TAG Heuer models, together with their classics (e.g. Monaco). This TAG Heuer ref. CV2010.BA0786 (or Carrera Chronograph) is a classic chronograph with a very modern touch. It measures 41 millimeters in diameter but we are sure most men can handle this size without a problem. Although TAG Heuer carries in-house (caliber 1887) movements in some of their Carrera models, this one has the caliber 16 ticking inside. This movement is based on the famous and solid ETA/Valjoux 7750 that we’ve seen in numerous other watches by a lot of brands.
MotoringExposure chooses a rather unknown brand as an option as well. We are talking Mühle Glashütte here with their Lufthansa watch, which is 100 percent functional, like Germans love. From the famous watch maker town in the east part of Germany, Glashütte, Mühle is probably one of the manufacturers over there that get’s the least attention across the German border. With this 42mm Lufthansa timepiece, Mühle offers a no-nonsense functional timepiece with hours, minutes, seconds and a date feature. The Lufthansa is a lightweight watch despite the stainless steel case (instead of titanium) that comes with the well-known ETA2824-1 movement.
Another big brand label comes to mind – the Breitling Super Ocean in stainless steel. Breitling is in the top three of chronometer certified watches (COSC), where Rolex is number one and Omega is number two. Breitling is ranked third and this Super Ocean also has a chronometer certified ETA movement ticking inside. The Breitling Super Ocean diver’s watch features a uni-directional bezel, sapphire crystal, and a screw-in case back to guarantee the 1500 meters of water resistance. The watch comes with a rubber strap to keep the watch lightweight and easy to use under water. The list price is a bit higher, but you should be able to find one of these watches under $2500 USD.
Our fifth and last under $2500 USD watch suggestion may sound a bit odd, but the ‘regulars’ are something you’d be able to find out yourself quite. We picked the commonly unknown Giuliano Mazzuoli Manometro watch for you. The design is based on a – yes – manometer. This instrument measures pressure and Giuliano Mazzuoli thought it would be interesting to create a watch with the same design. The Manometra has a large 45mm diameter case with an integrated black rubber strap. The dial is very sober in black and white, but the red second hand and red printed ‘12’ bring it to life. Like the Mühle, this watch has an ETA caliber 2824 movement. The [screw-down] winding crown is located at 10 o’clock. A perfect location for a watch as it will not bother you at all.
What sub-$2500 USD watch is on your Holiday wish list? Leave a comment and let us know!
