Best Gifts for Watch Lovers: What to buy in 2022
If you ended up reading this article, chances are you’re looking to buy a gift for watch lovers in your life. Your closeness and relationship with that individual is the major factor driving your decision on a particular gift and a price range.
Buying a present for people in our lives can become a demanding and even frustrating experience. Many factors should be taken into account, and many customs should be respected. Even after fulfilling all of these conditions, there is a chance that the watch lover won’t be happy with our gift, or that they’ll even end up disappointed.
That is just one of the reasons why, for example, in my circle of friends, we have developed a tactic that helps us avoid that from happening. In the month approaching our birthdays, or holidays, we ask the celebrant what they want or need, and buy accordingly.
It was a bit awkward at first, and it does remove the element of (sometimes unpleasant) surprise, but we found it works best for us. Sometimes we buy the gift(s) as a group, and sometimes we do it individually, but the recipients are mostly happy with what they get, even though they know in advance what that is.
I know this method is not suitable for everyone and every type of occasion. I hope, therefore, that I will be able to help guide you somewhat in your journey of buying a perfect gift for a certain watch lover in your life.
Buying gifts for people with deep interests and specific hobbies, like watch lovers and collectors, can be even more demanding than usual. People with such interests and hobbies are usually very invested in them and can be extremely picky about products, brands, and types of products they use. On top of that, they might already have everything they need, and getting them even more of those things might be unnecessary.
On the other hand, there are always consumable products that you can buy with less chance of making a mistake, and that the person always needs or needs to change often. Also, there is a great chance that the person will appreciate the thought and effort behind the gift more than the gift itself, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
When it comes to gifts for watch lovers, it can be hard to decide on what to buy for them. Finding a suitable watch can be a hard task, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t share the same interest.
In that case, it is a better idea to buy some sort of additional equipment or symbolic gifts that the recipient will appreciate despite your unfamiliarity with their interest in watches. I hope that you will find the best gifts or inspiration in this blog post. So, let’s get started.
Contents
Watch cleaning kits and products
Maintaining and cleaning your watches is a must for every watch owner. Watch lovers and watch enthusiasts are probably even more meticulous in taking care of their watches than most people. That’s why buying cleaning kits and equipment is one of the great gift ideas. Taking good care of your watch will increase its lifespan, and it will keep it looking great.
There are plenty of options available on Amazon. You can even buy different products – such as cleansers, cloths, wipes, or brushes – separately and make your own gift set. There are ultrasonic jewelry cleaners as well, but you should be careful for they should not be used on watches that aren’t waterproof.
You can also find some more premium cleaning kits on specialized websites like Watch It Shine, Premium Detail, or Wrist clean.
Watch Repair Kits
If your watch-loving friend, or family member, likes to repair and tinker with their watches, purchasing a watch repair kit is another great and very affordable idea.
For less than $20, you can find complete sets of tools the watch enthusiast can use to repair or study their watches or the mechanics behind them. Most of these types of watch tools come with everything that a watch guy might need in cases of some sort of breakage that they might be able to fix.
Watch Pouch
If your friend is not only a watch lover but a travel lover as well, they will require a small, convenient, and useful product, like a watch pouch, where they can safely store their beloved watch collection when traveling.
There are different kinds and looks of these pouches to choose from. You just have to take into account what your friend is looking for, as well as their overall style. Do they like leather? Or do they prefer velvet? Maybe they are a sporty person who prefers nylon over anything else?
Are they going to use it only for one watch, or do they want to store multiple watches to wear for different occasions while away?
When you answer these questions, you can start shopping for the perfect thing.
Watch Rolls
Watch Rolls are another great gift idea for travel lovers who are also watch enthusiasts. Unlike pouches, they are much better cases for watches made from scratch-prone materials. For example, they are much better for watches with metal bracelets.
Watch rolls are usually made from softer, velvety materials in order to safely store watches that are prone to scratches and other similar forms of damage. There is a variety of rolls in every price range online, so there should be no problem in finding something that will not only suit your friend’s needs and style but your pocket as well. Therefore, a watch roll may be a great gift for your watch-loving friend.
Watch Organizers
While we’re on the subject of storage, watch organizers are a perfect gift idea. There are many different options and things to consider. Maybe the person is an avid watch collector. Then they will need a bigger organizer to showcase their amazing watch collection.
Or maybe they’re just discovering their love for watches and need something smaller for their first purchases.
Whatever the case, you can find great organizers online that your friend will use to proudly store and show off their collections.
Many of these organizers have additional compartments to store other jewelry, sunglasses, and other smaller valuables. Most of them are also made of soft materials that will prevent scratches and damage, which is especially important for precious watches with metal bracelets.
Watch Stands
What’s wrong with a bit of showing off? Collecting watches can be a pretty expensive hobby, so why not flaunt a bit with what we bought with our hard-earned money?
And that’s what a beautiful and quality-made watch stand will do best. For example, this beautiful handmade watch stand seems like a perfect thing to boast a newly bought watch.
Not only are they perfect for this more superficial purpose, but they are great as storage spaces as well. Looking stylish and having practical use? Sounds like a great deal.
You can choose from many various options, depending on how many watches you want to store, which materials you prefer, and complementing the surrounding space as well.
Watch Winders
Watches with automatic movement are wound by the movement of the hand while the person is wearing it. So, in cases where an automatic watch is not going to be worn for a longer time, it is not bad to consider getting a watch winder.
Watch winders are machines used to keep our watches wound when we’re not wearing them. Simulating movement in different directions, these devices prove themselves as pretty convenient.
There are a couple of things to consider before buying a watch winder, especially if we’re buying them as a present for someone else. First of all, we should only use them on automatic watches. Technically speaking, they won’t damage other types of watches, but they won’t have any purpose other than storage in that case.
Therefore, if you don’t already know, you should find out what kind of watches the person you’re buying a gift for wears.
It’s also important to consider the direction of rotation of the watch winder as they can sometimes be wound only when rotating clockwise, or counterclockwise. In that case, it may be best to buy a watch winder that has both options.
Similar to the watch organizers, there are several options to choose from, considering the number of automatic watches a person has and wants to have wound. There are smaller watch winders for just one or two watches, as well as huge boxes with up to eight spots.
Watch straps and watch bands
Constantly wearing the watch will lead to damage to the watch strap. Of course, some materials are more durable and robust than others, but all will ultimately fall victim to the usual wear and tear.
Fortunately, many watch brands sell matching watch straps that complement their watch collections. So, when you’re buying a watch strap for someone, you should first consider the watch brand they’re wearing and browse official webshops to find something suitable.
Finding a suitable strap on the official brand website is the best route because they usually make the most fitting straps for their watch collections.
However, if that is not an option for you, there are also specialized websites that either make or sell watch straps suitable for a number of different brands, such as StrapsCo, Watch Gecko, Barton or Horus.
When you’re buying a strap, you should do the same thing as if you are buying a watch. You should consider the material of the strap, as well as your friend’s style and overall appearance. The strap should match their looks and fashion sense.
Quality materials are also an essential factor when buying a strap. You should consider your friend’s hobbies, occasions they might wear a watch to, conditions which the watch will face.
If your friend will wear their watch to festive or gala events, genuine leather or metal straps are a better choice. On the other hand, if they are a sporty person or someone with more extreme hobbies, NATO straps or rubber bands might be a better option.
Books
If your friend is a bookworm in addition to being a watch enthusiast, then a book is always a great gift idea. There are many classic horological titles that they will surely enjoy reading. Here are some examples:
A Man & His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories from the Men Who Wore Them – this book, written by Matt Hranek, is one of the most recommended titles in the horological community. The book is not about watches per se, but about famous figures from different milieus and the stories, their timepieces witnessed on their hands. It’s a book about historical events that offer another, more meaningful dimension to our beloved wristwatches.
The Watch Book—written by Gisbert Brunner. This title is a chronicle of the best and most prestigious wristwatch brands, the most famous watches they made since they were first founded, it’s the story of their mutual competitiveness and the resulting innovations. It’s a great choice for watch lovers and collectors of luxurious watch brands.
Retro Watches: The Modern Collectors’ Guide—another great book for a watch enthusiast interested in the history of watches’ designs, written by Josh Sims and Mitch Greenblat. This book is more suitable for someone interested in vintage and not so well known watch models.
The Wristwatch Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Mechanical Wristwatches—written by Ryan Schmidt. Just as the title says, this book is a great guide to understanding mechanical watches. He dedicated the first part of the book to the mechanical movement itself, while the second part talks more about new complications in modern wristwatches. After reading such an interesting and informative book, your friend will surely become a walking guide for mechanical watches themselves. This book is great for watch enthusiasts, whether they are just starting their horological journey, or are well deep in.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are so many great gifts for watch lovers, even if you’re not going to buy them a new watch. Buying a quality watch case, stylish watch winder, straps or a repair kit that they can make use of is a great gift that they will definitely appreciate. There are many watch accessories on the market, and make sure you pick the right one for your watch-enthusiast friend.
We certainly know that feeling anxious excitement when we give someone a present and wait for their reaction. That feeling rings especially true when the person in question is someone close to us, and someone who has an interest that they are deeply involved in.
Successfully finding a gift for such a special person always results in a strong feeling of happiness, pride, and even accomplishment. And watch lovers are no exception. Hopefully, this guide will lead you to such emotions, and make your watch lover friend happy with what they got. Good luck!
Ruzica is an aspiring content writer who can cover various topics. Graduated with a degree in Political Science and has a talent for the written word. Also interested in digital marketing.
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