Pilot-style watch recommendations for my 15 year old?

[maunahaole]

A black monster is daily wear. It is the columbus max fork crown of watches.

[VTMike]

Found something awesome that I'm super-excited about.
Thanks, Dustin!

[Mabouya]

Found something awesome that I'm super-excited about.

And you're not going to tell us what it is? ;)

(Despite my comments about accuracy I've been thinking of going down this route also, so I'm always interested in what's out there.)

[Matthew Strongin]

And you're not going to tell us what it is? ;)

(Despite my comments about accuracy I've been thinking of going down this route also, so I'm always interested in what's out there.)

You should totally do it. It'll be a couple months before you're a minute late anywhere. And if you're lucky, you may even be a minute early. I wish the digital clock in my truck was as accurate as my watch. It seems to gain about 2-3 minutes a month.

Another vote for VTMike spilling the beans!

[VTMike]

Dustin offered me his Hamilton Officer at a great price.
Buying someone through this thread/forum seemed like a no-brainer given the details.

Should be in VT about the same time we return from the Netherlands. Can't wait (though the BOSS says we should wait until Christmas to give it to him...).

[Matthew Strongin]

Dustin offered me his Hamilton Officer at a great price.
Buying someone through this thread/forum seemed like a no-brainer given the details.

Should be in VT about the same time we return from the Netherlands. Can't wait (though the BOSS says we should wait until Christmas to give it to him...).

That should fit the bill perfectly. Nice!

[VTMike]

That should fit the bill perfectly. Nice!

BEYOND perfectly.
15 years old and on his third trip to Europe. Spending 3 weeks in the Netherlands and Belgium.
2 years ago it was a month in Brittany and a week in Paris.
2 years before that it was traveling with me as I attended Math conferences in Metz, France and Austria. He and his mom spent all of their time being tourists.
And these are only his trips to Europe.

Now he'll be sporting a Hamilton Officer? Geesh!
At least he has the awareness to look at me and my wife and ask "what gaps will I have by growing up in a better financial situation than you and Mom?" (the two of us grew up in very blue-collar/modest families). Believe it or not, he does have a good sense of money/value, but he's still a lucky little #$&*.

[Mabouya]

That's a good-looking watch - if he takes care of it, it should serve him well.

[maunahaole]

Trips to europe? Nice watches?

I need to angle to get adopted by VTMike. I'm sure he wants a middle aged man with a voracious appetite for food and beer around the house.

[houston]

Perfect watch for the boy. A watch like that will look good on any kind of strap. In my opinion, the best bang for the buck is the Hirsch Liberty. I actually have a fetish. I own several and two in the same color. Imagine the watch fitted with the light brown strap below(center). Ohhhh Billy!liberty.jpg

[VTMike]

I was ogling some nice leather straps. Connected with a guy that makes them...pretty darn nice.
Might have to get him one of those (and maybe one or two for me, too).

[dashDustin]

Straps are dangerous...to the wallet

[Mabouya]

Straps are dangerous...to the wallet

Not NATO straps: $15 at Leather, Nato, Nylon Watch Straps - Crown and Buckle

[Jason Musgrave]

Long-live the NATO strap!!!

[Clyde]

Seiko Orange Monster (The Seiko Orange Monster Review >> WristWatchReview.com). IMO a better quality watch than the others mentioned in this thread. It's certainly a watch he can grow with, and carry into adulthood.

I ended up buying this watch and am rather unthrilled with it. I sent it back one to make certain of it's calibration for self-winding, and now it's returned to me "repaired". I am going in another direction so $150 will get this baby to your door. It is still in the box from Watchsavings.com, where I purchased it. It's nice, and as described by the article that convinced me to buy it; it's just not for me.

[s_curran]

Straps are dangerous...to the wallet

Make your own, find a place that suplies leather, you need very little tools to make a nato style band. I've made a few. Mostly for cheap Timex weekenders, but Ive made one or two for friends with nice watches as well. You can experiment a bit with what you like for the stitches and leather type.

[Bruce Day]

The Hamilton Officer is a great decision. Has the Swiss ETA movement and runs and runs, and can be repaired by any modestly skilled watch repairer. I still have my USAF Issue watch, basically a Hamilton Officer , after 40 years and no maintenance other than a couple oilings. He can change bands and have different appearing watches as his tastes change.

My parents bought a basic, hand wound Girard-Perregaux at the base exchange at Ramstein AFB Germany. A birthday present for me in 1958, it still runs well.

It sounds like you have a well grounded teenager. Congratulations. That doesn't happen by circumstance.

[VTMike]

This purchase has actually been a huge success.
I/we felt like we were spoiling him, to some extent, but also teaching him to buy quality once rather and treat it well.
He owns this piece with incredible pride. He's supremely careful with it and it really did make him walk a little taller/prouder. It also bolstered his overall taste/fashion (he's constantly dressing up with button downs and half-zip sweaters and scarfs and the whole nine-yards).
For my wife and I, we love that we gave him something to acknowledge his maturation that, if maintained, can last him a long, long time.

[maunahaole]

This purchase has actually been a huge success.
I/we felt like we were spoiling him, to some extent, but also teaching him to buy quality once rather and treat it well.
He owns this piece with incredible pride. He's supremely careful with it and it really did make him walk a little taller/prouder. It also bolstered his overall taste/fashion (he's constantly dressing up with button downs and half-zip sweaters and scarfs and the whole nine-yards).
For my wife and I, we love that we gave him something to acknowledge his maturation that, if maintained, can last him a long, long time.

Get him to straighten Chase's act out.

[VTMike]

Get him to straighten Chase's act out.

You mean it's bad that I've been having read all of Chase's posts for guidance?
Uh-oh!
Maybe any good attribute have happened by accident.