The dad who would wear a proper watch but has never owned one. Thirty metres is splash resistance rather than swimming, so not the lap swimmer.
What it is
A Seiko 5 Sports automatic with a blue dial on a stainless steel bracelet, 30m water resistance, winding from the movement of the wrist with no battery. New with box, from a high-volume Australian seller.
Why we picked it
This is the cheapest way into a real mechanical watch, and the Seiko 5 has been that answer since the 1960s. No battery to replace, a see-through back on most of the range so the movement is visible, and a design that has barely needed changing. For a dad whose only watch is on his phone, the appeal is that this one is a machine rather than a screen, and it will still run in thirty years if it is serviced.
