Help me find a wristwatch for my mom with very specific criteria.

December 6, 2012 9:36 AM

Do they make a pretty woman's analog watch that lights up, is easy to read and has both the day of the week AND the date on the face?

I'm trying to find the perfect watch for my mom for Christmas but am having trouble locating it...too many options and no site (even Amazon) lets me search easily. She's having trouble with her eyesight and memory so here are the requirements -
- It needs to be easy to read. This means numbers around the face (not just dots) and high contrast between the background color and the number color.
- It needs to have the day of the week and the date on the face
- It needs to light up (if possible) so she can read it in the dark
- It needs to be pretty. Gold or silver or fabric band...all are fine...it just needs to be something she could wear all the time...not some huge sport watch.
- Price range is anywhere from $50-150. Cheaper is better but I'd pay more for the perfect solution.
- I'd prefer it be analog but if someone could find me a digital watch that didn't look like she should be running a marathon or climbing a mountain...I'd definitely consider it.

I've always bought Timex watches for her but I can't find one that fits all of these criteria. Here is the closest Timex I've found but it doesn't show the day of the week and the contrast between the face and the numbers isn't great. This Pulsar comes close but doesn't light up.

Thanks!

posted by victoriab to Shopping (8 answers total)

This is the one I've got. I bought it when I hit about 40 and couldn't really see the numbers on the fancy watches I used to like. The numbers are clear and easy to see, and this latest version does have the date (but not the day) on it. The face lights up. It's also pretty inexpensive and I think the black leather band is good looking and goes with everything.
posted by la petite marie at 9:46 AM on December 6, 2012

I don't know if this counts as stylish, but here's a solid option from Seiko.

This only has the 12, 6, and 9, but otherwise might work.
posted by Flamingo at 10:00 AM on December 6, 2012

I bought this Timex T2J761 Easy Reader Brown Leather Strap Watch as a gift last year and the recipient loved it. It really is easy to read and the illumination was just right. She also loved the color and said it goes with everything.

(Edit: It shows the date, but not the actual day of the week. Sorry.)
posted by LuckySeven~ at 11:04 AM on December 6, 2012

What you want is a Timex Indiglo watch. Easy-read faces, lots of styles, and a night-light.
posted by essexjan at 12:49 PM on December 6, 2012

This may do the job, though technically it's a men's watch. It's hard to judge how outsized for a woman's wrist it is, though one of the Amazon images does show dimensions. Ditto this.
posted by badgermushroomSNAKE at 1:03 PM on December 6, 2012

This one?
posted by iviken at 3:20 PM on December 9, 2012

Also, this Swatch is easy to read, has date and weekday. The hands and the numbers on the dial glow in the dark.
posted by iviken at 3:37 PM on December 9, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks so much for all of your suggestions.

Requiring both the date & the day of the week on a smaller watch face really narrowed our options. We ended up going with this Seiko SXA126 which seemed to have it all. The dials are luminous which isn't as good as the Timex indiglo but will just have to do.

I checked out all of the Timex options in person at Target but the ones with both the date & day were all men's watches and just too big. I actually liked the Swatch option suggested by iviken but my dad wanted it to look more like jewelry and less utilitarian, so the gold bracelet style won out.

Thanks again for your input.
posted by victoriab at 1:24 PM on December 17, 2012