Nice, professional looking women's watch with a stopwatch?

November 6, 2014 7:39 AM

I'd like a watch that I can wear every day to work that looks nice and professional, but it's important to me that I be able to time things. All the watches I find with stopwatches look crummy so I just end up getting $15 digital watches from Target which are fine but I should probably upgrade. I don't want to spend ten thousand dollars or anything. What are my best options?

In terms of taste, my favorite non-digital watch (that I like a lot but never wear because it doesn't have a stopwatch on it) is a beautiful Tintin watch with a red leather band that I got for Christmas a few years ago. I prefer leather bands to metal (although right now I just have crummy plastic) and I don't want anything TOO small or TOO big. I like silver more than gold. Water resistant would be awesome just because it helps me relax about my watch in the rain even though I always take off my watch to swim or shower. Thank you for your suggestions!

posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (16 answers total)

Do you want analog or digital?

Simple or blingy? You'll find results if you search for "ladies chronograph".

I like skagen.
posted by bensherman at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2014

Response by poster: I like analog watches aesthetically but I really prefer digital for the stopwatch so I assume the whole watch needs to be digital although I'd be totally good with an analog watch that had a digital stopwatch.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:51 AM on November 6, 2014

How about something like this? Fully digital, water-resistant to 30m, leather or metal band with your choice of face colors, silver hardware, a backlight and a stopwatch for ~$35.
posted by divined by radio at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2014

I really dig the look of this Michael Kors watch, but it sounds like you might prefer something a bit more classic looking. I also like this Citizen watch, which somehow looks both classic and modern.

This one looks fun, and even though it's a bit bangly, it would give you the functions you want and be an upgrade from the simple digital you have now.
posted by OrangeDisk at 8:00 AM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

This might not be exactly what you're looking for, but I have this watch and it works perfectly for my purposes. It's plastic, but it's plain black so it blends in with professional wear. Also, the band is thin and it looks good on my petite wrist, but the actual face of the watch is normal sized. Plus it's waterproof and has a stopwatch. I think it might be a slight upgrade from the $15 Target stopwatch and a good stopgap while you search for a nicer one. FWIW I normally like to wear this watch except it doesn't have a stopwatch and really isn't waterproof.

Good luck! I'm also very picky about watches.
posted by lucy.jakobs at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2014

"ladies chronograph" is a productive Google search.

I (male) have two watches, a $350 Tissot and a $15 Timex from Target. I like wearing the Tissot for its jewelry value, but the Times is a better watch is just about every other way. Consider:

The Tissot requires a new battery ($25) every 18 months or so, the month display has to be reset at the end of any month with less than 31 days. It does have a nice stopwatch, but the minutes hand is quite small. It sometimes stops for no reason (returned to Tissot twice).

The Timex has two time zones, a countdown timer, stopwatch and alarm. It only need to be reset for DST (unless I feel the need to have the seconds match GMT for some reason). It has run for five years or so with the original battery.

Something to consider: you could check out the new, smartphone connected "wearables." I don't really know much about them, but I'm pretty sure that you could find one with the time you want, and the early trier points you score may outweigh the nerdiness.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2014

I have this watch. Both digital and analog. It was about $75 when I got it a few years ago.
posted by weathergal at 8:24 AM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Do you need to be able to wear it as a watch, rather than just using an app on your phone?
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:27 AM on November 6, 2014

Response by poster: Heya, not trying to threadsit so this will be my last comment, just want to make sure I am clear:

I am looking for an attractive, feminine wristwatch with a digital timer. Ideally it will have a leather strap. I might ask for this for Christmas so it can be a bit more expensive than I'd generally spend on myself.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2014

Here is a Casio Waveceptor (atomic watch) for ladies with an analog face, leather wristband, and digital stopwatch for $40 that I think is lovely. (It's very close to my watch, but I have a men's style because I am ridiculously picky about features and like big watches.)

And if you want to find a watch with an analog face but a digital stopwatch, try "ana-digi" as a search term.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:37 AM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

How would you feel about a bangle-style watch? Here's a metal Casio, and a mid-size Timex (perhaps you could change out the band for leather). Searching for diver or pilot watches (though they tend to run large and chunky) might supply some options; looking for nurses'/medical watches with timers will turn up a lot of fob-style pieces but may be helpful to you.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:08 AM on November 6, 2014

Another suggestion on a forum to look around in:

www.watchuseek.com

Basically, if there isn't an active forum discussing it, it probably doesn't exist. There are active boards on everything from Casio to $$$$$$$$ watches.
posted by randomkeystrike at 10:26 AM on November 6, 2014

Casio's been doing ana-digi stuff for decades, and they offer a good balance of looks, tech and price. Unfortunately, the LWA120LA-1BV that weathergal and ernielundquist linked to is discontinued (the link in ernielundquist's answer just goes to eBay) and I don't see something comparable in the current lineup.
posted by holgate at 11:42 AM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

There are lots of choices in (plastic) sport watches, but what you're describing sounds like you want something metal cased and a little on the dressier side. There are hybrid analog/digitals, but they tend to be on the very masculine and chunky side (Breitling Professional, Omega X-33 & Z-33). The Tissot Touch line seems to be the least aggressively masculine, and they're definitely more affordable than the other swiss brands.

But, can you hold out until early next year? I think an Apple Watch would be perfect for your requirements, definitely the cheapest, and possibly the most hip of all the options I've mentioned.
posted by danny the boy at 12:25 PM on November 6, 2014

This is metal rather than leather, but I also wanted a feminine wristwatch with stopwatch/timer functions and have so far been happy with this one!
posted by anotherthink at 12:31 PM on November 6, 2014

BTW, not everyone knows this, but you can easily swap out most bracelets for an aftermarket leather strap. I know a lot of watch shops will do it for free, or you can do it yourself by buying a springbar tool.
posted by danny the boy at 1:39 PM on November 6, 2014