Wristwatch (gold/silver) for a teenage boy

December 4, 2010 5:16 AM

A teenage boy (18...who is a recent refugee from Burma) has requested a gold or silver watch for his christmas gift (no, he does not have a cell phone to look up the time). The gold and silver watches I've seen look too old for him. Please recommend a gold and/or silver watch for a teenage boy. Thanks!
posted by irishlady1234 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (16 answers total)

It could be that if he is a recent immigrant, what he has in mind is a classic looking watch rather than something you'd see on a teenager running around a developed country. That is, what he has in mind might actually be something that would to you or I look too old for him.

Could you show him a catalog or a website and see what kinds he likes?
posted by vincele at 6:01 AM on December 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

Fossil watches tend to have some trendy pieces.
posted by quodlibet at 6:22 AM on December 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

Have you established whether he wants a gold or silver (the precious metals) watch, or does he want a gold or silver (the colors) watch? Even native speakers often fail to communicate this difference.
posted by fritley at 6:23 AM on December 4, 2010

Yes, I totally concur on the "grown-up" watch question. We have some Karen immigrants from Burma in our community that I've done a (very little) bit of work with through the library. I would definitely say that although the teens love social networking as much as US teens, they dress a little more formally/adult than US teens. Although of course, the caveat that it might just be this group/my location/etc. But I definitely wouldn't make assumptions.

Also, purely speculating here, but if this is a gift/giving/angel tree situation where all you have is the request card, see if you can speak to the program coordinator - my parent's church does a gift tree for the refugee families they sponsor and there is a refugee family coordinator who was able to shed some light on requests they got on their family's card. In their case, the family was from Africa and while the little kids were pretty straightforward, my parents were able to get some useful advice from the refugee coordinator about what would be really appreciated by the teens and adults in the family.
posted by clerestory at 6:33 AM on December 4, 2010

I would wager he's wanting something very bling. Like a big, fat, chunky Rolex-style watch. It's a status image thing.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:10 AM on December 4, 2010

Seconding Fossil.
posted by kavasa at 8:22 AM on December 4, 2010

Swatch has some nice gold and silver (at least, the colors) ones for around $100; not sure if you're looking to spend that much.

(Seconding: Remember that an 18 year old is a man, probably more so where he's from than in the west, so don't go too far in the teeny direction. Plus it's nice to have a watch you can grow into.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:19 AM on December 4, 2010

I have this Armitron (Link goes to Wal-Mart to buy it there, but I got mine at Kohl's) and I love it. Not needing to worry about a battery is great. And I've had quite a few people come up to be and ask about it because it's just so cool.

Yeah, those are the watch guts that you see in there.
posted by theichibun at 12:09 PM on December 4, 2010

I would also guess that he actually want the 'old man' watch. It's probably a status symbol where he's from, where they are less likely to have teen-specific trendy fashion for something like expensive watches.
posted by Kololo at 12:26 PM on December 4, 2010

Response by poster: Wow, thanks for all the feedback! He is Chin immigrant from Burma, and I am one of his teachers. He first asked for a "golden" watch, but changed it to silver because he thought that would be too expensive. Maybe he was asking for a real gold watch at first. I did see some nice gold and silver tone ones at Kohls, and now that most of you seem to think he would like a regular watch, I guess I'll just get one of those. I was thinking maybe something that was two toned, to give him both. We are supposed to spend around $50. Here are a few that I found, what do you think?:

Pulsar
Caravelle
Fossil
posted by irishlady1234 at 1:10 PM on December 4, 2010

If you're his teacher, can you ask him? There are a couple of things I might describe as a "golden" watch. Previous answers mentioned the color vs. metal distinction; I might also refer to a watch as gold/golden if the watch body proper (the bezel, etc.) were gold even if the watchband were made of grosgrain ribbon or leather. I'm afraid I have no idea what's popular among teenage Chin immigrants, but you might take a clue from his usual dress.
posted by d. z. wang at 2:09 PM on December 4, 2010

Response by poster: The teachers choose a student to buy gifts for, and but the students do not know who chooses them and it stays anonymous. So I can't really ask him. I just kind of have to guess. Though he said "golden" he is a low beginner with English, so he may have just meant gold-tone. He did change it to silver, so silver-tone may be OK also... He mostly wears jeans and a t-shirt and a track jacket, but these may be donated cothes....not what he may have chosen....
posted by irishlady1234 at 4:51 PM on December 4, 2010

I'd get him the two toned Pulsar one, if you're looking for votes :)
posted by Kololo at 7:20 PM on December 4, 2010

I really like the Fossil watch between those three. It's just the right style for the 18-25 set.
posted by samthemander at 7:21 PM on December 4, 2010

My vote is for the Caravelle first and the Fossil second!

In my experience Fossil watches break easily, but I am clumsy, so what do I know.
posted by vincele at 10:22 AM on December 5, 2010

I'm with Kololo on the Pulsar (if it looks nice in person, can't tell from a pic), though I wear a lady's version of the Fossil and like it a lot. I think the Pulsar looks the most grown-up and classic and if he thinks golden (colored) is sophisticated, he'll like it.
posted by parkerjackson at 11:10 AM on December 5, 2010