Ladies metal free or nickel free watch.

March 24, 2016 2:30 PM

Hello; I am very allergic to metals especially nickel. I need a watch that does not contain that at all. Any ideas out there? Any web sites? Thanks very much :-)
posted by LOOKING to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (19 answers total)

In a flash-back to the eighties, I was thinking Swatch. I know the bands are plastic, I'm not sure about the stems, or the backing.

I think they offer an all plastic version.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:36 PM on March 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

My wife has the same problem, which she solved by finding a watch on eBay with a bamboo wristband and a bamboo enclosure around the face. No metal touched her skin while wearing the watch. You can probably find something similar.
posted by seasparrow at 2:37 PM on March 24, 2016

A friend used to buy Pop Swatches.... eBay?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:46 PM on March 24, 2016

I have a nickel allergy and have never had a reaction to my vintage Movado, which looks like this.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:52 PM on March 24, 2016

Can you handle titanium? I'm super sensitive to nickel also and I have a Boccia titanium watch that works for me.
posted by gudrun at 2:53 PM on March 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I suffer from nickel allergy too, and find myCitizen EW3050-52E watch very easy to wear as it is made from titanium which is completely devoid of nickel.

Unfortunately, Swatches used to use some sort of nickel containing metal on the crown of their watches which used to bring me out in all sorts of horrible itchy weeping rashes, so no more! I do believe (in the EU at least), that there are regulations which prohibit the use of nickel containing metals which come into prolonged contact with the skin, not just jewellery, but clothing items etc too.

Many people don't realise that stainless steel (even "surgical" stainless steel) contains nickel in quite large amounts. Very sensitised individuals can react to this, but many people don't as the nickel is tightly bound chemically. Just FYI in case you get the old "but it's *surgical* grade stainless, so will be fine" spiel from anyone trying to sell you a watch...
posted by car01 at 2:57 PM on March 24, 2016

I just bought this watch; I believe it's designed for people who are allergic to various metals. It's made of wood and hypoallergenic, and the same company makes several variations on the same theme.
posted by Aravis76 at 3:32 PM on March 24, 2016

Not a watch, but alas I have taken to coating the back of the crown and buckle of my watches with clear nail polish, I even coat the back of the button on my jeans.
posted by sweetmarie at 3:33 PM on March 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

Nthing titanium watches, now reasonably common from the big players like Citizen, Sony, etc, and also smaller manufacturers like Momentum (Love my Atlas watch!)
posted by smoke at 3:58 PM on March 24, 2016

I'm allergic to nickel and have been wearing Swatch Once Again and Cancelled for a couple of years now with no trouble.
posted by Beti at 4:08 PM on March 24, 2016

And this is a UK Swatch site but shows their metal-free watches.
posted by Beti at 4:12 PM on March 24, 2016

My mom had the same problem; she solved it by trimming self-adhesive corn pads to fit --- they couldn't be seen when she was wearing her watch, and since they're foam pads they kept the watch back off her skin.
posted by easily confused at 5:36 PM on March 24, 2016

Rado makes a lot of watches with ceramic bodies and bracelets. They do make some metal watches as well, so I'd recommend using their watch finder page to narrow it down to ceramic-only watches.

Depending on the degree of your allergy, your budget, and watch kind of watch you want, you may also have luck with metals made from alloys that don't contain nickel, like titanium (as people have mentioned) and most modern solid (not plated!) precious metals (ie: platinum, white/rose/yellow gold). I should point out that a lot of titanium watches are "rugged" men's watches or have brushed finishes, particularly the cheaper ones, because titanium won't take a high-polish finish unless it's Grade 5.
posted by strangecargo at 6:41 PM on March 24, 2016

If you go the plastic route and are looking at Swatches, you should know that the Swatch "Sistem51" watches may not be very accurate and cannot be serviced. They're mostly a novelty, with the first Swiss mechanical movement made entirely by machines. The upside is that they don't take batteries and will keep running as long as you wear them regularly.
posted by strangecargo at 6:59 PM on March 24, 2016

I'm also very allergic and I have a Swatch where everything is plastic or plastic covered and it's awesome. It looks stylish and well made, not cheap and plasticy, and no allergies at all. So yeah, take a visit to your local Swatch store.
posted by shelleycat at 12:30 AM on March 25, 2016

Ha, so apparently my watch is called Black Classiness. I sometimes get random compliments about it so sure, I guess? It also doesn't catch when putting on a lab coat or backpack because it's so slim and I like that part a lot.
posted by shelleycat at 12:34 AM on March 25, 2016

On a cheaper note, you could go for a slap-watch (looks like the only material touching the wrist is silicone).
posted by mirileh at 11:43 AM on March 25, 2016

Check out this site, Simply Whispers. They sell nickel-free jewelry, including watches.
posted by islandeady at 11:55 PM on March 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

EarthWatches.com

Which looks like I should be receiving a kickback, but I'm really, really not.
posted by infinite joy at 5:02 AM on March 26, 2016 [1 favorite]