[Bronte]

I'm thinking about buying this watch as a Christmas gift for my mom. She does not currently wear a watch. She's in her late fifties and dresses in an upscale style. She likes fancy things. It's a quartz Frederique Constant, model number 234M1S6. My question is whether you think it's a decent watch. I have a strong preference for mechanical movements, but I think they're much harder to come by in a woman's dress size (e.g., 28mm by 5mm, in this instance). I would be glad to entertain any better recommendations in this price range ($500 on Amazon, for this watch).

 

[GlennO]

I think it's a good choice and probably safer to stick with quartz. It's not all that fancy though, and at a larger size it could easily be a man's watch...maybe gold or two-tone on a bracelet would bling things up a bit?

 

[Ray MacDonald]

I have this model in the 39mm men's size and like it very much. The dial is particularly nicely made and the watch is very comfortable to wear. I agree that it's not really blingy.
Mechanical movements are fine if the woman likes them, but in my experience the vast majority will prefer quartz for its convenience.
The other thing is that she'll have to replace the battery every couple of years and if she's not in the habit of wearing a watch, this one might sit in a drawer. Have you looked at Eco-Drive models?

 

[stndrdtime]

If she doesn't wear a watch now definitely stick with quartz and I would try to pick something of moderate size. I infer from your post that she wears lots of jewelry other than a watch? If so and if she wears predominantly either gold or silver, she may prefer a watch on a bracelet of that color. If she wears both gold and silver jewelry, which is more likely, I would strongly recommending selecting a watch that is two tone (gold and silver) so that she can wear it with any of her current jewelry.

 

[Sea-Wolf]

I quite like that model, too, for it has quite a bit on vintage-y appeal to me (the dial and sub-seconds, great design). But if your mother is looking for something "fancy", with ceramic watches being all the rage among refined women these days, including my own mother, etc., might I recommend you look into Rado? I just looked it up on Amazon for you and see they've a Rado Women's R25474102 Cerix Watch for $835, but if you search, you might be able to find this (or other, discontinued models) closer to your price range.

If not, or you otherwise don't like it, not to worry; other brands that come to mind at or near your price range include,
Baume & Mercier. (Women's 8768 Iliea Swiss Watch, $576 Amazon; the Women's 8339 Hampton City Watch, $586 Amazon, looks quite elegant yet sporty or, if you would like something a bit more sporty, then Women's 8742 Hampton Square Pink Watch, $590 Amazon). B&M makes nice watches, some very nice designs, with the Hampton City in particular being stylish yet at the same time professional looking. Looks to be true to me of the women's line also.

If you'd like something a bit more fancy, why not have a look at what Gucci has to offer, such as their Women's YA121515 Marina Chain Watch,$550 Amazon. Seems to be quite popular with women, the jewelry-watch style. Another you might check out is the Movado Women's line, such as their Rondiro, Stato or Esperanza line which, if you search you can find online from $500-600, respectively (very popular brand, very classic, and they're out there, available in the said price range, just have to search Another brand that seems quite popular among women these days is Bulova, which has a rather extensive line of quartz women's watches from which you can choose, all well within your stated price range.

As to quartz, I agree that that is probably best if your mother isn't into wearing watches; with quartz, it's all about "set it and forget it", with basically no maintenance required (i.e., apart from the occasional battery change, and thus all about convenience, etc. as has been noted). Though the eco-drive option might work out well, too. Just some more ideas for you, Bronte, and welcome to WUS! Hope that this helps.

Cheers.

 

[Bronte]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sea-Wolf, thanks for the detailed response. I looked at your suggestions. I guess I'm fairly settled on this look and just wanted to confirm there weren't any negative feelings about the quality of the watch. Saying that she dresses "upscale" and likes "fancy things" was probably misleading. She's actually very modest, wears very little if any jewelry, and does not wear a lot of fashion brands or anything like that. I just meant that she dresses relatively formally and conservatively and that she likes nice things, not necessarily blingy things. If anything, I inherited my minimalist taste from her.

 

[Sea-Wolf]

^ You are most welcome, Bronte, and sounds to me then that your mother is going to love her new watch! (It's very nice, I think so, too!).

Cheers.

 

[Ray MacDonald]

No criticism from me either. Frederique Constant is a relatively new firm but they do make some nicely styled pieces. You'll get a fairly nice repairable quartz movement. The style is quite reminiscent of Breguet and the small seconds is a classic look.

 

[JuanAlberto]

Frederique Constant is a good watch brand. I would go for it.