The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
The fastest and most secure way to protect the watches you love.
We've minimized the paperwork and maximized protection, so you can stop worrying about your watches and focus on enjoying them.
In most cases, you'll get a personalized quote in seconds and your policy kicks in immediately.
Wherever you are on planet Earth, your watches are protected. Rest easy and travel safely.
If you suffer a covered loss, there's no deductible and no gimmicks. Ever.
Each of your watches is covered up to 150% of the insured value (up to the total value of the policy).
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Just like watches, father figures come in all shapes, sizes, and budgets. Here's what we'd buy for our eight favorite *loosely serious* paternal archetypes.
While this may be a watch buying guide for your dad, it's definitely not your dad's watch buying guide. In honor of our fathers, I've assembled a collection of loosely silly but probably accurate dad archetypes to help you narrow down an accessible watch for your father figure that won't break the bank or his sense of self and style.
You can do better.
And to be clear, this isn't a guide for buying your dad his first watch or even his best watch, but rather to buying him a watch that can fit his taste and collection while being extra special because it came from you. And, because dads know it's not about the money, we kept the picks within a reasonable budget – and many are carried in the HODINKEE Shop because dads love efficiency.
So pick a dad and be sure to write something nice in the card.
We'll start here because yours truly is quite likely a Tool Dad. And that's not only because I am occasionally a tool. Tool Dad loves the tough functionality of a tool watch. Maybe he's got a Pelagos to go with a do-it-all lifestyle that ensures a creaky knee, a dusty PADI certification, and an unrelenting interest in adventurous gear. He's considering an overland build, has opinions about which 20v power tool system is the best, and considers himself handy right up to the point where it's time to call a pro – be they a mechanic, plumber, carpenter, or paramedic.
What to get him: Tool Dad needs a Seiko dive watch. Look at the size of the watches he likes and pick something like an SRP Turtle ($475, 43.5mm, so many variations) or the smaller and solar-powered SNE573 ($475, 38.5mm).
This is a jeans-and-a-t-shirt type of fella who, whenever possible, will swap those jeans for cargo shorts. He's not especially nerdy but will have a few areas of expertise, such as the golden years of a specific sports team, his personal ranking of the best guitar players of all time (shout out Mark Knopfler), and an endless supply of movie recommendations that are perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon (as long as you like The Hunt For Red October). He doesn't love fuss or fancy – it's a couch, not a sofa – but will love a well-made watch that came from you.
The Khaki style is as classic as it gets, but if dad is truly "low maintenance," go quartz.
What to get him: Low-Maintenance Dad likes function without a lot of pretense, so think of a military-derived design that is legible and totally straightforward. I'd recommend a Hamilton Khaki Field Quartz ($325, 38mm). Handsome and fuss-free, just like your dad.
Professor Dad is a rare one, the kind of dad who will happily play catch but is more likely to offer a book off of the shelf in his office or a not-always-helpful quote from Thoreau. He's wearing pleated pants on the weekend, enjoys an elbow patch and a dram of scotch in the evening, and may even have flirted with smoking a pipe.
Often late-in-life fathers, Professor Dads are concerned less about the water-resistance or lume of the watch, and more about the way it aligns with their tailoring – you know, how well the watch slides under a cuff. That said, the choice will also need to be big enough for easy legibility when he's not wearing his bifocals.
What to get him: Professor Dad wants a subtle, old-school watch with classic appeal. For something dressy but not to the point of being overly fancy or formal, go with the Longines Heritage 1832 ($1,850, 40mm).
Always in motion unless he's resting after a long run or tinkering with some adjustment on his road bike, Sporty Dads come in a variety of versions; marathon dad, cross-fit dad, golf dad, still-plays-hockey-twice-a-week dad, etc. As they've gotten older they've come to appreciate the metrics of their own performance and they always have a plan to train for the next event – be it an especially difficult hike, a triathlon, the opportunity to play a specific dream course, or to summit a special mountain.
Sporty Dad has a bit of an overlap with Tool Dad, as they both value the functionality and usefulness of their gear, but, with Sporty Dad, the gear has to support their next goal.
What to get him: As someone who occasionally dips into the mode of the Sporty Dad, I'd easily recommend a Garmin multisport watch like the Instinct Solar ($300, 45mm) or my favorite, the Fenix 6S Pro ($650, 42mm). Heck, I took a Fenix 3 to the top of Mount Baker with a 16570 on my other wrist. Trust me, he'll be thinking of you when he hits that PR, comes in under par, or starts the hike down from that feature peak.
I know what you're thinking – didn't we just do Sporty Dad? Well, Athleisure Dad is a different beast altogether when it comes to style and needs. From Lululemon to Kit & Ace, the sporty-casual drip is HARD for these guys and no matter which way you cut it, Athleisure Dad is an Apple Watch guy. He gets every single one the day they come out and has straps that match nicely with his expanding collection of Allbirds.
So what's the move? Give him an alternative for when he's not closing deals in some open-plan office with a ping pong table in the corner while he thinks about how many steps he's going to need to close his rings before dinner.
What to get him: My vote? Get Athleisure Dad a G-Shock in his favorite color, could be a "Casi-Oak" GA2100-1A3 with bright neon green accents ($99, 45.4 mm) or something a bit more under-the-radar like a Blue Camo DW5600CA-8 ($99, 42.8mm). Tell him to take a break from the steps, ring, and pings and do what his Calm app suggests – live in the moment.
While New Balance Dad is a rare breed, they are becoming more common in recent years and HODINKEE is chock-a-block with examples. To be clear, I'm not talking about a basic chewed-up pair of black velcro running shoes as the defining aspect of a guy's look, no.
Think limited-edition NBs in a special color. Think luxurious sweatpants. Think vintage Porsche and Aime Leon Dore. It's a sort of cultivated high-low vibe that was born in an urban environment but respects the classics (modernist furniture, vintage HiFi, and farmer's markets) and likely will, or just has, moved to the 'burbs. He probably wears a Datejust of some sort.
What to get him: The sprezzatura is strong with the New Balance Dad, so you want to find a watch that is classic, maybe a bit over-board, and unlikely to be found as a commonality in their friend group. New Balance Dad is likely an expert on anything they like, so specificity will pay off.
In this case, I'm going a bit vague but look into vintage dress watches with a stylish silhouette and an oddball element. Think: Cartier Tank Vermeil or Must, but with a burgundy or tiger's-eye dial. Small is likely ok – but you want something strange with a classic footing.
As the type of dad who was more likely to pull you out of school to visit the MOMA than to catch a baseball game (the crowds are light on Tuesdays, after all), Design Dad is casually erudite with a taste for new wave cinema, architecture, film photography, and more than his fair share of turtlenecks.
He has a vast collection of photobooks and likely owns at least one pair of glasses with clear frames. He likes Volvos, has nuanced opinions on both fonts and documentaries about fonts, and can appreciate Ikea without owning anything they produce. He gets pumped about a ruler and how it subverts the Bauhaus tradition.
What to get him: Design Dads likely have a Grand Seiko or two, and they know that well-known design doesn't have to cost a lot. As such, I'd recommend either a Junghans Max Bill Quartz ($600, 38mm) or perhaps a Braun BN0032 Classic (~$220, 40mm).
As I get a bit older, I meet more and more McQueen Dads, which is what I've come to call guys that remain obsessed with mid-century icons like Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, and Steve McQueen. "They don't make 'em like they used to," he'll say, whether watching The Great Escape for the 87th time or while fiddling with the carbs on a motorcycle that hasn't run since you were in grade school.
Vintage everything. His office has model planes, rad movie posters, and props, while his closet is full of white tees, oil-stained denim, and at least a couple Baracuta G9 jackets. He's sensible and workably modern, but his interest is rooted in a time long past and the anemoia is strong. He likely knows a lot about the Apollo astronauts, like what sunglasses they wore.
What to get him: I'm going to offer two different paths for your McQueen Dad because he likely has a couple of watches that he loves so you'll need to zig where he has already zagged. Either way, I think the longstanding reputation of Timex will speak to his sensibilities and the brand does some nice work in the faux-vintage space. If you think he'd prefer a bracelet, I think a Timex Q ($179, 38mm) would make a great gift and you can get one with a red-black "Coke" bezel and a versatile black dial. If you figure he's more of a leather strap kind of guy, don't sleep on our own collab with Timex, the Waterbury HODINKEE Limited Edition ($279, 40mm).
Did I get your dad all wrong? Did I miss an obvious archetype? The father figure spectrum is both wide and full of myriad little details, so hit the comments below and let me know if there's a silly stereotype that fits your dad and how watches factor into his lifestyle and sense of self.
While this is a half-serious buying guide, I also meant it as a loving salute to all the father figures out there and how their perspective, style, and interests inform our own.
HODINKEE is an authorized retailer for Longines, Seiko, Hamilton, Timex, Garmin, and G-Shock. To see more, visit the HODINKEE Shop here.
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