What Makes A Good Holiday Watch?

Holiday watches need to be stress-free above all. No one wants to worry about damaging or losing a watch while on holiday. It also helps to wear one that is unlikely to be stolen. While some holiday activities might require very specialised watches, digital watches with GPS, or Dive computers, most people will feel safe with a watch that ticks these boxes:

• Waterproof

• Automatic

• Sturdy case and bracelet

• Unflashy

We have talked about many categories of watch on this blog that would fit these requirements. For example; steel sports watches, dive watches, pilot watches, and chronographs such as the Zenith El Primero. Outside of these examples, watches designed for, or similar to, military watches may also be suitable, as well as the huge category called “Field Watches”. These are watches supposedly designed for use in outdoor activities without fuss, and come most famously from American watch brand Hamilton, and you can read a detailed history here.

Hamilton Khaki Field Watch

Automatic or Quartz?

We don’t have a preference between automatic or quartz here at the Watch Collectors’ Club. We also love manually wound watches. We think that on holiday the last thing you want to worry about is winding your watch every day so recommend one that powers itself. As a reminder, an automatic watch is one that contains a rotor within the mechanism that winds the mainspring up using the movement of the wearer’s wrist. Quartz watches are powered by a battery. Either way, taking one of these pieces away with you will be more relaxing, especially if you are lucky enough to be travelling to a different time zone.

Should You Take An Expensive Watch On Holiday?

Many people prefer to take a less expensive watch on holiday, as they fear they may have higher risk of theft wherever they are going. While this clearly depends on location, we understand that losing a precious watch on holiday would be a massive disappointment. For totally stress-free travel we recommend leaving your most fancy, flashy, or complicated watches at home, and taking something that might suit every occasion. As mentioned earlier, many tool watches, or plastic-cased watches from other brands, such as the famous Swatch, might be suitable. There are also a huge number of watch microbrands focussing on ease of use and rugged construction.

A selection of watches you could take on holiday

Is There a Best Watch For A Holiday?

We at The Watch Collectors’ Club don’t believe there is a best watch, for holidays or anything else.

This guide simply comes down to: Take what you most enjoy wearing without worrying.