Five kid-friendly watches to get them started young

Ricardo Sime

Many of us share a love for watches and horology. That love doesn’t go unnoticed; especially by a younger generation that both figuratively and literally looks up to us. It should be of no surprise then, when your son, daughter, niece or nephew start asking you questions about why you collect, what you collect and how you collect? Before you know it, they’re hooked and you realize that simply showing them your watches won’t be enough. It’s now time for them to own their own piece of magic for their wrist.

But where should you start? What’s a good first watch for that child in your life that’s been bitten by the watch bug? Well, here is a list of 5 watches that should do the trick; watches that also won’t break the bank if they can’t stand up to the rigours of the jungle gym.

A Digital Classic

What better place to start than with a digital watch. It’s a great introduction to telling basic time as well as other aspects such as the day and date. Many include a light feature, which most children would love. They also come in a resin material that should stand up to dirt and water.

If you do decide to go this route, then the Casio F-91WS collection is the way to go.

The F-91W is Casio’s classic digital watch. First introduced in 1991, the watch continues to be one of their best sellers and most versatile designs. In terms of specifications, it comes in at a very reasonable size of 38.2mm, which is fair for a child’s wrist. The buttons are more pronounced than on other Casio’s, which should allow for easier use. Moreover, the F-91WS collection has multiple colors that a potentially picky child can choose from. You can’t go wrong with this choice.

Those Watch Guys from Waterbury

Originally founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company, Timex is one of the oldest brands still making watches today. Their catalogue is full of watches that would make a great first watch yet for me, one stands above the rest. That is the Timex Expedition Metal Field (T49870).

Here, you get a field watch with the classic 24 hour dial. This presents a perfect opportunity to teach a child about the importance of time as it pertains to military history as well military time keeping (24 hours, etc). The watch could also ignite a passion for exploration and a desire to learn more about historically significant watch brands.

The Swiss Play

Many of you reading this are probably familiar with the Swiss watch brand Swatch. Known for their affordable prices and playful designs, the brand has an offshoot that specifically caters to children called Flik Flak. Flik is a character the brand created to represent the minute hand while Flak represents the hour hand.

Flik Flak continues with the playfulness, boasting a catalogue filled with a multitude of colours and characters. This should make the experience of choosing a watch interesting and fun. And the icing on the cake? Flik Flak gives you the ability to personalize the watch straps with the name of the child. I see nothing in your future but major Uncle points if you go this route.

New Kid On the Block

Cara Barrett, former editor at Hodinkee, recently unveiled her watch brand for children called Parchie. The brand is named after her childhood imaginary friend and currently consist of three watches; School-Time Parchie, Party-Time Parchie and Me-Time Parchie.

The watches are bright, colourful and legible, and could be the perfect companion for a child who is starting to learn how to tell time. Design elements such as the colour matching of the minute hand with the minute track and the colour of the hour hand with the hours etched into the bezel all aid in this endeavour.

The Affordable Automatic

The previous four watches on this list were all quartz and would be great options in most occasions. Yet, you may have a child in your life who is past the quartz watch phase. They may be completely enthralled with the inner workings of a mechanical timepiece. For them, your best bet would be a Seiko 5.

In 2019, Seiko introduced a completely new generation of Seiko 5 watches with dozens of new designs that could have fit your needs perfectly. However, with everyone of these new watches sized above 40mm, they just wouldn’t work on a child’s wrist.

With that being said, you should check out models from the previous generation that are still readily available online. Like the SNK809 pictured above, with both the hours and the minutes labelled at every five minute interval. Furthermore, the watch is only 37 mm and has a display caseback which allows you to see the movement ticking inside. That one feature could mean the world to the child in your life. And who knows, it may lead to a future career as a watchmaker.

One would hope because we definitely need more of those.