Best field watches to give as a gift

The published numbers are what make this the pick: 38mm across, 11mm thick and 47mm between the lug tips. That is the most broadly correct footprint in watches, and Hamilton publishes all three figures so you are not guessing on behalf of somebody else's wrist.

Mechanically it is the same watch as the Khaki Field Murph and usually cheaper, because it does not carry a film's name on the dial. Sapphire, 100m, 20mm lugs, an 80-hour reserve — which means it survives a weekend off the wrist and is still running on Monday, unlike a 40-hour movement.

Who it is for: almost anybody. A first good watch, a thirtieth birthday, a recipient who wears a watch every day and has never chosen one. Who should skip it: somebody who wants a bracelet rather than a strap, and somebody who only wears a watch for formal occasions — a field dial is deliberately plain.

Against it: Hamilton publishes a European service price list and no US equivalent, so the eventual overhaul here is a quote. Two years of warranty is shorter than the Japanese makers give.

Mechanically identical to the Murph and usually cheaper, because it does not carry a film's name. 47mm lug-to-lug on a 38mm case is a genuinely versatile footprint.

The watch we would give if we knew nothing at all about the recipient. 36mm across with a published 44.5mm lug-to-lug puts it within half a millimeter of the shortest footprints this site carries, so it fits a narrow wrist and still looks correct on an average one, and sapphire plus 100m is a specification sheet Timex has no business offering at this money.

It is solar, so there is no winding, no battery and nothing to set beyond the date. It will be running when they open it and it will be running next winter.

Who it is for: a small wrist, a teenager, a first watch for an adult, anyone you are buying for on a limited budget and do not want to get wrong. Who should skip it: a recipient with a large wrist who will find 36mm too small, and anybody who specifically wants something mechanical.

Against it: Timex gives one year and excludes the crystal, strap, case and battery by name, which is close to excluding everything that fails. The 18mm lug width is standard but narrower than the rest of the page.

The smallest genuinely good watch here. Sapphire, solar, 100m and 44.5mm across the lugs — if you have a small wrist and want to stop thinking about batteries, start here.

Sixty-five grams, titanium, sapphire, 200m and an automatic movement, at a price no Swiss maker comes close to. As a gift its appeal is specific: it is the watch for a recipient who has complained that watches feel heavy, and it is far cheaper than the Hamilton titanium below.

Timex publishes a 50mm lug-to-lug, so you can at least check the risk — that is a long footprint and it suits a wrist of about seven inches or more.

Who it is for: an outdoors recipient with a larger wrist, or anyone sensitive to weight. Who should skip it: a narrow wrist, and anyone who will ask what servicing costs — Timex publishes no caliber for this movement, so nobody can tell them.

Against it: one year of warranty with the same exclusion list, and an unnamed automatic caliber. Those two facts together are the reason it scores 8.0 and not higher.

65 grams, sapphire and 200m is a spec sheet Timex has no business hitting. The one-year warranty is the reason to think about it: everything else here is covered for two to five.

The most expensive watch on this page and the one that feels like the least. Titanium plus the 80-hour H-10 automatic plus sapphire plus 100m is a serious object, and at 11.45mm thick it goes under a shirt cuff without a fight.

The thing to think hardest about before giving it is the black PVD coating. The metal underneath is light and hypoallergenic, but a coating is a consumable: once it wears through at the lug edges, putting it right is a refinish, not a polish. That is worth knowing before you spend this much on somebody else's behalf.

Who it is for: a milestone occasion, a recipient who already wears watches, somebody with a nickel sensitivity. Who should skip it: anybody who will be upset when the coating marks, and a wrist under about six and a half inches — 42mm is a lot of watch.

Against it: Hamilton publishes no US service price list, and 42mm with no published lug-to-lug is the biggest unknown on the page.

Titanium plus PVD is the combination to think hardest about: the metal underneath is light and hypoallergenic, but a coating is a consumable — once it wears through at the lug edges, it is a refinish, not a polish.

Sapphire and 200m with a mechanical movement, on a steel bracelet, at a price that undercuts every obvious alternative. Timex publishes a 48mm lug-to-lug, which is a moderate footprint on a 41mm case.

The bracelet is the thing to weigh as a gift: a bracelet usually needs links removed to fit, which is a trip to a jeweler the recipient has to make. The lug width is a standard 20mm, so swapping to a strap is an easy escape if the bracelet does not suit.

Who it is for: a recipient who wants something mechanical and sporty and does not want to spend Hamilton money. Who should skip it: somebody who wants to know what the watch will cost to maintain. Timex does not publish the caliber, which means the overhaul price cannot be looked up — the single number this site exists to check.

Against it: 14mm thick, one year of warranty with the usual exclusions, and no named movement.

Sapphire and 200m for the money is real. What Timex does not publish is the caliber — which means you cannot look up what an overhaul costs before you buy, and that is exactly the number this site exists to check.

The simplest genuinely good mechanical watch on this site and, at 9.5mm, the thinnest. No rotor means fewer parts to wear out and a case that disappears under a cuff, and the H-50 runs eighty hours on one wind. The 38mm case and 47mm lug-to-lug are the same ideal footprint as the automatic above.

It is hand-wound, and that is the whole gifting question. Winding it is thirty seconds a day and for the right person it is the best part of owning the watch. For the wrong person it is a chore they did not sign up for.

Who it is for: a recipient who has told you they like mechanical watches, or who already owns one. Who should skip it: everybody else, and anyone who will swim in it — 50m is the lowest rating on this page and there is no screw-down crown.

Against it: 50m, and Hamilton's lack of a US service price list. Neither is a reason not to buy it for yourself.

No rotor means fewer parts and a thinner case, and the H-50 runs 80 hours on a wind. This is the simplest genuinely good mechanical watch on this site, and simple is what survives.