My wife has very sensitive skin so I am looking for a non-gold watch that will not irritate. Any tips? Cheers.

Answer 1

I also have extremely sensitive skin. I get rashes and welts when putting cheaper metals against my skin. Even Nickle and so called hypo-allergenic does not help.

But try a Stainless Steel watch band. You can get them in very nice styles now and my husband bought me one of those Italian Charm bracelets with all our kids birthstones in it and I was so nervous to wear it as everything bothers my skin. This Bracelet is Stainless Steel, fairly inexpensive and it is wonderful. I never take it off. Bath, shower, sweat nothing makes my skin flare up its great!!

Good luck
I hope that helps

Trust me I wore Plastic watches for years because everything hurt my skin. Just make sure the watch face back is stainless too or she will be irriated by that.

Lady M.

Answer 2

It depends what she's sensitive to. I find leather very good for the strap as it doesn't make you sweat excessively underneath it. I find plastic very bad (probably because it doesn't let your skin breathe). The back of the metal part of the watch should be made of a metal that doesn't contain nickel and the same applies to the buckle/catch. Also, if the watch is plated (e.g. silver plated) try and make sure that what's under the plating doesn't contain nickel.

Anything she's allergic to would be bad. A very few people are allergic to leather (but I think you'd already know if your wife was). What's her other jewellery made of? If she wears it regularly, chances are she's not got a problem with it against her skin.

Answer 3

Are you sure she's not sensitive to non- gold metals? Usally people with sensitive skin can ONLY wear gold. If you are in fact looking for a non-gold watch, that's what most watches are. You can get watches pretty much anywhere. Department stores, Walmart, jewellry stores etc. There are a lot of different kinds of straps, leather, nylon etc.

Answer 4

What is she sensitive to? Gold? White Gold? Metal in general?

Consider Skagen watches - they are very cool looking, very thin, and for the most part stainless steel.

Rolex also has platnium watches, so for a higher price point watch, this is an option. They also have all stainless steel with platnium bezels (the yachtmaster).

Answer 5

It sounds like your wife is allergic to nickel as I am. (really spotty, red, itchy rash around the wrist) If this is the case, I have found stainless steel watches the best to go for as they don't irritate at all. Or you could give Swatch watches a try. They have very little metal on them anyway and what there is must be stainless steel as it doesn't irritate my skin.

Answer 6

Even very sensitive people should be able to wear anything that is good quality stainless steel. Stainless steel is used in surgical implants, so it is bio-inert.

People with metal allergies are often allergic to nickel. This is present in some stainless steel alloys but not all of them:

Stainless Steel

Ferritic stainless steels contain a minimum of 11% chromium. They are relatively inexpensive as they contain no nickel. Ferritic stainless steels are magnetic.

Austenitic stainless steels contain a minimum of 18% chromium, along with a minimum of 8% nickel. They are non-magnetic, which is a great advantage in many applications, especially marine applications where unwarranted magnetic influence can affect compasses and other direction finding equipment.

They also possess improved formability (e.g. deep drawing or stretching) compared to ferritic stainless steels and are tougher, maintaining their strength better at high temperatures. Weldability is improved as is corrosion resistance, and, with the addition of less that 2% molybdenum, corrosion resistance is significantly improved.

Martensitic stainless steels contain a minimum of 11.5% chromium, generally with no nickel content but an addition of 0.15% - 0.4% carbon. These steels give very high strength in the hardened condition. Tempering at 150°C to 170°C increases corrosion resistance, and the abrasion and wear resistance of these alloys is well known. Some variants containing high carbon content are not, however, recommended for welding.

Duplex and Super Duplex stainless steels typically contain approx. 22% chromium, 5% nickel and around 0.1% minimum of nitrogen.

Effectively, they are of a mixed ferritic/austenitic structure, and have high strength combined with good corrosion resistance, good weldability, formability and resistance to crevice and pitting corrosion in
chloride solutions.

Answer 7

Why not get the watch of her choice & if it has a gold, metal or any strap that irritates her, put a layer of clear nail varnish on the side that touches the skin, it creates a barrier, that way she can wear what she likes.

Answer 8

Rubber is pretty involatile. might look a bit cheap though.
Platinum is light and durable. might be a bit pricey.

try a pocket watch.