Gift Guide For Students

Windup Watch Shop

Nov 21, 2025

With finals firmly in the rearview window (congrats, you made it!), we’re all for a bit of distraction. Whether you have a pile of textbooks stashed away in your dorm room or you’re shopping for a special student in your life, we have curated a guide to upgrade the day-to-day – if not the grade point average, sorry, we can’t work miracles – of the student in your life.

Gifts for Students and Graduates 

Integrated affordability!

Integrated design and affordability. Two words that rarely come together. Yet now, Citizen has contributed a new collection to the mix that meets those standards. Meet the NJ015 "Tsuyosa" collection.These watches come in an array of colors to brighten your day. With vibrant dials that feature luminous plots, hour and minute hands with a sunburst pattern. The date wheel at three is magnified by a piece of sapphire glass. And all of this is within a curvaceous and sharp edged case that comes in at 40mm with a svelte 11.7mm thickness.

An everyday dependable solar powered watch

The PRC 100 features a 39mm stainless steel case — available in both polish and black PVD-coated versions — with a new solar quartz movement. Its 100m of water resistance makes a compelling case for the RPC 100 as a budget-friendly go-anywhere, do-anything (GADA) watch for the masses. It is available in silver, blue, and black dials on a matching stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap. The PRC 100 is powered by the new “Lightmaster” solar quartz caliber. A Swiss-made movement, it features solar cells distributed on the PRC 100’s dial. It utilizes an Accumulator type Panasonic CTL920F battery and is charged by natural and artificial light. The movement includes a date complication.

A classic dress watch from Japan

Each case measures 35mm in diameter with a 42mm lug-to-lug span and a thickness of just 10mm, making it extremely wearable across wrist sizes. The domed sapphire crystal, finished with internal anti-reflective coating, adds distortion-free visibility and classic curvature. Paired with a leather strap and a 10 ATM water resistance rating, it’s a surprisingly durable companion for what looks like a delicate vintage piece.Inside beats the reliable Miyota Cal. 9039 automatic movement. Operating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz), it features hacking, hand-winding, and a smooth sweep of the seconds hand. With an approximate 42-hour power reserve, this no-date caliber keeps the focus on balanced symmetry while delivering dependable performance in everyday wear.

An integrated icon from the past!

Featuring a stainless 40mm steel case with a mix of expertly executed brushed and polished surfaces, the PRX has a classic barrel shape with faceted sides that cleanly flow into a tapering bracelet or rubber strap. A short 39.5mm length, 10.9mm height, and integrated bracelet design allow for a comfortable fit on wrists large and small. The dial features lume-filled batons on top of a textured surface in a variety of colors for a classic and attractive look. Riding the line between dress and sport, the Tissot PRX is a versatile watch that can be worn for any occasion.Powering the Tissot PRX is the Powermatic 80.111 Swiss-made automatic movement. Featuring an impressive 80-hour power reserve, the Powermatic 80.111 is a 23-jewel movement with hacking seconds, date, Nivachron balance spring, and a frequency of 21,600 bph. Visible through the display case back, the Powermatic 80.111 has a nicely decorated rotor.

A 40mm Integrated Sports Watch Through The Eyes of Venezianico

The integrated bracelet steel sports watch — an icon of 1970s design — has been decidedly à la mode in recent years, thanks in no small part to the widespread acclaim of many reissued designs from the period. Venezianico has leaped into the fray with their Arsenale 40, a collection of three boldly patterned dials named after the ancient Venetian shipyard in contemporary 40mm steel cases. The three dial variants, in vibrant amethyst, deep blue, and stark grey, feature sharp Côtes de Genève finishing with applied baton markers and skeletonized hands. The Arsenale 40 is powered by the Miyota 9029, a premium ultra-thin caliber from the Japanese manufacturer. It features 24 jewels, hacking, hand winding, a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour, and a power reserve of at least 42 hours. The movements in use are true no-date.

A new chapter for the popular Murph

The Murph’s dial features an Arabic numeral track and large cathedral hands, a tapering stick seconds hand elegantly following the fully graduated seconds track on the outskirts of the dial. The standard 38mm Murph is now accented by a rugged three-link stainless steel bracelet, leaning into the watch’s go anywhere, do anything appeal, while the new white dial variant adds a refined touch to the modern classic.The Murph is powered by Hamilton’s H-10 caliber, their variant of Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80 — an ETA 2824-derivative with an impressive 80-hour power reserve. The H-10 is an automatic movement featuring 25 jewels, hacking hand winding, and a frequency of 21,600 beats per hour.

Dress Up Their Daily Wear

Shell cordovan is one of the rarest and most desirable leathers in the world. Produced from a layer of material located just over a horse’s hip, the result is a strong yet supple leather that does not crease. After a six-month tanning process, it develops a unique, rugged, rippling patina unlike anything else. Due to its strength, the straps can be made thin — these are just 2mm thick. Combined with color-matched stitching, the result is a robust and elegant strap, tapering down to a refined 16mm at the buckle to ensure comfort during wear on everything from a vintage dress watch to a scratched-up tool watch.

Help Them Take Notes

Tactile Turn has been perfecting their machined pens for the better part of a decade. Their Bolt Action pen is a fun and functional take on the ubiquitous writing tool. After a few actuations of the bolt, you’ll quickly understand how the mechanism can be addicting to play with. Instead of flimsy plastic, they make their pens from titanium, copper, bronze, or zirconium. All of the metal components in the pen are machined entirely in-house at their Texas machine shop — even the springs and screws.

Make Sure They Wake Up

Nanu is a small San Francisco-based team focusing on well-being through product design. The young brand seeks to offer an alternative to what they see as a disposable, digital lifestyle by offering timeless design, tactile experiences, and environmental responsibility in a package that only gets better with use. The brand’s Arc Alarm Clock exemplifies this. Built from a cast zinc housing with ABS panels, an aluminum alloy chime bar, mineral glass, a silent movement, and an OLED alarm display, the Arc's premium repairable construction and analog design seamlessly replace your smartphone when it comes to setting the day’s tone. Furthermore, the mechanical chime, set to a crisp tone, perfectly adds classic clock making to such a modern product.

Let Them Decide

Shopping for someone else but not sure what to give them? From chronograph watches to pilot watches and from clocks to everyday carry, there are a lot of options. Give them the gift of choice with a Windup Watch Shop gift card, either in digital or physical form.

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