I collect watches too.. it's just my collection is only one watch big right now. My hobbies are too expensive...
In any case, for my 18th birthday my parents bought me a Tissot Classic Prince or for you watch buffs out there, the "banana watch"
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6950/c0803gh4.jpg
You can see why. There's a slight curve in the casing to accomodate the curve of the wrist. Pictures don't really do much for this watch, you gotta see it in person; I love mine!
Wish it was a manual wind, but I can't complain about this being my first serious watch. I picked it out and looked around for literally a month and a half to try to find the best price online.