Watches

You want a mechanical/automatic watch or an analog watch?

An analog quartz or solar would be more durable for whatever sportier activities kids do these days. They are also much more accurate than mechanical watches.

For automatics that are Japanese the citizen Promaster ny0086 would be one of the more robust ones.

Also the orient ray 2 or the seiko 5 sports models.

The Orient maestro is a modern/casual/minimalist design.

For analog quartz watches you have Casio that's Japanese with models like the mtd1053 (40mm), efv100d, efrs108, efrs107d, mts100 and mts110 (these have a sapphire crystal and a 10 year battery).

There are plenty of watches of Chinese or Hong Kong origin (like perpetual Watches) if he's from that part of the world, you can ask for recommendations in the r/Chinesewatches subredit.

The citizen eco-drive bm8180 would be a good choice, it's solar powered and small in size to fit a small wrist. It's also robust and would do well with all sorts of sports. Something like this would be my choice for a more classic looking watch that would keep up with an active lifestyle. It's also Japanese in origin like seiko, Casio, orient.

There are also many microbrands based in Asia like vario, zelos, Phoibos...