Watches

What exactly would you like to see with respect to the two elements you mentioned?

• brands from Germany or Japan?

What is your budget?

It depends on your budget. If he is going to be playing sports with the watch, I would say go with a G-shock. But if it is for everyday use, The Seagull 1963 is a mechanical chronograph which is stunning.

13y old me would be ecstatic to be gifted a GShock. If he's deserving I might even upgrade this to an Apple Watch SE if you have the budget.

Just note that mechanical watches might not yet be appreciated by this age group. Likely they will not perceive the value. If you insist on mechanical go safe with a Seiko 5 to test the waters.

Is there a reason you want it to be mechanical?

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...