Frankly, I generally don't know enough about this fella to give him anything but a totally blind recommendation. With the suggestions you've mentioned, one can assume that you have in mind a German brand, the under 3K USD price limit, and something diver-esque. Furthermore, these are probably what you have in mind, but may not necessarily be what the recipient has in mind. Seems like you know him best! I would default to your judgment! We don't even know the rough age of this "kid" so I default to you! Knowing you have good taste in watches, you have my proxy! At that price range, I really like the look of the Longines Legends Diver!