The Best Watches You Can Buy Under $500

What’s the perfect watch? The one you’re wearing. And which one is that? The one you can afford.

It’s simple reasoning but bears repeating in the watch world, where we are so often obsessed with the most pristine, gold-laden, house-costing timepieces. Yes, watches can be luxury goods, and those luxury goods are beautiful. But a watch can also just be the thing you wear on your wrist that tells the time and costs, well, not as much as a house. And — quote us on this — that affordable watch can still be amazing.

Affordable watches have the power to turn more people into watch nerds than haute horlogerie. Any one of these sub-$500 watches is going to make you feel good when you buy it and feel even better when you use it. Because they’re not cheap garbage. They do what you need for less, and shouldn’t you be saving to send your kid to college, anyway?

How We Tested

We tested these watches the best way we knew how: By wearing them like we owned them (and in some cases, we do own them). That means changing the straps, fiddling with the crowns and bezels, timing things and not being precious about banging them into door handles (it happens). In some cases, like with more purpose-built watches, we went even further. Wearing them while traveling, taking them diving and, in at least one instance, running them over with a car.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

Best Overall Watch Under $500: Seiko 5 Sports GMT

Seiko

It’s been a couple of years since this watch debuted and forever changed our idea of what the phrase “affordable GMT” means, but it remains as cool and desirable as ever. Aping the style of the iconic Seiko SKX007 dive watch but adding a GMT twist via a fourth hand and a Hardlex crystal-topped 24-hour bezel, the “5KX GMT” quickly has become an icon in its own right.

The “5KX” GMT is our pick for the best watch you can get for half-a-grand.Photo by Joe Tornatzky

Orient Bambino

Amazon

There are a confusing number of Bambino generations, with different functions, styles, and dial colorways. (Seriously.) This means you’re spoiled for choice to find that one perfect mechanical dress watch for under $500—or maybe you can buy one for every suit you own.

Bertucci A-2T

Amazon

Ever since surviving a Gear Patrol-induced stress test (read: being dropped off a balcony), we’ve always had a profound respect for this tough little brand, which often sells its watches with ugly plastic shrouds for extra protection. These are watches for the blue-blooded, outdoor-working everyman, and the A-2T, with its lightweight titanium case, hardy nylon band, luminous dial and unstoppable quartz movement, is the perfect watch for camping or yard work. Our tester loved how rugged and non-fussy the watch is, but admits that it’s not winning any beauty contests.

Casio World Time

Amazon

There’s a near-endless supply of Casio watches available for under $500. In fact, if you steer clear of the higher-end G-Shocks and Edifice watches, practically any watch in the brand’s entire catalog can be had for less than five crisp Benjamins. But we have a soft spot for the World Time, which combines cool retro-futuristic sci-fi styling with a whole host of useful features all for less than fifty bucks. Our tester was shocked by how durable the watch is, but lamented the difficulty in finding replacements straps for the jangly bracelet.

Seiko 5 Sports Field Watch

Seiko

A revamped version of the iconic Seiko 5 line, the 5 Sports models feature day-date displays, upgraded styling, the automatic Seiko cal. 4R36 movement with optional manual winding and a 41-hour power reserve, 100m of water resistance and a Hardlex crystal. Seiko 5s have always offered great value, particularly for those first getting into the watch hobby, but the current generation is much improved without increasing prices too much. Our tester noted how it’s definitely an improvement over prior generations, though he still wishes it were thinner.

Timex Q Timex GMT

Timex

A proper dual-time version of the Q Timex reissue, the watch largely responsible for Timex’s current renaissance, the Q Timex GMT is one of the best GMT watches you can get for under $500 — and almost certainly the best under $300. It offers that classic Pepsi styling pioneered by Rolex, along with some upgrades over the non-GMT version, like applied indices and a cleaner dial design. Our tester loved the style overall — it looks great on the wrist — but he found the bracelet to be much cheaper-feeling than the case.

Brew Metric

Brew

It’s not often you come across a sub-$500 watch from a microbrand with a truly original design that looks like nothing else on the market, but that’s exactly what Brew gave us with the Metric. A meca-quartz chronograph with an interesting sub-dial layout, great finishing for the price and a funky colorway, this watch stands out and makes an impression without putting too much of a dent in your wallet.

Dan Henry 1970 Automatic Diver

Dan Henry

Dan Henry is an unapologetic homagist: he makes watches that are inspired by, and sometimes directly mimic, the greats. This is divisive work, but among affordable watch geeks, he’s mostly beloved because he does what the greats have done for much, much less. Here, we have a diver based on super-compressors of the 1960s and ’70s in a far more affordable and reliable (but no less attractive) package. Our tester loved the vintage styling and attention to detail of the watch, but found it just a bit too beefy for daily wear.

If you’re looking for an affordable automatic diver that references the unique super-compressors of the 1960s and ’70s, this is your best bet for the money.Photo by John Zientek

Shinola Model D Detrola

Shinola

An entry point into Shinola’s watch catalog, the handsome Detrola allows you to rep the “built in Detroit” brand for less than most people will think. With its onion crown, wire lugs and clock-like printed Arabic numeral indices, the watch unmistakably looks like a watch from the premium American lifestyle brand, but with an SRP under $400, it does so without forcing you to pay the types of prices Shinola usually commands.

Bulova Lunar Pilot

Bulova

Easily the best affordable alternative to the Omega Speedmaster on the market given its actual moon-landing provenance, the Lunar Pilot is a quality timepiece, a cool story and a good-looking accessory all in one. Its movement is a pretty neat Bulova high-frequency quartz that hums along at 262kHz, giving the chronograph a perfectly smooth sweep that looks very premium. Our tester was quite impressed with the movement, which is also far more accurate than your average quartz. But, in what is looking like a trend among affordable watches, he found the thickness of the watch to be a bit cumbersome.

Luminox Original Ngavy SEAL 3001

Luminox

The most classic Luminox watch made for the Navy SEALs still looks badass. It’s been resurrected in a form keeping close to the original, and it’s just about our favorite watch from the brand. Tough and legible with a tritium illumination and the brand’s own carbon material for its housing, what’s best about it is that it comes in under $400.

Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms

Swatch

Swatch’s follow-up to the blockbuster MoonSwatch is more of a real watch in every sense, yet it still costs less than $500. A collaboration with Blancpain recreating the first modern dive watch in Bioceramic form, the Scuba Fifty Fathoms looks almost identical to a Blancpain but comes in a range of funky colors. Our tester was especially impressed with the watch’s lume, which puts most far more expensive dive watches to shame, but he was skeptical about the longevity of the SISTEM51 automatic movement.

We have questions about the longevity of Swatch’s automatic movement, but it’s still fun to look at.Photo by Johnny Brayson

Citizen Tsuyosa

Citizen

Taking clear influence from a few popular luxury watches, Citizen has created a affordable modern icon of its own in the Tsuyosa. With an integrated bracelet, a wearable case size of 40mm and a wide array of colorful dials to choose from, it’s a fun watch to add to your collection without much thought. We’d like to see future iterations do away with the cyclops date, though, as it makes the watch lean just a bit too far into Rolex homage territory.

Baltic HMS 003

Baltic

The next-generation of Baltic’s original 1940s-inspired dress watch, the HMS 002 offers a ton of class and panache for its price. Powered by a pretty impressive Miyota automatic movement with 60 hours of power reserve and some attractive decoration (as seen through the display caseback in the gold PVD version), the watch even has a bit of horological interest to go along with its supremely good looks.

Nodus Sector GMT

Courtesy

Thankfully, Seiko decided to share the wealth when it created its affordable new GMT movement for the 5 Sports GMT, offering up the caliber for other brands to purchase and use in their own watches. One brand that quickly did so was Nodus, a standout microbrand from L.A. The Sector GMT eschews the typical GMT template to create a highly original watch, with an interesting case and bracelet combo, unique colors and a stubby GMT hand paired with an inner 24-hour ring.

Casio G-Shock GWM5610

Amazon

The “Square” G-Shock was the Casio offshoot’s original design, and it remains tough to beat 40 years on. It’s nearly impossible to destroy (we’ve tried), isn’t oversized like many later G-Shocks and really only has functions that you’ll actually use. Our tester found that the atomic radio syncing didn’t always work properly, which was a bit of a nuisance, but overall he loved its durability, wearability, and usability and considered the plastic beast to be one of his favorite watches.

Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic “Fugu”

promaster dive

Technically retailing for a bit over $500 ($550 as of this writing), Citizen’s iconic automatic dive watch is basically always on sale and can easily be found for less than $500. It’s a funky diver with its maxi dial and 8 o’clock crown, but it’s also highly capable, as our tester discovered while actually taking the thing diving. He found the watch to be highly legible with rock-solid durability, and all of the functions (like the timing bezel) worked swimmingly in the water (no pun intended). He did find himself wishing for a better movement, but alas, that would push the price well above our $500 ceiling.

Timex Marlin Automatic

Timex

Timex’s Marlin line continues to grow following its groundbreaking comeback less than a decade ago, and it continues to fuel the affordable brand’s mechanical makeover with each new release. This automatic version of the Marlin still incorporates mid-century style cues like the original, but it does so in a more modern package that’s bigger and preferable to some 21st-century wearers (even if we personally think it’s a little big).

Lorier Falcon III

Lorier

Diameter: 36mm

Movement: Miyota 90S5 automatic

This young brand has impressed us with the quality and value it offers for the price. For under $500 (just), you get a 36mm field watch style, a reasonable 100m of water resistance and a solid Japanese movement. With a stylish steel bracelet with flat brushed links and a pretty waffle dial, that’s a lot of watch that you can happily wear every day.

Seiko Prospex “Turtle” SRPE93

Macy’s

Along with the SKX, the “Tuna,” the “Monster” and a handful of others, the “Turtle” is one of Seiko’s beloved dive watches with a sizable and devoted following. The modern incarnation of the ’80s icon retains the original Tortuga’s cushion-shaped case and general design, but adds some Prospex-ified goodies in the form of an improved movement, increased water resistance and a more premium feel.