Reply With QuoteSeiko Tuna, not cheap but affordable I think.
Recommend one budget watch you love
We've all had cheap watches that are a load of rubbish but sometimes you get one that surprises you.
Was thinking it might be an idea if you've had a watch that is cheap (let's say sub £100) to recommend it to the community here. Post a pic and state the reasoning. I'm always on the look out for interesting stuff I prev knew nothing about. I'm not talking about bargains you've had where the watch should be more expensive, but new'ish watches that punch well above their weight. Especially interested in stuff that uses decent quality parts from other manufacturers.
So, I'll go first...
Apeks dive watch. Chassis is based on Citizen by the looks, movement is a Seiko Quartz of nice quality. Bezel Feels nice but does have a bit of play so ideal for those OCD line up's! Lume is really strong, you catch it glowing away when you even go into shade during the day! It wears really comfy on the rubber dive strap. Has a real fee of satisfaction knowing it's actually a decent quality piece for not a lot of coin.
New price is £77. Can be had on eBay used very cheaply, this is where they come into their own as some may just think "who?". I paid around £35 (I think, will double check)
I replaced the crystal with one of Cousin's domed crystal, just because it was a little scratched. The crystal was only £1.50 too!
With new domed crystal
So, what you got people?
Seiko Tuna, not cheap but affordable I think.
I love my Steinhart Marine Chronometer II and despite the cost of other pieces in my collection it's actually the watch that get's the most compliments. Nice to say that I have a Steinhart that isn't just a homage diver too.
That Unitas 6498 pocket watch movement is properly loud and I do like that for some reason. At around £350 it's a steal - but apologies that it's that much as I don't have any as low as sub £100.
Probably cost more than £100 now but I paid about £70 or so for this:
Then there is always the classic budget watch:
I'd agree with both of Dave's suggestions, and add the good old Seiko 5. Mine was £50 off Amazon for a classic looking, very reliable auto day date with a clear case back. Probably the watch that turned me from an enthusiast into a modest collector.
DEFINATELY my Kemmner Marine 38mm.
Great thread.
I really like that Apeks. In fact only this week I was all set to buy one as a quartz beater as it seems to be the best thing out there for the money (the only thing I can fault it on is the length of the minute hand) but I ended up going for this CWC instead as it came up on SC,
So that would not be my value watch.
This would be however, under a hundred quid, sadly out of production now by Seiko, but perfectly proportioned, great legible and simple design, seconds hand hits the markers and works on any Nato you care to try it on. Only thing I would change (isn't there always something?) is a brushed crown instead of polished.
This RLT75 now used by my eldest. Think I paid £90 second hand in mint condition, rrp was around £150ish. Simple quartz, sapphire crystal, 300m wr and a solid link steel bracelet with ratchet clasp. Haven't seen another in the wild and just a great vfm watch.
Second the Divex, my youngest had an Apeks and can't fault it plus it's actually bought by people who actually dive, what's all that about?
And finally someone had to suggest one of these because of its 'forget about it cos it does exactly what it says on the tin' ness...
Couple of years ago I was looking for something quartz and 100m WR but still with restrained enough looks that it would fit in with my other stuff. I got this from Skywatches in Singapore, but they don't seem to stock it any more. There are various different colours for it - white dial, white with black subdials, brown dial and bezel etc - all have a code starting EFR526L. A quick search of eBay brought a fair number of results
Given how cheap it was, I've always been very impressed by it - the build quality is miles better than that of fashion watch at the same price. I think it comes on a bracelet, too.
Another vote for the Amphibia
Well under £100, in house movement, tough as they come and lots of customising options
When I bought my first Seiko Monster it was about £120. Great value for money.
SKX007. In my case, a bit modded. It's my normal work watch for out of office. This one was bought as a broken watch on ebay. I fixed it up and upgraded a few bits and I love it.
Seiko Orange Monster - A great piece
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This, I really like wearing mine on a variety of straps, particularly a grey leather nato.Originally Posted by alfat33
I'd agree with both of Dave's suggestions, and add the good old Seiko 5. Mine was £50 off Amazon for a classic looking, very reliable auto day date with a clear case back. Probably the watch that turned me from an enthusiast into a modest collector.
In terms of design, this is my ideal watch. It's kind of an antidote to watch sickness.
This would be however, under a hundred quid, sadly out of production now by Seiko, but perfectly proportioned, great legible and simple design, seconds hand hits the markers and works on any Nato you care to try it on. Only thing I would change (isn't there always something?) is a brushed crown instead of polished.
It's all about Seiko's at
This price point . I bought an SNZF17 once under £100 and an absolute bargain at that price IMG_0855.JPG
Seikoboy
Almost all of my G shocks bar one would probably meet the requirement, and are well up to the task, ahs highly recommended. I prefer the 5600 shape, so that's the one for me :)
It's just a matter of time...
My Tisell 167 is pretty good for $155. I nice well balanced dial and a hand wound mechanical movement that's pleasingly accurate.
Go on then, I'll play:
Any Vostok Amphibia – probably my favourite budget diver of all time. I currently only have a 650SE
But I used to have a 710SE
Another Amphibia vote. I'm wearing this on my holiday this week, and despite extreme temp changes it gains less than 5 secs a day :)
Dave
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My G-Shock M-5600- solar atomic. It might not be the only watch you'll ever want but it's certainly the only watch you'll ever need.
That really is a great looking watch, no two ways about it.My Tisell 167 is pretty good for $155. I nice well balanced dial and a hand wound mechanical movement that's pleasingly accurate.
Used G10
+1 for the military-inspired Seiko 5; my first automatic and first (and currently only) Seiko. I got this watch probably eight years ago. I wore it every day for about three years until I moved onto better things. It was then only utilised as a holiday watch, though only really to places I wasn't comfortable wearing a more expensive piece. Eventually the stock nylon strap was shot from repeated exposure to salt water so I binned it (after extracting the lovely matte buckle and keeper) and put the watch in a draw, forgetting about it.
I stumbled across it again over Chistmas and threw on a (slightly too wide) perlon that I had picked up for another watch. It's now back in my watch box but I doubt it will see much wrist time in truth.
Automatic (with beautiful sweep on the second hand), day, date, waterproof, display back... cost me £32 delivered from memory. Owes me absolutely nothing, that's for sure. It has a few minor battle marks on the matte case, though I can't remember if they were from a drunken night on the streets of Hanoi or from snorkelling over jagged coral in Cancun. Either way, they make me smile!
I think this Wenger cost me around £100. It's lovely. Solid billet, thinks it's sapphire and clear.
I agree with most of the examples in this thread. There are plenty of worthy Seikos, Citizens and Casios for less than £100. However, I think that the Apeks-type watches offer tremendous bang for buck. They come in at least 3 case styles, at least 3 levels of WR (200m, 500m and 1000m), quartz (Seiko VX42) and auto (Miyota 8200 series iirc) and a number of diving equipment names on the dial, including Divex, Cressi Sub, Aqualung, US Divers etc, although you can get examples with other names such as Tauchmeister and Cardinal too. Therefore, I think that these watches make a nice collecting theme, which is far cheaper than trying to find a Seiko 6306 Scubapro, a Doxa Sub 300T with US Divers on the dial or a Favre Leuba Deep Blue with the same insignia.We've all had cheap watches that are a load of rubbish but sometimes you get one that surprises you.
Was thinking it might be an idea if you've had a watch that is cheap (let's say sub £100) to recommend it to the community here. Post a pic and state the reasoning. I'm always on the look out for interesting stuff I prev knew nothing about. I'm not talking about bargains you've had where the watch should be more expensive, but new'ish watches that punch well above their weight. Especially interested in stuff that uses decent quality parts from other manufacturers.
So, I'll go first...
Apeks dive watch. Chassis is based on Citizen by the looks, movement is a Seiko Quartz of nice quality. Bezel Feels nice but does have a bit of play so ideal for those OCD line up's! Lume is really strong, you catch it glowing away when you even go into shade during the day! It wears really comfy on the rubber dive strap. Has a real fee of satisfaction knowing it's actually a decent quality piece for not a lot of coin.
New price is £77. Can be had on eBay used very cheaply, this is where they come into their own as some may just think "who?". I paid around £35 (I think, will double check)
I replaced the crystal with one of Cousin's domed crystal, just because it was a little scratched. The crystal was only £1.50 too!
With new domed crystal
So, what you got people?
Nicely put! I find it's the perfect watch to wear when I can't decide what else to put on and don't want to worry about anything top heavy or that I might bash.
Yeah Tuna's are a good buy.
Yeah that looks pretty good on a nato.
They've been mentioned before, but these two are my picks. Indestructible, NASA approved watch for a few tenners:
And a cool quartz with actual military provenance for pocket money:
SNKE63 on a Stowa 'Old Style' strap
Last edited by Dapper; 12th February 2017 at 02:08.
Oooh, thanks for the other names. I'm going to be on eBay now looking for others! I love it when a watch like this can fly under the radar to the majority. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have started the thread :)
Citizen Excalibur on bracelet can usually be found used for under £100
Vostok Amphibia. Crap movement but fun.
Edit: Oops that's 2 and I don't love any of them.
Last edited by James_; 12th February 2017 at 15:01.
Plus another one for the Seiko 5.
And this,
Are these Vostok's decent then?
I was watching an urban gentry vid the other day and someone sent him one in to review. He pulled the crown out and it looked like he was stirring a bowl of porridge. Was all over the place, exception?
I didn't see the video, but I have one and the crown is designed to be loose when unscrewed. The loose coupling is supposed to protect against impact damage. They are a bit marmite. I love mine.
For me it's got to be the BFK - especially with an aftermarket sapphire crystal.
Only for a bit of fun and if you don't really care about reliability over a long period.
I went through a Vostok phase, had 6 Amphibias and all of the movements had problems including randomly stopping. Don't know if it's the design or bad QC.
I also have that Casio - it has done the Yorkshire three peaks challenge 14 times (with a bit of help from me !)They've been mentioned before, but these two are my picks. Indestructible, NASA approved watch for a few tenners:
Last edited by Dweller25395; 12th February 2017 at 18:54.
Mine probably is the Orient Mako.
Another vote for the Mako. A nice clear dial, functional and great value for little money:
Ive just been given one of these as a surprise gift due to my obsession with all things space. Totally out of keeping with my usual preference for manual dress watches and something I would not usually consider but despite myself I do rather like it...............Indestructible, NASA approved watch for a few tenners:
I guess that its not a million miles away from the LCD Speedmaster that I rate
Ah right, I see. Must admit when he pulled it out and stirred it around he was a bit lost for words.
They don't really appeal to me visually but I assumed they were some sort of tough beast because they are quite popular.
Just realised you said one budget watch.
Anyway here's one vintage Seiko, 1 modern Seiko and an Eddie.
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I wore my dw5600 today - I'm planning on thinning down the G shocks as many never get worn - and as usual I was struck by just how good it is. Light so it all but disappears on the wrist, every function you actually need (with a properly loud alarm and bright backlight, and the time shown in countdown and stopwatch modes), easily accessed without having to resort to a manual, and genuinely tough - mine has been covered in paint and scrubbed/picked clean countless times and it still comes up fresh. I've even dropped it accidentally a couple of times, once onto a tiled floor and I didn't even check it for damage, it just shrugs off 'beating' in the proper sense. Even the colours on the face somehow work - the solar atomic gw5610 looks like a busy mess in comparison. I genuinely think it might be the best G shock of the lot - it's a bit nerdy, not remotely attractive and has no pretension to grandeur, no solar power or fancy gizmos - and doesn't pretend to be a macho 'special forces issued' watch - it just looks and feels right somehow. And they're just over 50 quid new which is amazing really!
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Those who are into Vostoks know that the "loose" decoupled crown is a technical feature and not a fault.
Although they are cheap and cheerful watches, I have never had a reliability problem and mine are all pretty accurate, and because they had a clean-sheet design, they are technically more interesting than the the Rolex/Omega etc brands with innovative solutions to waterproofing. (They are not better timekeepers though!)
The watch that started me off with my obsession... Neo Mini Monster. Just £85 used.. and a great, sub £100 entry into automatic watches IMO.
Last edited by JohnnyE; 13th February 2017 at 00:30.
After a weeks skiing with my Amphibia, and using WatchTracker to keep an eye on it, it's accuracy has been +3.8 seconds a day. Impressed!
Dave
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