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Thread: Cheap watches you like more than expected

  1. #1
    Master
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    Cheap watches you like more than expected

    I know im not alone owing a cheap watch to wear doing things that may damage a nicer one. Throw away watch you dont care about. I recently got a Casio Collection W-800H-1AVES from Amazon and i'm really impressed with it. Have even worn it a couple of times when I didn't need to/could have worn a nicer one. This cost £14. What cheap beaters have other people got and liked?
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  2. #2
    Grand Master
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    I bought this Onsetta (onsa) from SC for 60 quid. It's a hand wind from the 40s and I love it.
    Came on perlon but I've currently got it on a leather nato which I think triples the value
    I wear it at work in London as my "if I'm gonna get robbed.." watch.

    Last edited by verv; 3rd February 2020 at 12:07.

  3. #3
    Master
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    I guess price and value are both subjective, but I have a lovely Halios Seaforth watch that I picked up last year and it gets a lot of wrist time. Bit of a bargain really. Ditto the two limited edition Squale models I got from Gnomon Watches in Singapore. And, of course, we can't forget my Vostok Amphibian or my Sieko Fifty Five Fathoms mod. Both cheap as chips and great fun for the money.




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  4. #4
    Master
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    These two are cheap to me but love them both...the Casio PRW6100FC replaced a forum favourite a GW5000 as i need something with hands due to my failing eyes and a Citizen GPS the perfect holiday watch as a quick press of a button and 1 minute later the time is correct.Had both of these for a while and whilst more expensive watches have been sold these have survived.

    Casio around £300 and Citizen £375.


  5. #5
    Master
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    This one has really surprised me. I wear it a lot.


  6. #6
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by verv View Post
    I bought this Onsetta (onsa) from SC for 60 quid. It's a hand wind from the 40s and I love it.
    Came on perlon but I've currently got it on a leather nato which I think triples the value
    I wear it at work in London as my "if I'm gonna get robbed.." watch.

    That is a beauty, I can see why you love it.

  7. #7
    Master
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    We went from £14 to £375 pretty quickly there!

    I guess its all relative depending on the collection you have.

  8. #8
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    Cheap watches you like more than expected

    Quote Originally Posted by MadeOfCheese View Post
    This one has really surprised me. I wear it a lot.

    My initial reaction was, I like that a lot.
    But then I noticed the vertical dashes between the numbers and it just looked wrong between the 11 and 1 numbers on the insert. I can’t stop seeing it now ....


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  9. #9
    Master davidj54's Avatar
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    Good article subject. Without question for me it’s the Seiko 5 model ref SNXS73 I bought last year. Really attractive dial, kind of a Datejust vibe going on with the stick hands and batons, has day/date and great lume. Nice too that it has an in-house movement and is part of a line that has a little heritage all of its own. 37mm case - due to the recessed crown wears like a 36, and has that nice balance of sporty & dressy. The bracelet isn’t up to much, quite flimsy but in a way it gives it a bit of a cool vintage feel which means I haven’t rushed to put it on a strap. I bought it on a whim, they’re about £100 new, I wear it loads and get a lot of pleasure from it.




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  10. #10
    Grand Master Passenger's Avatar
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    I have a white dialled amphibia 120, with blued hands that I really enjoy wearing and it takes everything I can throw at it, beach, gym, running, gardening...had a clumsy moment putting it on yesterday, dropped it about 4 feet onto the tiled floor, it bounced, didn't miss a beat though.

    Cute seiko 5.

  11. #11
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    Here’s my “cheap as chips” Seiko 5 on Hirsch Sienna as I quickly removed the rubbish bracelet. I was showing this to a disbelieving friend just yesterday who couldn’t believe that it was bought new for about £55,




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  12. #12

    Cheap watches you like more than expected

    Quote Originally Posted by davidj54 View Post
    Good article subject. Without question for me it’s the Seiko 5 model ref SNXS73 I bought last year. Really attractive dial, kind of a Datejust vibe going on with the stick hands and batons, has day/date and great lume. Nice too that it has an in-house movement and is part of a line that has a little heritage all of its own. 37mm case - due to the recessed crown wears like a 36, and has that nice balance of sporty & dressy. The bracelet isn’t up to much, quite flimsy but in a way it gives it a bit of a cool vintage feel which means I haven’t rushed to put it on a strap. I bought it on a whim, they’re about £100 new, I wear it loads and get a lot of pleasure from it.


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    I have the same model and also decided to leave it on the bracelet. At the time I bought it because I had never had a Seiko 5. Decided that it is a rather neat watch.

    This one, that also came in at less than £100 usually ends up being taken as an extra holiday watch.

  13. #13
    Loads over the years, but these two (that I still have) really stand out





    and this Poljot was a cracker

    Last edited by andy tims; 3rd February 2020 at 16:53.
    Andy

    Wanted - Damasko DC57

  14. #14
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by klunk View Post
    Here’s my “cheap as chips” Seiko 5 on Hirsch Sienna as I quickly removed the rubbish bracelet. I was showing this to a disbelieving friend just yesterday who couldn’t believe that it was bought new for about £55,




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    Thats a great looking watch especially for such little money

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  15. #15
    Journeyman
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidj54 View Post
    Good article subject. Without question for me it’s the Seiko 5 model ref SNXS73 I bought last year. Really attractive dial, kind of a Datejust vibe going on with the stick hands and batons, has day/date and great lume. Nice too that it has an in-house movement and is part of a line that has a little heritage all of its own. 37mm case - due to the recessed crown wears like a 36, and has that nice balance of sporty & dressy. The bracelet isn’t up to much, quite flimsy but in a way it gives it a bit of a cool vintage feel which means I haven’t rushed to put it on a strap. I bought it on a whim, they’re about £100 new, I wear it loads and get a lot of pleasure from it.




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    I had one of these a few years ago. Beautiful looking watch.


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  16. #16
    Master blackal's Avatar
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    Fifty Fathoms copy, under £60.... remarkably presentable

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  17. #17
    Every 5000/5600 G-shock I own :)

    Speedbird GMT
    PRS-29B

    Oh, and the amazing Seiko SPB053 that I can’t believe was so cheap!
    It's just a matter of time...

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob s View Post
    We went from £14 to £375 pretty quickly there!

    I guess its all relative depending on the collection you have.
    I was going to post this too, some people's idea of cheap is different than mine.

    But back on subject I do have a couple of cheap watches that are great. I bought a Corgeut that wears nice, but the strap was horrible.

    If we are including watches upto £350, I have a Seagul 1963 reissue that is great and gets a lot of wrist time with me.

  19. #19
    Craftsman marcus.furius's Avatar
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    This one cost me about 40 quid. Great beater and I do think the indiglo dial is a great Lume alternative.


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  20. #20
    Some nice watches here. It’s almost more satisfying wearing a cheap but nice watch as it is wearing an expensive piece.

    I bought this a few years ago and I wear it probably more than anything else.

    I’ve shown it here before on similar threads but hey one more time:


  21. #21
    Craftsman Hennersf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by marcus.furius View Post
    This one cost me about 40 quid. Great beater and I do think the indiglo dial is a great Lume alternative.


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    That looks lovely! Off to research that now!

  22. #22
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Happyal View Post
    I was going to post this too, some people's idea of cheap is different than mine.

    But back on subject I do have a couple of cheap watches that are great. I bought a Corgeut that wears nice, but the strap was horrible.

    If we are including watches upto £350, I have a Seagul 1963 reissue that is great and gets a lot of wrist time with me.
    Sorry that was my fault...did start off years ago with cheap watches but this forum made devils work of the word cheap.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Hennersf View Post
    That looks lovely! Off to research that now!
    Ditto!

  24. #24
    Craftsman marcus.furius's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ped View Post
    Ditto!
    Reference is tw2p95700.


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  25. #25
    Master sish101's Avatar
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    This. I recall it was around £120 from eBay. I love it so much I keep looking out for the 300m version.

    Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves

  26. #26
    Master sish101's Avatar
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    Oh and this. A £25 eBay purchase. Great for holidays, although I appreciate it won't be to everyone's taste and isn't a name you see very often on this forum.

    Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves

  27. #27
    Master earlofsodbury's Avatar
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    Pretty much every watch I own (and there are far too many...) would be considered cheap by the majority of "WIS", but perhaps my guiltiest pleasure is Nautica: basically a Timex-without-the-street-cred.

    This may well be because my first ever watch-bought-for-looks-not-usefulness was a Nautica, and not even the wacky/cool of the flippable dual-case or 5-movement monstrosities from a decade ago. My favourite among them is below, cost me a mighty £50, and yet is absolutely beautifully solid and well-finished. It probably helps that for many purposes I actively prefer quartz's faff-free practicality too.


  28. #28
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    I flew to the US a couple of years ago and I dropped the roughty-toughy hamilton I was wearing on the hotel carpet and it died. Picked this to hold me over and kept it ever since...

  29. #29
    Master
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    Always fancied a JC Deepsea but not sure about the case size (and haven’t quite got £10k sloshing about in my spare change) so tried this on over Xmas and ‘Shazam’.
    Anyone mentioned Seiko and VFM yet ?
    Great Watch.


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  30. #30
    Grand Master Passenger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by earlofsodbury View Post
    Pretty much every watch I own (and there are far too many...) would be considered cheap by the majority of "WIS", but perhaps my guiltiest pleasure is Nautica: basically a Timex-without-the-street-cred.

    This may well be because my first ever watch-bought-for-looks-not-usefulness was a Nautica, and not even the wacky/cool of the flippable dual-case or 5-movement monstrosities from a decade ago. My favourite among them is below, cost me a mighty £50, and yet is absolutely beautifully solid and well-finished. It probably helps that for many purposes I actively prefer quartz's faff-free practicality too.

    Good looking watch and with the texturing between the lugs looks like you could strike matches on it, if required.

  31. #31
    Master earlofsodbury's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passenger View Post
    Good looking watch and with the texturing between the lugs looks like you could strike matches on it, if required.
    Anyone under 40 is probably wondering what matches are!

    It does look better in the flesh - it's actually two separate parts - the knurled body, plus a quite delicate flying-bridge type structure for the lugs. Sadly my photo skills suck to much the same extent as a blue whale hoovers-up krill...

  32. #32
    Master mycroft's Avatar
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    My own personal value-for-money proposition is my Divex 200 - a 200m steel dive watch with decent lume and sapphire crystal.

    Even with the addition of a Borealis alternative to an ISOfrane (also brilliant, by the way), the whole rig came in at just under £100...



    Simon

  33. #33
    Grand Master Passenger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by earlofsodbury View Post
    Anyone under 40 is probably wondering what matches are!

    It does look better in the flesh - it's actually two separate parts - the knurled body, plus a quite delicate flying-bridge type structure for the lugs. Sadly my photo skills suck to much the same extent as a blue whale hoovers-up krill...
    chuckle, yes long gone are the days when all an 11 year old 'needed' to be entertained were a catapult, pen knife and a box of swan vestas

  34. #34
    Master Tetlee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passenger View Post
    Good looking watch and with the texturing between the lugs looks like you could strike matches on it, if required.
    Bremont on a budget?

  35. #35
    Master earlofsodbury's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tetlee View Post
    Bremont on a budget?
    Oh dear. You used the "B"-word...



  36. #36
    I don't have mine handy so apologies for the stock photo, but this is probably the best £15 you can spend on a brand new watch:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005FEYBXS/



    Lots of different dial variants & colours too, albeit Amazon prices tend to vary day-to-day quite a bit.

    It really is surprising how good these watches are considering what they cost. I think what really sets it apart for me is the fact that the bezel actually works. It's not just a "dive style" watch with a fixed bezel (OK, it's not a real diver either, but it does have a usable 100m WR).

  37. #37
    My watch(es) I am surprised I like more than the lowly value I got them for are Vostoks. Acquired a box of them gradually over the last couple of years, and wearing one today. It's garish, stupid and entirely unnecessary, but I love it.

    I present, my £20(ish) commemorative Vostok Boris Yeltsin gold plated edition, on a strap that doesn't suit it. But then what strap could compete with this majestic beast ? :)



    And yes, I know it's unlikely it left the factory looking like this, but then that's the charm at this price level of watches that are less than a round of drinks :)

  38. #38
    Master
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    As it's a Yeltsin tribute I trust the large crown is actually the cap of the hidden vodka reserve.

  39. #39
    Grand Master Neil.C's Avatar
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    This is very nice quality for a very inexpensive watch.




    Cheers,
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  40. #40
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by robt View Post
    I don't have mine handy so apologies for the stock photo, but this is probably the best £15 you can spend on a brand new watch:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005FEYBXS/



    Lots of different dial variants & colours too, albeit Amazon prices tend to vary day-to-day quite a bit.

    It really is surprising how good these watches are considering what they cost. I think what really sets it apart for me is the fact that the bezel actually works. It's not just a "dive style" watch with a fixed bezel (OK, it's not a real diver either, but it does have a usable 100m WR).
    Great example I looked at that model before buying the watch that inspired this thread

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  41. #41
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neil.C View Post
    This is very nice quality for a very inexpensive watch.




    I like it, wonder where their design inspiration came from

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  42. #42
    Master davidj54's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by robt View Post
    I don't have mine handy so apologies for the stock photo, but this is probably the best £15 you can spend on a brand new watch:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005FEYBXS/



    Lots of different dial variants & colours too, albeit Amazon prices tend to vary day-to-day quite a bit.

    It really is surprising how good these watches are considering what they cost. I think what really sets it apart for me is the fact that the bezel actually works. It's not just a "dive style" watch with a fixed bezel (OK, it's not a real diver either, but it does have a usable 100m WR).
    I used to have one of these - in fact I think I did a thread about it. Same model as pictured, £15 off Amazon, took it travelling round America doing all sorts of adventuring, used it for gym and other sport, general beater duties. Rock solid and never lost a tick. The battery eventually died and rather than replace it I upgraded to a G-Shock, but nonetheless it was a brilliant value for money watch.

  43. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by davidj54 View Post
    I used to have one of these - in fact I think I did a thread about it. Same model as pictured, £15 off Amazon, took it travelling round America doing all sorts of adventuring, used it for gym and other sport, general beater duties. Rock solid and never lost a tick. The battery eventually died and rather than replace it I upgraded to a G-Shock, but nonetheless it was a brilliant value for money watch.
    I agree..I've got two of these...the oldest is 7 years old and still happily ticking along..battery died after a few years but 5 minutes with a cross headed screwdriver and 50p Renata battery had it going again...the strap still grand despite being used for running and general building work....looks far more expensive than it is and a real unsung hero

  44. #44
    Master
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    One of my cheapest and probably my favourite, good old SKX007:

  45. #45
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
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    Bought off SC for £80'ish this Boldr Venture field watch is amazing. Sapphire, Titanium, super accurate, love the lug shape, & came with a leather canvas watch roll.


  46. #46
    Craftsman konlew's Avatar
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    All Seikos I had in past (unfortunately they are not cheap anymore). I never was a fan of plastic watches, but this one really changed my mind :)


  47. #47
    Grand Master Neil.C's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob s View Post
    I like it, wonder where their design inspiration came from

    Sent from my G8441 using Tapatalk
    It even has the knurled caseback too!

    Cheers,
    Neil.

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    http://www.freewebs.com/neil271052

  48. #48
    Craftsman
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    Picked up last July for 300gbp and love it.

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  49. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by rsykes2000 View Post
    My watch(es) I am surprised I like more than the lowly value I got them for are Vostoks. Acquired a box of them gradually over the last couple of years, and wearing one today. It's garish, stupid and entirely unnecessary, but I love it.

    I present, my £20(ish) commemorative Vostok Boris Yeltsin gold plated edition, on a strap that doesn't suit it. But then what strap could compete with this majestic beast ? :)



    And yes, I know it's unlikely it left the factory looking like this, but then that's the charm at this price level of watches that are less than a round of drinks :)
    A thing of beauty....


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  50. #50
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neil.C View Post
    This is very nice quality for a very inexpensive watch.




    I was going to post one of these too. Love mine.

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