The Top 10 Best Affordable Men’s Watches

Any man with a fashion-sense knows the importance of owning a good quality watch as one of his valuable accessory.

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You can wear a watch for just about any activity and for any time of the day. It makes you feel manly, and it does raise your stature in any setting where you happen to be.

But a watch doesn’t have to be very costly to make an impression. You can still buy an impressive yet affordable men’s watch that looks like it costs a fortune. Here’s our list of the best affordable men’s watches you can buy today:

Our Top 10 Picks:

These budget watches were made by real watch makers with solid reputations!

Our choices as listed below are based on our own experiences in owning and wearing throughout the years several watches from various brands. We also noted how others regarded the watches based on customer reviews online. Other factors we considered are the history and reputation of the manufacturer and the price versus the quality of the watch.

Hamilton Khaki Field

The Hamilton Khaki Field certainly deserves this spot on our list. This Hamilton automatic watch is perfect for masculine yet savvy guys. It looks very versatile that you can visualize a carpenter and a lawyer wearing the same watch to work.

The sapphire crystal is scratch resistant, the case is stainless steel, the hands are luminescent, the date is displayed, and it’s water resistant for up to 100 meters. There’s even a smaller numeral hour that numbers up to 24 – which is perfect if you tend to hang out with military types.

Seiko SARB065 (Cocktail Time)

The Guilloche Design on the dial really makes the Seiko Sarb065 difficult to ignore. Its silver dial has a hint of blue, and it will radiate in any amount of light. It’s no coincidence that it’s named “Cocktail Time”, as it really provides the perfect fashion accessory for any formal or semi-formal gathering.

But that’s not all. Its automatic movement keeps the time accurate, and hand-winding is also available. It’s even water-resistant for up to 50 meters. So it’s not a diver’s watch but for parties and dates, it’s just about perfect. It is subtly elegant and even eye-catching to some extent, but it is in no way vulgar.

Seiko 5 SNZG15 Automatic Watch

Yep, we have another Seiko automatic watch on our list. But the Seiko SNZG15 is perhaps the most affordable among all the watches we’ve listed here. And it’s a fine example of how a watch can be affordable without being cheap.

It’s not a dress watch with its nylon strap but it looks terrific nonetheless, and the strap may be even tougher than a standard NATO nylon strap. Its 42 mm case diameter and 22 mm band will fit even those with thicker wrists.

The face shows 12-hour and 24-hour markings. The glass is hardlex crystal and the Lumibrite hands are visible enough in low light. It is water-resistant up to 100 meters.

Tissot Heritage Visodate Automatic

Tissot is another example of what we mean when we say that we’re partial to reputable watch brands. This Swiss company was founded way back in 1853, and it is responsible for numerous technological innovations through the years. Today this watch is sold in 160 countries around the world, and lots of celebrities wear it.

While it is primarily known as a luxury brand, the Tissot Heritage Visodate is offered at a more reasonable price. It’s a very handsome watch and its size is just right – not too big, and not too small either. However, some people don’t quite appreciate the leather band, so you may want to replace that too.

SEIKO ProspEx (Sumo)

The Seiko Prospex is much more casual, and in fact it’s marketed towards rugged sporty types. You get a metal band instead of leather, the dial is black, and the case is quite large, with a diameter of 44mm. Well, it’s not named Sumo for nothing.

Its 6R15 Seiko 23 jewel automatic movement ensures the time is precise and it can be wound by hand even though it is self-winding. It does come with a 50-hour power reserve. The hands are luminous, the markers are treated with Lumibrite for excellent visibility in low light, and it is water resistant up to an impressive 200 meters in depth – great for both recreational diving and water sports. The Seiko Sumo is definitely one of the best looking budget dive watches out there! You can see our full list of the top affordable men’s dive watches here: Best Budget Dive watches

Victorinox Alliance Mechanical

Most guys know Victorinox as a manufacturer of Swiss Army knives. But the brand entered the timepiece arena back in 1989, and they’ve since displayed that same outstanding combination of form and function that are evident with their knives.

The Victorinox Alliance Mechanical is a great example of what the brand has to offer. You get a silver dial, a stainless steel case, and a black leather strap made of calfskin. The dial only displays the numbers 3, 6, and 9, and the date is displayed at 6. It’s simple, but quite stylish.

Laco Augsburg Type A Dial Pilot Watch

As the name suggests, the Laco Augsburg is a watch for aviators. However, its classic look also suggests that it is a pilot watch for aviators from the 1930s and 1940s. After all, Laco is a very old brand having started in 1925. The “1925” in the name shows that the brand is honoring its history with its design.

The simplicity of this watch is quite endearing, although the automatic movement is great and the sweep of the second hand is marvelous. The glass cover is sapphire crystal.

Also checkout our list of the Best Affordable Pilot Watches for more options on Pilot/Flieger Style Watches.

Orient Mako

Orient is a brand that most people probably haven’t heard of but among watch aficionados it has established a sterling reputation. Part of its appeal is that their watch movements are made in-house in Japan.

The Orient Black Mako is one of their popular “entry level” pieces, so you can enjoy the superb function at a very good price. It’s a great watch for divers, as it offers an unidirectional bezel that works well with the luminescent hands. It is also water-resistant up to 200 meters or 660 feet.

Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk

The Citizen Nighthawk is a bit different. Unlike the simpler designs you can see on the others, the Nighthawk revels in its “busy” design. That’s because it’s an aviator watch, and it offers various functions that a pilot will find useful. It offers dual time capability and an inner rotating slide rule bezel.

Like most traditional aviator watches, it has a black face along with luminous hands and markers for improved visibility in the dark. But you don’t want to keep it in the dark for too long, as it is powered by sunlight. It’s also water-resistant for up to 200 meters, just in case you have to bail out over the ocean.

Orient Bambino 3

The Orient Bambino comes with 21-jewel automatic movement, 40 hours of reserve power, and water resistance of up to 30 meters, but those details may be lost in the utterly captivating design of the watch face. The deep blue color of the face is mesmerizing, to put it bluntly. It proves that craftsmen who make accurate and tough watches can also make works of art.

It’s quite comfy to wear, and it seems very precise as well. But what will encourage you to buy it is its fantastic design, it tends to intrigue many who see it for the first time. The color seems to change depending on the lighting.

Need more budget options? Then you may also check out our selection of the Best Cheap Watches You Can Afford to Buy.

So there you have it – 10 affordable yet high quality watches. Every watch on this list performs well in terms of accuracy and toughness, and yet they all have their own distinct styles and features.