What are the best watches for men under $200?
Forget your Rolex and Omega this is Bond on a budget. Whilst you’re unlikely to get hold of a Citizen Eco Drive watch for a pittance, that’s not to say there aren’t some awesome budget-friendly options.
Watches are fashion statements that can make even the most drab ensembles ooze with flair and attitude. If you can afford a decent watch, that is. Even if you wanted to purchase watches promoted by grinning Formula One racers and tennis stars, the high prices meant they were only for the super-rich.
While this is still true with good mechanical watches, you can still get a decent, stylish Quartz watch for a reasonable price.
A watch that costs less than $200 is categorised as a budget watch. This classification has been the way for many years. Budget watches have been creeping toward the top end of the price range, but staying there abouts.
There is an abundance of timepieces to choose from within this range and they’re all readily available.
Be careful, though, as it’s easy to be lead to think that some of these choices are good ones because it’s so easy to get hold of them. Look at the specification of your budget watch to ensure you’re getting the most for your money.
Let’s have a look at five of the best watches for men under $200
Swatch YIS401G
This used to be a really sought-after piece but today it simply delivers a good quality watch at a reasonable price.
This Swatch comes with a stainless steel strap and case front. This particular version is 42mm thick and offers a deep blue dial and the date at the 3 position as well as two silver hands for the hour and minute and a striking red second hand for easy reading.
You can pick up numerous versions, depending on your taste. It’s a classy look that doesn’t hurt the pocket.
Inside is a classic quartz movement, which isn’t representative of Swatch as a whole, as they offer some high-quality automatic movements too. If you flip the watch over, it has a glass back and offers a viewing into the movements. The dial is protected by acrylic glass and the watch, on the whole, offers 30m water-resistance.
Tissot Men’s Classic Dream
This classic look comes complete with a leather strap. It lets you into the world of Swiss-made timepieces without carrying an insane price tag.
Don’t expect mechanical movements, but do expect real Swiss quartz made by ETA (the most renowned quartz provider).
This particular model is formal fashion. It has a 38mm case and some classy-looking lugs. The dial is simple but pristine. It’s well-defined with black accented features against the white face.
This is almost at the $200 mark, but if you have more in the bank, check out Tissot in more detail and you might fall in love with their mechanical range.
Skagen Men’s Signatur
Skagen is a Danish company that make some truly beautiful minimalist timepieces. They were independent until Fossil came along, but they continue to function outside of the Fossil Group to retain the brand.
The Signatur has a clean look that shows how uncluttered a dial can be without compromising on design.
It has a 40mm stainless steel case of 40mm and a leather strap.
Inside is, unsurprisingly, quartz movement. It does offer 50m of water-resistance, though.
Bulova Men’s Dress Watch
Bulova has a long-established history of making classic timepieces. They were most dominant of the watch world in the 50s. They produced one of the most precise watches the market had seen at the time.
If you’re not able to attain a mechanical movement, Bulova’s quartz are a very close second.
The black dial offers a retro date at the 3 position. There are no numbers, just markers and a second, minute and hour hand.
Inside is an automatic self-winding movement and it’ll offer 30m of water-resistance.
If you want something classy, you can trust a Bulova to last.
Braun Analogic Quartz Watch
This timepiece comes from a brand who are known for German design that is typically industrial. They’ve got almost 100 years of innovation behind them and in this time Braun has created a signature style.
This is a sleek 37mm case that comes in black ion-coated stainless steel. It has a matching black dial and simple markers.
The markers themselves are bright, so you get great readability, especially that of the yolk-yellow second hand.
It’s got quartz movement on the inside and offers 30m water-resistance.
Michael Kors Lexington Chronograph Stainless Steel Watch
All Michael Kors timepieces are water resistant and run on dependable quartz movements. The patterns are popular because of their low prices and easy-to-style motifs that go with any outfit.
Michael Kors‘ renowned Lexington watch line offers opulent elegance with a contemporary splash of trend-right accents for anything from jet setting excursions to the 9 to 5 grind.
Outside is a 44mm case and 22mm band width and mineral crystal glass that is scratch-resistant. Round stainless steel case with a black dial black stainless steel bracelet with deployment clasp. Inside, a quartz movement with analogue chronograph display.
Waterproof to 100m, it’s OK for showers, swimming, snorkelling, and shallow diving.
BUREI Men’s Luxury Automatic Watch Two Tones Stainless Steel Dress Watch
This BUREI watch is elegantly packed in a beautiful and opulent watch box, making it a perfect gift. Water resistance is appropriate for daily usage. Resistant against splashes. Sauna, bathing, and diving are not recommended.
Inside the 38mm case is a self-winding mechanical Japanese automatic movement. Apart from being ultra-precise, this sub $200 watch offers a sapphire crystal lens; beautiful pointer and diamond, date calendar window, wrapped up in a luxury design. It easily passes for a Rolex.
There are several colours to choose from, but we love this all-black version.
Invicta Men’s Pro Diver
Invicta’s goal is to create some of the most inexpensive – some would even say “cheap” – Swiss watches available. Many of their timepieces are under $100, and they come in a variety of designs and sizes to suit almost any taste. However, their usual guarantee is three years, and many of their timepieces utilise high-quality movements, so they aren’t disposable timepieces.
This Invicta chronograph features a striking design that will make you look twice.
It comes with a stainless steel band with a fold-over safety clasp in steel and gold tone. Mineral crystal sits over the face. There’s a crown with a screw and the bezel is made of stainless steel with a coin edge and a black top ring.
The Invicta Pro Diver features a stainless steel 40 mm casing with a black dial. This type is driven by a precise automatic movement that can withstand up to 200m of water-resistance.
Read more about Invicta watches.
Orient Men’s Japanese Automatic Stainless Steel Dive Watch (Ray II)
The Ray II has earned the reputation of being “the most inexpensive premium diver’s watch.” When compared to most of the cheaper timepieces on the market, this watch seems to be both stylish and functional. Even though it seems to be a basic box, it is beautiful, genuine, and well-kept. The Orient Ray II is a solid stainless steel watch with exquisite patter; it belongs in the premium category.
The Ray II is one of few watches with a single crown design, which minimises visual clutter by allowing you to change the date, time, and wind the spring all with one crown. The Japanese watch mechanism is at the core of this watch, and it works extremely smoothly. However, since it is a mechanical watch, it will develop errors over time and you will need to manually correct the time from time to time.
Despite the fact that Seiko now owns a portion of the business, they seem to have kept their own character, creating watches that vary from luxury to diving, from low-end to high-end. They’re renowned for their creativity, always coming up with beautiful and functional designs for not just diving but also casual excursions and other activities. The Ray II, along with its sibling, the Mako II, is usually on the short list of suggested first automatic watches for those who are just getting into diving and collecting watches. The original Ray is regarded as one of the finest option to other diving watches. The Ray has also been praised for its brilliant luminosity on its indices, which is both bright and long-lasting.
Daniel Wellington Classic Glasgow
The Daniel Wellington Glasgow is a unique gents timepiece. This 40mm watch has a PVD rose-plated case and cream dial that gives it a distinctive appearance. The watch has a water resistance rating of up to 30m. So it may be worn in situations where it will be splashed but not submerged in water. It’ll keep you dry while you’re washing your hands, and it’ll keep you dry in the rain.
This is a lovely watch that captures the essence of a summer by the sea by celebrating a nautical aesthetic.
Final thoughts
There are so many options of decent quality watches within this $200 or less budget range.
They vary from sporty to formal. It really depends on what you want your timepiece for as to which one will be the ‘best’ for you. This article covers 5 quite generally, but you can spend hours researching into the different kinds of watch at this price point for different occasions.
There are some much loved as well as proven brands producing watches that, granted, aren’t made of the best materials (for example you’ll see plastic on the dial rather than any kind of crystal), and stainless steel silver rather than titanium. You’ll also see a lot of quartz, rather than mechanical movements. But, this isn’t to say what you can purchase will be sub-quality on the whole.
If you’re thinking you’re more sporty than any of the above watches, then you’ll love our review on G-Shock, which are truly the most rugged watch you can find at this price.
If, however, you want something that looks more expensive than it actually is because you’re in a more professional setting, head to our review of watches that look more expensive than they are. The men’s article is here, whereas the ladies can head over to this version of the article here.
What you should know, regardless of the kind of watch, at this price point, the quality will not vary greatly between brands. There is only so much you can get.
Don’t be scared to shop around! The best thing you can do is mooch around this site and read the views of people who have done the hard work for you!
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Last Updated on May 29, 2022
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