10 Great Watches For Under A Grand
The Hybrid One
This old-school Casio is the most affordable way we know to add interest to your wrist. It adroitly blends analog and digital through an easy-to-parse dial that, like the stainless-steel case and strap, comes in a wide choice of colours. Defying its featherweight price tag, it’s also water resistant. This one might be entry-level, but it doesn’t look or act entry-level.
Available at Casio.co.uk
The Digital One
After ten iterations, you’d expect one of the world’s most relentlessly dominant tech brands to have finessed its product, right? Well, yes it has. The Apple Watch remains a go-to smartwatch for its cutting-edge sleep tech, updated fitness tracking, phone answering and voice dictation, among countless other useful features. Since Series 9, the Series 10 has been prescribed Ozempic to help it shave off depth, while it’s added a larger, curved OLED screen that helps it reassert its position as the sleekest smartwatch on the market.
Available at Apple.com
The Everyday One
With case and strap separated by outstretched gold bars, and its crown at the top, this watch feels like a pocketwatch-wristwatch hybrid. Its dial indices bring a modern minimalism to the vintage design that, together with a reliable and lightweight quartz battery, make this an excellent daily condiment to sauce up your casual outfits.
Available at Baume-Et-Mercier.com
The Lookalike One
It’s impossible to talk about a small dial rectangular-shaped watch without mentioning the imperious return of the Cartier Tank, thanks to Jacob Elordi, Tyler, the Creator, Remi Malik and Paul Mescal. This Fossil watch is a more straightforward way into the right-angled watch trend. Note the large Roman numerals giving a classical feel, plus the curved case for ergonomic wear.
Available at Fossil.com
The Field One
In a competitive field… Hamilton consistently comes out on top. This is one of the thinnest, most wearable and stylish watches of its kind. The navy blue Nato textile strap gives a utilitarian, durable finish that’s as tough as an old boot. It will even stand up to trends – its timeless look isn’t going anywhere. Despite all the durability, the watch is impressively thin thanks to its compact quartz movement. An all-round winner.
Available at HamiltonWatch.com
The Celestial One
Orient is a Japanese brand gaining attention by offering automatic movements at very affordable prices. This Sun & Moon edition offers accuracy, longevity, and the ability to see its mechanics in action through a glass panel. For a watch with an extraterrestrial design language, it offers some very earthly comforts, including 50m water resistance.
Available at OrientWatch.co.uk
The Classic One
This is another automatic Japanese watch whose attributes go beyond just using kinetic energy to keep time. Seiko boasts of its whopping 72-hour power reserve, but the joy of this timepiece isn’t all in its movement. The gorgeous cream dial, simple indices and refined jubilee chain link secure its place on our list.
Available at SeikoWatches.com
The Casual One
In 2011, when Motown was a burnt-out wreck of a city, Shinola emerged from the ashes. The watchmaker isn’t just proud of its roots in Detroit – it assembles its quartz watches there and takes design inspiration from its hometown. The Vinton is inspired by a specific Romanesque building in Downtown. The stainless-steel case and strap combined with the midnight blue velvet dial make this watch akin to a pair of Levi’s 501s: rugged, timeless and wholly American.
Available at Shinola.com
The Swiss One
An authentic, automatic Swiss watch for this price? Absolutely. Clean, yellow-tinted numbers over a simple black dial give the Olympos an accessible yet stylish feel. Its stainless-steel case takes on a shield-like shape that places the crown towards the upper half of the design and protects it from any accidental knocks. The deep brown leather strap cements this watch as a fine choice.
Available at FrancisAndGaye.co.uk
The Art Deco One
The immediate draw of this UNIMATIC watch is its design, with a thick olive-green bezel framing its art-deco geometric indices. But it doesn’t just have surface appeal – Super-LumiNova delivers luminescence even at a dive depth of 300m. Don’t sleep on this beautiful watch, as only 400 pieces are being made in Italy.
Available at MrPorter.com
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