What’s the perfect watch? The one you’re wearing. And which one is that? The one you can afford.
It’s simple reasoning but bears repeating in the watch world, where we are so often obsessed with the most pristine, gold-laden, house-costing timepieces. Yes, watches can be luxury goods, and those luxury goods are beautiful. But a watch can also just be the thing you wear on your wrist that tells the time and costs, well, not as much as a house. And — quote us on this — that affordable watch can still be amazing.
Products in the Guide
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Seiko 5 Sports SKX Sports Style GMT
Best Overall Watch Under $500
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Orient Bambino
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Bertucci A-2T Classic
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Casio World Time
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Seiko 5 Sports Field Watch
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Q Timex GMT 38mm Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch
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Brew Metric
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Dan Henry 1970
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Shinola No. 2 Model D Detrola
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Bulova Lunar Pilot
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Luminox Original Navy Seal XS.3001.F
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Blancpain x Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms
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Citizen Tsuyosa
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Baltic HMS 002
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Nodus Sector GMT
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Casio G-Shock GWM5610
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Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic “Fugu”
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Timex Marlin Automatic
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Lorier Falcon III
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Seiko Prospex “Turtle” SRPE93
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Affordable watches have the power to turn more people into watch nerds than haute horlogerie. Any one of these sub-$500 watches is going to make you feel good when you buy it and feel even better when you use it. Because they’re not cheap garbage. They do what you need for less, and shouldn’t you be saving to send your kid to college, anyway?
How We Tested
We tested these watches the best way we knew how: By wearing them like we owned them (and in some cases, we do own them). That means changing the straps, fiddling with the crowns and bezels, timing things and not being precious about banging them into door handles (it happens). In some cases, like with more purpose-built watches, we went even further. Wearing them while traveling, taking them diving and, in at least one instance, running them over with a car.
To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.