Looking for affordable dress wrist watches

[LuvMyMan]

Agree on the Seikos, I have a SKX007 diver from 1996 that has been worn regularly and has not seen a service. Very good value watches.

Seikos also have some great vintage watches. I purchased a 1950's self winder Sea Horse for my Husband, it is a bit larger than most of the vintage watches, has a 36mm case, and still has the original alligator watch strap.

 

[fiftyforfifty]

Seikos also have some great vintage watches. I purchased a 1950's self winder Sea Horse for my Husband, it is a bit larger than most of the vintage watches, has a 36mm case, and still has the original alligator watch strap.

IF possible kindly share image of the watch

 

[PeterGunnLives]

I have one Stauer watch (the self-winding "Graves '33" design). While they look cool, and $150 for their nicer-looking designs may be considered "affordable" when it comes to dress watches, I think the price should be much lower than that, based on the level of quality. One time it stopped working when I accidentally dropped it on a soft carpet! To compare, I just dropped my $40 analog Timex on the floor on purpose to see what would happen, and it's just fine.

Thankfully a local watch repairman was able to fix the Stauer. But I felt rather silly bringing him something so cheaply made.

 

[Silverstreak]

For a good dress watch on a budget, look no further than the Timex Easy Reader. If looking to spend slightly more coin, Seiko is the way to go.

 

[PeterGunnLives]

For a good dress watch on a budget, look no further than the Timex Easy Reader. If looking to spend slightly more coin, Seiko is the way to go.

Yes. I wear the Easy Reader almost every day.

 

[Leacock]

Having purchased a Stauer a year ago I can now give a review.

I purchased the Magnificat II. It certainly looked precisely how I wanted a watch to look like.

Unfortunately part of the band peeled off the second day I wore it.

Stauer was very good about sending me a replacement band, they deserve an A for customer service. Still that wasn't ideal. The face of the watch is still quite pretty and the mechanism is great - the watch keeps time quite well (I'm not so sure about the complications - but found resetting them to be too much of a chore and so ignore them). Unfortunately the coating on the sides of the watch is extremely thin and came off quickly. Turning my pretty golden watch into a boring, rather nickel looking thing.

If they would simply improve the coating they use so it would not start to come off in a matter of months (for the watch) or day (for the buckle) the watch would actually seem an excellent investment. As it is - I am unsure I can really recommend Stauer.

 

[Leacock]

It is really unfortunate -as I cannot get enough of the Stauer style, they look absolutely perfect to me, and the mechanism (which I presume to be the difficult element to manufacture) actually seems good. But little issues bring it down.

EDIT: Another thing I remembered - as I recall from my research people set great store in non-quartz watches having a smooth second hand (please let me know if I am mistaken) but I find the second hand clicks away like any quartz watch I have ever seen.

 

[Amir]

In my view, the Seiko Automatic SARB065 "Cocktail Time" is a beauty.:

Here are some informative threads.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f71/seiko-sarb065-cocktail-time-photos-galore-584523.html

and a lengthy Cocktail :

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f21/official-cocktail-time-pic-thread-sarb065-1024413.html

 

[Edward]

If you want to go for something a bit more "sporty", I only have good things to say about the Invicta 8926. They are pretty neat Submariner look-a-like, self winding, the mechanism is pretty good and you can swap for nearly every watch band you'd like.

Are there any sources of these you'd recommend? I've had a lot of great Chinese watches, but you have to be careful there as so many of them are fakes. Are Invictis from that port of the world, or elsewhere? I do rather fancy the idea of a Submariner lookalike, but not at the sort of silly money a real Rolex fetches!

 

[Cocker]

Are there any sources of these you'd recommend? I've had a lot of great Chinese watches, but you have to be careful there as so many of them are fakes. Are Invictis from that port of the world, or elsewhere? I do rather fancy the idea of a Submariner lookalike, but not at the sort of silly money a real Rolex fetches!

Bought mine on Amazon about three years ago, and still going strong. It WAS a good beater watch, nice submariner homage with the great Seiko NH35 movement. The general concensus was that it's one really great watch at an affordable price.

Noticed I said "WAS"? Yeah well, that's because all the ones I see on Amazon are around 300EUR while I bought mine 99 back then... Maybe you should have a look at the "WatchUSeek" forum?

 

[Macbeth]

While the Seiko Cocktail Time is really a stunner and can be had for $375,
The almost twin brother of it is equally elegant : the SARB033 which can be had for about $300.
These 2 watches can be worn anywhere and fit nicely under dress shirts. A bestbuy in my opinion.
You will never outgrow these classics.

 

[jacketjunkie]

You can find vintage Omegas out there for very little money. If you want to buy new, Seiko offers a wide range and excellent value. If you ever get sucked into high quality watches, check out Grand Seiko, Seikos high end line. The quality of workmanship of these is from what I have seen, way better than Omega, Rolex, Breitling and all the other commonly known 5-10k watches.

 

[Edward]

Bought mine on Amazon about three years ago, and still going strong. It WAS a good beater watch, nice submariner homage with the great Seiko NH35 movement. The general concensus was that it's one really great watch at an affordable price.

Noticed I said "WAS"? Yeah well, that's because all the ones I see on Amazon are around 300EUR while I bought mine 99 back then... Maybe you should have a look at the "WatchUSeek" forum?

I've spotted a few of them marked with around that as the RRP, but price marked down to about a third of that. Very tempted. I've been wearing a bunch of Chinese fake watches for the last few years (some of which keep excellent time), but I'm at the point where something nice is attractive....

 

[PeterGunnLives]

It is really unfortunate -as I cannot get enough of the Stauer style, they look absolutely perfect to me, and the mechanism (which I presume to be the difficult element to manufacture) actually seems good. But little issues bring it down.

EDIT: Another thing I remembered - as I recall from my research people set great store in non-quartz watches having a smooth second hand (please let me know if I am mistaken) but I find the second hand clicks away like any quartz watch I have ever seen.

On my quartz watches, the second hand stops at each second precisely. My Stauer has several smaller and much quicker stops in between each second, instead. So in comparison, it is "smoother," but not truly "smooth" as I understand that kind of watch really should be.

One thing I don't like about my Stauer is how quickly the "leather" band wears out and needs replacement if I wear it regularly... a shame, since the band looks so nice when it's brand new.

 

[JC Motors]

You can always try estate sales and thrift stores

 

[Emwonk]

Are there any sources of these you'd recommend? I've had a lot of great Chinese watches, but you have to be careful there as so many of them are fakes. Are Invictis from that port of the world, or elsewhere? I do rather fancy the idea of a Submariner lookalike, but not at the sort of silly money a real Rolex fetches!

Invicta is a watch that is not well regarded, so it's not a watch to show off, but this one is a steal for the dollars:

https://www.amazon.com/Invicta-8926...rd_wg=UgXUZ&psc=1&refRID=TZ4KNMSWT3R6VS2YEYQ8

Bigger version: https://www.amazon.com/Invicta-Stai...00FVE3A2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8


I have one and it keeps good time and I can dive with it or do a brake job without worrying to t gets a scratch. They also make a higher level version for a few hundred but I doubt it's worth it.

It is nowhere close to the quality of the Rolex this bears a faint resemblance to. However, if you drop your $7500 Rolex 18 inches and the $180 sapphire crystal breaks it costs $687 to fix it. It's also more comfortable to wear than my Explorer.

 

[Edward]

It is nowhere close to the quality of the Rolex this bears a faint resemblance to. However, if you drop your $7500 Rolex 18 inches and the $180 sapphire crystal breaks it costs $687 to fix it. It's also more comfortable to wear than my Explorer.

For sure the Rolex will be better, though I can't help but suspect it's not seventy-five times better! Law of diminishing returns, an aw that. I might just treat myself to one of these - and a nylon, NATO strap, of course.....

 

[Deleted member 16736]

My issue with modern dress watches are two-fold: they're too big and they lack a solid caseback. Except for military watches, vintage watches were almost always 36mm or less in diameter. Even the modern watches mentioned on this thread are larger than that, while others have a transparent caseback, or both. Unfortunately, after searching for literally years, I've concluded there are no affordable modern watches that could pass for a vintage watch, except for special re-issues and even those are "super-sized." I can't say about quartz watches because I'm not interested in a quartz watch. The small-version Rolex Oyster or JLC reverso is a modern "vintage" watch, but they're also $5,000.

 

[Edward]

Size is always the issue. If I was going to sink serious money into a watch, I'd be looking at the ladies' version - often there's an identical ladies' option which is just a three-quarter size version of the men's.

FWIW, last week, I weakened and ordered myself an Invicta. I'm currently in Beijing, but I've received word that it has arrived at my office and is waiting there for me - alongside the Connery-style nylon strap I also ordered for it. Of course, I'm now obsessed with the small percentage of negative reviews of it on Amazon! Ha...

I'll have the watch on Monday when I'm back in the office. Not been wearing one this week for various reasons, and I've really missed it. It's just not the same going into my pocket for the phone or whatever to check the time....

 

[Deleted member 16736]

Size is always the issue. If I was going to sink serious money into a watch, I'd be looking at the ladies' version

I've tried that route with no luck. Do you have any ladies' models in mind?