At one time, the idea of spending 500 dollars on a watch seemed a little bit ridiculous to me. Now, while that is still a lot of money to spend on myself, I am less put off by the idea. A watch is more than just a personal time piece. It is a piece of jewelry, it is small machine on the wrist. It is something that can be given to our children, or our children's children as heirlooms. But it is so much more than just a watch.
In today's market, 500 dollars will not buy you what it could have bought you, say 25 or 30 years ago. But it can still get you something to be proud of, and something people will notice, if they have any idea what they are looking at.
This is the second time I have written the 5 best men's watches for under 500 dollars, and I hope to bring you some interesting and new options with this post.
In today's market, 500 dollars will not buy you what it could have bought you, say 25 or 30 years ago. But it can still get you something to be proud of, and something people will notice, if they have any idea what they are looking at.
This is the second time I have written the 5 best men's watches for under 500 dollars, and I hope to bring you some interesting and new options with this post.
So, let us see what I was able to come up with for this installment of the best men's watches for under...
The 5 Best Men's Watches for Under 500 Dollars
Jack Mason
Nautical Automatic 42mmModel: JM-N103-001
Case: 42 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: Leather
Movement: Mechanical Self winding
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery:N/A
Water resistance: 100 M/330 ft
Here is a new one to the best men's watches under blog! Jack Mason watches, they are made here, in America. In Texas actually. Jack Mason is a small group of individuals that started designing and building watches only a few years ago. They have come a long way in a short time, at least in my mind. They have some well designed, and built watches. They feel solid and have some weight to them. I could be wrong, but I believe they use Miyota movements.I found them some time in the past year, when I started looking at watches that are made here in
America. It is not a requirement for me to buy American, but I think we, as Americans have gotten too far away from what we can do here ourselves, and have become too reliant on cheap, unreliable items.
The Jack Mason watches are fairly big though. The Nautica Automatic measures 42mm, and the case is made of stainless steel. The crown is located at the 3 o'clock position, and it has a thin bezel. The dial face of the watch is white, and it has Arabic numerals located at the 3, 6, 9 & 12 o'clock positions. It utilizes tick marks to indicate the remaining hours, and a smaller block pattern to mark the minutes. There is a small outer ring with Arabic numerals at the 5 minute marks to indicate minutes.
The band of the watch is leather, with a buckle style clasp to round out this package.
The watch is really nice looking, and it was able to achieve a nice, maritime feel to it. I love that it is automatic instead of quartz, and it even squeezes under the 500 dollar mark. Coming in at about 495 dollars. You can by Jack Mason on their website, or it is also available at Nordstrom, and Saks Fith Avenue.
I like what this company is doing and hope to see more from them in the future.
Citizen
Blue Angels World Chronograph AT
Model: AT8020-03L
Model: AT8020-03L
Case: 43 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: Leather
Movement: Eco-Drive H800 Atomic
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date, Chronograph
Battery: N/A
Water resistance: 200m/666ft
Citizen is not new to the best men's watches blog. In fact, I couldn't even tell you how many times I have written about a Citizen watch now. But I can tell you that I have not talked about this one on this blog before. It is the Blue Angels World Chronograph AT. It is a seriously decked out watch. And it is one that can be had for well under 500 dollars. In fact I have seen it for as low as 300 dollars. And Quite honestly, it may be a best buy on this list, as far as I am concerned. And that is coming from a person who is generally not blown away with Citizen. I think this watch is the real deal, and should be considered if you are looking for a watch for under 500 dollars.
This watch is loaded, it has a 43mm diam stainless steel case, with the crown located at the 3 o'clock position. It has the chronograph function buttons located at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. It has a blue dial face and tick marks indicating the hours. It has a date window located at the 3 o'clock position and it has 3 sub-dials for the chronograph function. It also has a power indicator located below the date window.
The watch band is blue leather and has a buckle style clasp to finish this watch off. The movement is an Eco-drive Atomic. Meaning it is a solar powered watch and it is a solar powered atomic watch. It has 26 different time zones, and it would be a world traveler watch, no problem.
The blue is nice, and I am not really one to veer from the classics. But this looks really good. And all of this for under 500 dollars seems to me to be a bit of a steal. I would own one, no doubt about that.
Citizen is not new to the best men's watches blog. In fact, I couldn't even tell you how many times I have written about a Citizen watch now. But I can tell you that I have not talked about this one on this blog before. It is the Blue Angels World Chronograph AT. It is a seriously decked out watch. And it is one that can be had for well under 500 dollars. In fact I have seen it for as low as 300 dollars. And Quite honestly, it may be a best buy on this list, as far as I am concerned. And that is coming from a person who is generally not blown away with Citizen. I think this watch is the real deal, and should be considered if you are looking for a watch for under 500 dollars.
This watch is loaded, it has a 43mm diam stainless steel case, with the crown located at the 3 o'clock position. It has the chronograph function buttons located at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. It has a blue dial face and tick marks indicating the hours. It has a date window located at the 3 o'clock position and it has 3 sub-dials for the chronograph function. It also has a power indicator located below the date window.
The watch band is blue leather and has a buckle style clasp to finish this watch off. The movement is an Eco-drive Atomic. Meaning it is a solar powered watch and it is a solar powered atomic watch. It has 26 different time zones, and it would be a world traveler watch, no problem.
The blue is nice, and I am not really one to veer from the classics. But this looks really good. And all of this for under 500 dollars seems to me to be a bit of a steal. I would own one, no doubt about that.
Hamilton
Khaki Officer Field Watch
Model: H69419363
Model: H69419363
Case: 38 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: 20 mm, Canvas
Movement: ETA 2804-2
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery:N/A
Water resistance:
I am pretty sure I have covered the Hamilton Field watches before here. They are great looking watches. Not really heavy on the bells and whistles, but they do the job and they look good doing it.
Hamilton started as an American company back in the late 1800's, in the 1970's it was purchased by the Omega/Tissot holdings company, and then in 1984, the merger between SSIH and ASUAG put Hamilton as a subsidiary of Swatch.
Today, they are still a subsidiary of Swatch, and can be told by the ETA movements. They are still well made watches, and are still watches that have a history and have a value.
The Field watch is a 38mm stainless steel, hand wind, mechanical movement field watch. That is pretty cool in my book. It has a sapphire lens and a black dial face. It has Arabic numerals marking the hours, and an inner ring of Arabic numerals marking the hours in a 24 hour style. There is a date window located at the 3 o'clock position, as well as the crown for the watch. The band is canvas and has a stainless steel buckle style clasp on it.
The watch is nicely made. Even though it is no longer an American made watch, it still has a strong American look to it, and it is a watch I would not mind owning. If you look, you can find this watch for under 300 dollars, and I think at that price point is is a wonderful buy.
I am pretty sure I have covered the Hamilton Field watches before here. They are great looking watches. Not really heavy on the bells and whistles, but they do the job and they look good doing it.
Hamilton started as an American company back in the late 1800's, in the 1970's it was purchased by the Omega/Tissot holdings company, and then in 1984, the merger between SSIH and ASUAG put Hamilton as a subsidiary of Swatch.
Today, they are still a subsidiary of Swatch, and can be told by the ETA movements. They are still well made watches, and are still watches that have a history and have a value.
The Field watch is a 38mm stainless steel, hand wind, mechanical movement field watch. That is pretty cool in my book. It has a sapphire lens and a black dial face. It has Arabic numerals marking the hours, and an inner ring of Arabic numerals marking the hours in a 24 hour style. There is a date window located at the 3 o'clock position, as well as the crown for the watch. The band is canvas and has a stainless steel buckle style clasp on it.
The watch is nicely made. Even though it is no longer an American made watch, it still has a strong American look to it, and it is a watch I would not mind owning. If you look, you can find this watch for under 300 dollars, and I think at that price point is is a wonderful buy.
Shinola
Model: S0100019
Case: 41 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: Leather
Movement: Swiss Argonite 1069 Quartz
Functions: HH, MM, SS
Battery:
Water resistance:
I have been waiting patiently to get Shinola on another one of my men's best lists. I own a Runwell, and I love my Runwell. I would have no problem recommending a Shinola to anyone. I am kinda stretching the line a little bit on this watch, but oh well.
If you go on the Shinola website, you will be paying more than 500 dollars for this watch. In fact, they sell it for 550 dollars. But, if you do some diligent searching, you will be able to find this watch for under 500 dollars. Probably around 480 dollars to be more accurate.
The Runwell is one of the first designs by Shinola, it has a 41mm stainless steel case, with a round bezel and the crown located at the 3 o'clock position. It has a sapphire lens, and a large white dial face, with large, black Arabic numerals marking the hours. It has small ticks for the minutes, and a sub dial for the seconds. The band of the watch is black leather, with white stitching, and it has a buckle style clasp.
Shinola got in trouble awhile back for putting the label "Made in Detroit" on their watch. Personally, I had no issue with this. The watches are assembled in detroit, with parts coming from all over the world. Namely Switzerland and America. Companies do things like this all the time, and nothing is said. Built in Detroit works just fine though.
Tsovet
Black Quartz Chronograp
Model: JPT-CC38
Case: 38 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: Leather
Movement: Miyota OS11
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date, Chronograph
Battery: N/A
Water Resistance:
Tsovet is another American company that falls into the same basic category as Jack Mason, and Shinola. They are creating wonderful looking watches and using Japanese or Swiss movements. Tsovet is located in California, and have been in business for several years now. Their designs are really starting to solidify in my opinion. And more so, this watch design is one of my favorites. Not just from Tsovet, but all around. It has a total McM look to it, totally retro, and I love this look.
The watch isn't huge, which I also like a lot. It measures 38mm and is made of stainless steel. It has a large diameter crown located at the 3 o'clock position and has the chronograph buttons located at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. The dial face is black with stamped white markings. It uses Arabic numerals at the 2, 4, 8, & 10 o'clock positions, with long, narrow tick marks for the remaining hours. It has a date window located at the 3 o'clock position, and it has sub dials located at the 12 & 6 o'clock positions. The band of the watch is leather, and it has a buckle style clasp.
I like this watch a lot, and you should be able to find the watch for someplace between 350 and 400 dollars. Well within the budget and a wonderful choice for the price.
Tsovet is another American company that falls into the same basic category as Jack Mason, and Shinola. They are creating wonderful looking watches and using Japanese or Swiss movements. Tsovet is located in California, and have been in business for several years now. Their designs are really starting to solidify in my opinion. And more so, this watch design is one of my favorites. Not just from Tsovet, but all around. It has a total McM look to it, totally retro, and I love this look.The watch isn't huge, which I also like a lot. It measures 38mm and is made of stainless steel. It has a large diameter crown located at the 3 o'clock position and has the chronograph buttons located at the 2 & 4 o'clock positions. The dial face is black with stamped white markings. It uses Arabic numerals at the 2, 4, 8, & 10 o'clock positions, with long, narrow tick marks for the remaining hours. It has a date window located at the 3 o'clock position, and it has sub dials located at the 12 & 6 o'clock positions. The band of the watch is leather, and it has a buckle style clasp.
I like this watch a lot, and you should be able to find the watch for someplace between 350 and 400 dollars. Well within the budget and a wonderful choice for the price.
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