Who can even say how many Swiss watchmakers there are? I truly have no clue, without doing some heavy research. Which worries me. This could be a rather taxing series indeed, to make a list of the best men's Swiss watches...
Whatever the case may be, I am taking it on, in this first part, we will be covering Swiss watches up to 500 dollars, and there will probably be a part 2 & 3 for this series.
So, I hope you enjoy these watches, I am excited to see what I will come up with.
Mido is a Swatch company, and are not extremely well known, but in the circles of watch geeks, we all know that, generally speaking, Mido watches offer great bang for your buck. You are getting higher end watches at reasonable pricing.
The Mido Dorada is a 34mm, stainless steel watch, in a gold toned stainless. It has a crown located at the 3 o'clock position, a sapphire lens covers the brown pearled face. The hours are marked with gold toned indexes and the hands are gold toned as well. There is a date window located at the 3 o'clock position, and the band is a small linked, gold toned stainless steel version, with a folding style clasp. The movement is a ETA 956.112, a quartz movement that is considered a higher end quartz movement produced by ETA.
Whatever the case may be, I am taking it on, in this first part, we will be covering Swiss watches up to 500 dollars, and there will probably be a part 2 & 3 for this series.
So, I hope you enjoy these watches, I am excited to see what I will come up with.
The Best Men's Swiss Watches for Under...Part 1
The best men's Swiss watch for under 50 dollars
Invicta
Specialty Black
Specialty Black
Model: 11199
Case: 48mm, Stainless steel
Band: Leather
Movement: Quartz #517
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date, Day
Battery:
Water resistance: 100M/330ft
Invicta is a company I tend to not give much love to on the best men's watches under blog. Mostly because I consider Invicta viable options only under around 300 dollars. This is not me talking poorly about the product, it is just the way things work out. On most of my lists, I found watches I preferred over the Invicta watches. The only reason this watch didn't make the best men's watches under 50 dollars, was due to the HMT Pilot.
The Invicta Specialty Black sports a 48mm stainless steel case, that has been toned gold. It has a gold toned crown located at the 3 o'clock position. It has a flame fusion crystal lens, covering a black dial face. It has white Arabic numerals indicating the minutes at every 5 minutes. There is an inner ring of small Arabic numerals, marking the hours. The hands are gold toned as well, with an illuminated material imbued into the hands. There is a day/date window located at the 3 o'clock position as well. The band is leather with a buckle style clasp. The movement of the watch is a Swiss made quartz movement. The model number is 517.
I can usually find the Specialty Black for right at the 50 dollar mark. It is a nice looking, Swiss made watch that should offer a good shelf life. I think it is a stylish option for a daily wear watch.
Invicta is a company I tend to not give much love to on the best men's watches under blog. Mostly because I consider Invicta viable options only under around 300 dollars. This is not me talking poorly about the product, it is just the way things work out. On most of my lists, I found watches I preferred over the Invicta watches. The only reason this watch didn't make the best men's watches under 50 dollars, was due to the HMT Pilot.The Invicta Specialty Black sports a 48mm stainless steel case, that has been toned gold. It has a gold toned crown located at the 3 o'clock position. It has a flame fusion crystal lens, covering a black dial face. It has white Arabic numerals indicating the minutes at every 5 minutes. There is an inner ring of small Arabic numerals, marking the hours. The hands are gold toned as well, with an illuminated material imbued into the hands. There is a day/date window located at the 3 o'clock position as well. The band is leather with a buckle style clasp. The movement of the watch is a Swiss made quartz movement. The model number is 517.
I can usually find the Specialty Black for right at the 50 dollar mark. It is a nice looking, Swiss made watch that should offer a good shelf life. I think it is a stylish option for a daily wear watch.
The best men's Swiss watch for under 100 dollars
Swatch
Silver Glam Analog
Model: SOUZ147
Case: 42.7mm, Plastic
Band: Silicone
Movement: ETA Quartz
Functions: HH, MM, SS
Battery:
Water resistance: 30M/100ft
I think this is a first for me, here at the best men's watches under. I do not believe I have ever had a Swatch watch make one of my lists. There are reasons. I tend to shy away from plastic watches, especially for men. We tend to be rough on our stuff, and plastic does break. I am still not 100% on the choice, but options were limited for this price point. It was either this or probably another Invicta. I just could not do that. As much as I am reviewing and giving general specification on the watches on this list, I am also trying to make people aware of companies, and options.
So, with that, Swatch has made the lists. Swatch was founded in Switzerland in 1983. They were started by ETA SA, in an attempt to recapture the entry level watch market. They had some very good success with that, choosing plastics over the more expensive steels found in most watches. They played a huge role in re-establishing Switzerland as the quintessential watch making country, and went on to create a huge group of companies within the Swatch name. Companies like Omega are now owned by Swatch, along with countless others.
It makes up for the plastic :)
The Glam Analog is standard fare from the Swatch Watch Co, it is a 42.7mm plastic cased analog watch. It has a crown located at the 3 o'clock position, and it has a acrylic lens. The dial face of the watch is a steel outer ring with holes marking the hours. The center of the dial is skeleton, allowing you to look in and see the inner workings of the watch, it has black hands. The band is black silicone, and has a buckle style clasp, and the movement of the watch is a Swiss quartz, presumably an ETA.
The watch can be found through many online retailers for around 60 dollars, making it a cheap option if you are trying to find a watch for under 100 dollars. It looks pretty cool, with a modern flare, and would be an easy watch to knock around in.
I think this is a first for me, here at the best men's watches under. I do not believe I have ever had a Swatch watch make one of my lists. There are reasons. I tend to shy away from plastic watches, especially for men. We tend to be rough on our stuff, and plastic does break. I am still not 100% on the choice, but options were limited for this price point. It was either this or probably another Invicta. I just could not do that. As much as I am reviewing and giving general specification on the watches on this list, I am also trying to make people aware of companies, and options.So, with that, Swatch has made the lists. Swatch was founded in Switzerland in 1983. They were started by ETA SA, in an attempt to recapture the entry level watch market. They had some very good success with that, choosing plastics over the more expensive steels found in most watches. They played a huge role in re-establishing Switzerland as the quintessential watch making country, and went on to create a huge group of companies within the Swatch name. Companies like Omega are now owned by Swatch, along with countless others.
It makes up for the plastic :)
The Glam Analog is standard fare from the Swatch Watch Co, it is a 42.7mm plastic cased analog watch. It has a crown located at the 3 o'clock position, and it has a acrylic lens. The dial face of the watch is a steel outer ring with holes marking the hours. The center of the dial is skeleton, allowing you to look in and see the inner workings of the watch, it has black hands. The band is black silicone, and has a buckle style clasp, and the movement of the watch is a Swiss quartz, presumably an ETA.
The watch can be found through many online retailers for around 60 dollars, making it a cheap option if you are trying to find a watch for under 100 dollars. It looks pretty cool, with a modern flare, and would be an easy watch to knock around in.
The best men's Swiss watch for under 200 dollars
Mido
Dorada
Model: M1130.3.13.1
Case: 34mm, Stainless steel
Band: Stainless steel
Movement: ETA Quartz
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery:
Water resistance: 30M/100ft
Mido is another new brand of watches to the best men's watches under blog. It was founded in 1918 by George Schaeren, in Switzerland. In the 1920's, Mido made a name for itself by releasing fashionable women's watches, and shortly after that, with watches that resembled automobile grills. In 1945, Mido was the first company to produce a central read chronograph. And in the 1970's they became well known for their water resistance.
Dorada
Model: M1130.3.13.1
Case: 34mm, Stainless steel
Band: Stainless steel
Movement: ETA Quartz
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery:
Water resistance: 30M/100ft
Mido is another new brand of watches to the best men's watches under blog. It was founded in 1918 by George Schaeren, in Switzerland. In the 1920's, Mido made a name for itself by releasing fashionable women's watches, and shortly after that, with watches that resembled automobile grills. In 1945, Mido was the first company to produce a central read chronograph. And in the 1970's they became well known for their water resistance.Mido is a Swatch company, and are not extremely well known, but in the circles of watch geeks, we all know that, generally speaking, Mido watches offer great bang for your buck. You are getting higher end watches at reasonable pricing.
The Mido Dorada is a 34mm, stainless steel watch, in a gold toned stainless. It has a crown located at the 3 o'clock position, a sapphire lens covers the brown pearled face. The hours are marked with gold toned indexes and the hands are gold toned as well. There is a date window located at the 3 o'clock position, and the band is a small linked, gold toned stainless steel version, with a folding style clasp. The movement is a ETA 956.112, a quartz movement that is considered a higher end quartz movement produced by ETA.
The Mido Dorada 34mm Gents watch can usually be found online for around 190 dollars. In my opinion, it is a whole lot of watch for your dollar, and should be a company you look at if you are in the under 200 dollar price range, and are hoping to snag a honest to goodness Swiss timepiece.
The best men's Swiss watch for under 500 dollars
Victorinox
Alliance Mechanical
Model: 241668
Case: 40 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: Leather
Movement: Mechanical Self winding
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery:N/A
Water resistance: 100 M/330 ft
The Victorinox Alliance Mechanical is not new to the lists here at the best men's watches under blog, it was on the best men's watches under 500 dollars list, Victorinox is an old company. Not an old watchmaker though. They make Swiss army knives. In fact they are the company that makes the famous Swiss army knife. And since the late 80's they have been making quality Swiss watches for reasonably prices.
The Alliance mechanical has a 40mm stainless steel case. It has a crown located at the 3 o'clock position and a sapphire lens covering the black dial. The dial sports Arabic numerals at the 3, 6 & 9 o'clock positions and uses index marks for the other hour markers, with a Victorinox shield at the 12 o'clock position. There is a date window located at the 6 o'clock position. The hands are polished steel, with a red second hand. The band of the watch is leather with a buckle style clasp.
The watch can usually be had for around 400 dollars through the online retailers. It is a great looking, and well built watch for the money. If you are looking for a great Swiss watch for a reasonable price, you would be hard pressed to find a watch much better than what you can get from Victorinox
Alliance Mechanical
Model: 241668
Case: 40 mm, Stainless steel
Band width: Leather
Movement: Mechanical Self winding
Functions: HH, MM, SS, Date
Battery:N/A
Water resistance: 100 M/330 ft
The Victorinox Alliance Mechanical is not new to the lists here at the best men's watches under blog, it was on the best men's watches under 500 dollars list, Victorinox is an old company. Not an old watchmaker though. They make Swiss army knives. In fact they are the company that makes the famous Swiss army knife. And since the late 80's they have been making quality Swiss watches for reasonably prices.The Alliance mechanical has a 40mm stainless steel case. It has a crown located at the 3 o'clock position and a sapphire lens covering the black dial. The dial sports Arabic numerals at the 3, 6 & 9 o'clock positions and uses index marks for the other hour markers, with a Victorinox shield at the 12 o'clock position. There is a date window located at the 6 o'clock position. The hands are polished steel, with a red second hand. The band of the watch is leather with a buckle style clasp.
The watch can usually be had for around 400 dollars through the online retailers. It is a great looking, and well built watch for the money. If you are looking for a great Swiss watch for a reasonable price, you would be hard pressed to find a watch much better than what you can get from Victorinox
Wrap Up
The first part of the best men's Swiss watched for under, ended up being a much more difficult list than I could have expected. The pickings for Swiss made watches for under 500 dollars are actually much more limited than I knew. This was a learning list for me. One that really taught me the hardships the Swiss watchmakers have actually been going through. I have heard, in passing that the Swiss watchmakers had had a difficult time in the recent past, remaining the preeminent watch making country in the world, and I now see that a big problem is the lack of ability to be competitive.
I hope you have enjoyed part 1 of the best men's Swiss watches for under. Part 2 will be coming soon.
I hope you have enjoyed part 1 of the best men's Swiss watches for under. Part 2 will be coming soon.
