Recommend one budget watch you love

[jameswrx]

We've all had cheap watches that are a load of rubbish but sometimes you get one that surprises you.

Was thinking it might be an idea if you've had a watch that is cheap (let's say sub £100) to recommend it to the community here. Post a pic and state the reasoning. I'm always on the look out for interesting stuff I prev knew nothing about. I'm not talking about bargains you've had where the watch should be more expensive, but new'ish watches that punch well above their weight. Especially interested in stuff that uses decent quality parts from other manufacturers.


So, I'll go first...

Apeks dive watch. Chassis is based on Citizen by the looks, movement is a Seiko Quartz of nice quality. Bezel Feels nice but does have a bit of play so ideal for those OCD line up's! Lume is really strong, you catch it glowing away when you even go into shade during the day! It wears really comfy on the rubber dive strap. Has a real fee of satisfaction knowing it's actually a decent quality piece for not a lot of coin.

New price is £77. Can be had on eBay used very cheaply, this is where they come into their own as some may just think "who?". I paid around £35 (I think, will double check)

I replaced the crystal with one of Cousin's domed crystal, just because it was a little scratched. The crystal was only £1.50 too!






With new domed crystal






So, what you got people?

[JP Chestnut]

Seiko Tuna, not cheap but affordable I think.

[mjgerrard]

I love my Steinhart Marine Chronometer II and despite the cost of other pieces in my collection it's actually the watch that get's the most compliments. Nice to say that I have a Steinhart that isn't just a homage diver too.

That Unitas 6498 pocket watch movement is properly loud and I do like that for some reason. At around £350 it's a steal - but apologies that it's that much as I don't have any as low as sub £100.

[Dave O'Sullivan]

Probably cost more than £100 now but I paid about £70 or so for this:



Then there is always the classic budget watch:

[Dr.f]

DEFINATELY my Kemmner Marine 38mm.

[Der Amf]

Couple of years ago I was looking for something quartz and 100m WR but still with restrained enough looks that it would fit in with my other stuff. I got this from Skywatches in Singapore, but they don't seem to stock it any more. There are various different colours for it - white dial, white with black subdials, brown dial and bezel etc - all have a code starting EFR526L. A quick search of eBay brought a fair number of results



Given how cheap it was, I've always been very impressed by it - the build quality is miles better than that of fashion watch at the same price. I think it comes on a bracelet, too.

[SSK007]

Yeah Tuna's are a good buy.

Seiko Tuna, not cheap but affordable I think.

[alfat33]

I'd agree with both of Dave's suggestions, and add the good old Seiko 5. Mine was £50 off Amazon for a classic looking, very reliable auto day date with a clear case back. Probably the watch that turned me from an enthusiast into a modest collector.

[Jimnic007]

I'd agree with both of Dave's suggestions, and add the good old Seiko 5. Mine was £50 off Amazon for a classic looking, very reliable auto day date with a clear case back. Probably the watch that turned me from an enthusiast into a modest collector.

This, I really like wearing mine on a variety of straps, particularly a grey leather nato.

[quietly]

Plus another one for the Seiko 5.

And this,

[jameswrx]

Are these Vostok's decent then?

I was watching an urban gentry vid the other day and someone sent him one in to review. He pulled the crown out and it looked like he was stirring a bowl of porridge. Was all over the place, exception?

[alfat33]

Are these Vostok's decent then?

I was watching an urban gentry vid the other day and someone sent him one in to review. He pulled the crown out and it looked like he was stirring a bowl of porridge. Was all over the place, exception?

I didn't see the video, but I have one and the crown is designed to be loose when unscrewed. The loose coupling is supposed to protect against impact damage. They are a bit marmite. I love mine.

[Routers]

For me it's got to be the BFK - especially with an aftermarket sapphire crystal.

[James_]

Are these Vostok's decent then?

I was watching an urban gentry vid the other day and someone sent him one in to review. He pulled the crown out and it looked like he was stirring a bowl of porridge. Was all over the place, exception?

Only for a bit of fun and if you don't really care about reliability over a long period.

I went through a Vostok phase, had 6 Amphibias and all of the movements had problems including randomly stopping. Don't know if it's the design or bad QC.

[jameswrx]

I didn't see the video, but I have one and the crown is designed to be loose when unscrewed. The loose coupling is supposed to protect against impact damage. They are a bit marmite. I love mine.

Ah right, I see. Must admit when he pulled it out and stirred it around he was a bit lost for words.

Only for a bit of fun and if you don't really care about reliability over a long period.

I went through a Vostok phase, had 6 Amphibias and all of the movements had problems including randomly stopping. Don't know if it's the design or bad QC.

They don't really appeal to me visually but I assumed they were some sort of tough beast because they are quite popular.

[mindforge]

Great thread.

I really like that Apeks. In fact only this week I was all set to buy one as a quartz beater as it seems to be the best thing out there for the money (the only thing I can fault it on is the length of the minute hand) but I ended up going for this CWC instead as it came up on SC,



So that would not be my value watch.

This would be however, under a hundred quid, sadly out of production now by Seiko, but perfectly proportioned, great legible and simple design, seconds hand hits the markers and works on any Nato you care to try it on. Only thing I would change (isn't there always something?) is a brushed crown instead of polished.

[Velorum]

Another vote for the Amphibia

Well under £100, in house movement, tough as they come and lots of customising options

[forpetesake]

This would be however, under a hundred quid, sadly out of production now by Seiko, but perfectly proportioned, great legible and simple design, seconds hand hits the markers and works on any Nato you care to try it on. Only thing I would change (isn't there always something?) is a brushed crown instead of polished.

In terms of design, this is my ideal watch. It's kind of an antidote to watch sickness.

[mindforge]

In terms of design, this is my ideal watch. It's kind of an antidote to watch sickness.

Nicely put! I find it's the perfect watch to wear when I can't decide what else to put on and don't want to worry about anything top heavy or that I might bash.

[deepreddave]

This RLT75 now used by my eldest. Think I paid £90 second hand in mint condition, rrp was around £150ish. Simple quartz, sapphire crystal, 300m wr and a solid link steel bracelet with ratchet clasp. Haven't seen another in the wild and just a great vfm watch.


Second the Divex, my youngest had an Apeks and can't fault it plus it's actually bought by people who actually dive, what's all that about?

And finally someone had to suggest one of these because of its 'forget about it cos it does exactly what it says on the tin' ness...

[5avvy]

When I bought my first Seiko Monster it was about £120. Great value for money.

[Man of Kent]

SKX007. In my case, a bit modded. It's my normal work watch for out of office. This one was bought as a broken watch on ebay. I fixed it up and upgraded a few bits and I love it.

[Mark lowman]

Seiko Orange Monster - A great piece
image sharing sites

[Seikoboy]

It's all about Seiko's at
This price point . I bought an SNZF17 once under £100 and an absolute bargain at that price IMG_0855.JPG


Seikoboy

[Omegamanic]

Almost all of my G shocks bar one would probably meet the requirement, and are well up to the task, ahs highly recommended. I prefer the 5600 shape, so that's the one for me :)

[Scrubnut]

[Caruso]

My Tisell 167 is pretty good for $155. I nice well balanced dial and a hand wound mechanical movement that's pleasingly accurate.

[DB9yeti]

My Tisell 167 is pretty good for $155. I nice well balanced dial and a hand wound mechanical movement that's pleasingly accurate.

That really is a great looking watch, no two ways about it.

[Markw]

Used G10

[Progressive]

+1 for the military-inspired Seiko 5; my first automatic and first (and currently only) Seiko. I got this watch probably eight years ago. I wore it every day for about three years until I moved onto better things. It was then only utilised as a holiday watch, though only really to places I wasn't comfortable wearing a more expensive piece. Eventually the stock nylon strap was shot from repeated exposure to salt water so I binned it (after extracting the lovely matte buckle and keeper) and put the watch in a draw, forgetting about it.

I stumbled across it again over Chistmas and threw on a (slightly too wide) perlon that I had picked up for another watch. It's now back in my watch box but I doubt it will see much wrist time in truth.

Automatic (with beautiful sweep on the second hand), day, date, waterproof, display back... cost me £32 delivered from memory. Owes me absolutely nothing, that's for sure. It has a few minor battle marks on the matte case, though I can't remember if they were from a drunken night on the streets of Hanoi or from snorkelling over jagged coral in Cancun. Either way, they make me smile!

[Onelasttime]

Go on then, I'll play:

Any Vostok Amphibia – probably my favourite budget diver of all time. I currently only have a 650SE



But I used to have a 710SE

[helidoc]

Another Amphibia vote. I'm wearing this on my holiday this week, and despite extreme temp changes it gains less than 5 secs a day :)

Dave




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[TaketheCannoli]

My G-Shock M-5600- solar atomic. It might not be the only watch you'll ever want but it's certainly the only watch you'll ever need.

[Timelord]

We've all had cheap watches that are a load of rubbish but sometimes you get one that surprises you.

Was thinking it might be an idea if you've had a watch that is cheap (let's say sub £100) to recommend it to the community here. Post a pic and state the reasoning. I'm always on the look out for interesting stuff I prev knew nothing about. I'm not talking about bargains you've had where the watch should be more expensive, but new'ish watches that punch well above their weight. Especially interested in stuff that uses decent quality parts from other manufacturers.


So, I'll go first...

Apeks dive watch. Chassis is based on Citizen by the looks, movement is a Seiko Quartz of nice quality. Bezel Feels nice but does have a bit of play so ideal for those OCD line up's! Lume is really strong, you catch it glowing away when you even go into shade during the day! It wears really comfy on the rubber dive strap. Has a real fee of satisfaction knowing it's actually a decent quality piece for not a lot of coin.

New price is £77. Can be had on eBay used very cheaply, this is where they come into their own as some may just think "who?". I paid around £35 (I think, will double check)

I replaced the crystal with one of Cousin's domed crystal, just because it was a little scratched. The crystal was only £1.50 too!






With new domed crystal






So, what you got people?

I agree with most of the examples in this thread. There are plenty of worthy Seikos, Citizens and Casios for less than £100. However, I think that the Apeks-type watches offer tremendous bang for buck. They come in at least 3 case styles, at least 3 levels of WR (200m, 500m and 1000m), quartz (Seiko VX42) and auto (Miyota 8200 series iirc) and a number of diving equipment names on the dial, including Divex, Cressi Sub, Aqualung, US Divers etc, although you can get examples with other names such as Tauchmeister and Cardinal too. Therefore, I think that these watches make a nice collecting theme, which is far cheaper than trying to find a Seiko 6306 Scubapro, a Doxa Sub 300T with US Divers on the dial or a Favre Leuba Deep Blue with the same insignia.

[jameswrx]

I agree with most of the examples in this thread. There are plenty of worthy Seikos, Citizens and Casios for less than £100. However, I think that the Apeks-type watches offer tremendous bang for buck. They come in at least 3 case styles, at least 3 levels of WR (200m, 500m and 1000m), quartz (Seiko VX42) and auto (Miyota 8200 series iirc) and a number of diving equipment names on the dial, including Divex, Cressi Sub, Aqualung, US Divers etc, although you can get examples with other names such as Tauchmeister and Cardinal too. Therefore, I think that these watches make a nice collecting theme, which is far cheaper than trying to find a Seiko 6306 Scubapro, a Doxa Sub 300T with US Divers on the dial or a Favre Leuba Deep Blue with the same insignia.

Oooh, thanks for the other names. I'm going to be on eBay now looking for others! I love it when a watch like this can fly under the radar to the majority. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have started the thread :)

[James_]

Citizen Excalibur on bracelet can usually be found used for under £100



Vostok Amphibia. Crap movement but fun.



Edit: Oops that's 2 and I don't love any of them.

[Wallasey Runner]

Another vote for the Mako. A nice clear dial, functional and great value for little money:

[Mark lowman]

Just realised you said one budget watch.
Anyway here's one vintage Seiko, 1 modern Seiko and an Eddie.


free photo hosting

[helidoc]

After a weeks skiing with my Amphibia, and using WatchTracker to keep an eye on it, it's accuracy has been +3.8 seconds a day. Impressed!

Dave


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[toft pioneer]

I bought a Seiko SKX 007 from Japan, got it delivered to my friend in the USA who then brought it over when coming for a holiday here, I think I paid £85 as there were no import taxes in the US.

[Appleshands]

Been said before but has to be seiko monster for me, any colour, virtually bombproof!


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