The Picks
CITIZEN Addysen Eco-Drive
A sapphire crystal at this price should not exist. But here we are. Solar-powered, never needs a battery, clean dress dial — this is the watch you buy when you want to stop thinkin...
View on Amazon →
SEIKO SSB429 Chronograph
Motor sport energy without the motor sport price. Tachymeter bezel, bold silver subdials on black, 100m water resistance. Quartz chronograph accuracy means the stopwatch actually w...
View on Amazon →
SEIKO 5 Sports SRPD
Day/date, LumiBrite hands, rotating bezel, 100m water resistance, automatic movement — the Seiko 5 Sports checks every box. This is what a well-designed sport watch looks like at a...
View on Amazon →
ORIENT Mako II
One of the most storied affordable dive watches on the planet. In-house automatic movement with hacking and hand-winding, 200m water resistance, 120-click bezel. Sharks have barely...
View on Amazon →
TIMEX Q Reissue 1979
The quartz crisis watch — the one Timex made to prove quartz was the future. Blue-red "Pepsi" bezel, woven bracelet, battery hatch caseback, 38mm case that fits every wrist. It's c...
View on Amazon →
BULOVA Surveyor Day/Date
Classic American watchmaking at a thoroughly accessible price. Two-tone bracelet, clean dial, day/date complication, luminous hands. The Surveyor is the kind of watch that works wi...
View on Amazon →
BULOVA Sutton 4-Hand Automatic
Open aperture dial, 24-hour subdial, exhibition caseback, self-winding automatic movement — this watch shows off. The Sutton is the rare American-heritage automatic at this price that actually delivers on its visual promises. A skeleton watch that earns the title.
View on Amazon →The Verdict
Under $250 is where the hobby begins. Any of these watches will make a watch person excited — and turn a non-watch person into one.
Want to see the full list? See all watches $100–$300 →