Save this story Save Story Save this story A budding “watch guy” most likely starts off their collection with an assortment of quartz tickers (and let’s be clear, there’s nothing wrong with that). But as your interest in watches grows, it’s only natural for you to want something on your wrist you can brag about, which inevitably pushes you towards automatic watches.
Inside the case of an automatic watch is a weighted rotor that spins as you move your arm, a few little flicks of your wrist throughout the day keeps the internal mechanisms running long enough to keep that minute hand tick-tick-ticking across the dial.
But automatic watches also have a reputation for being finicky or costly. And while that can be true, the beauty of watches is the wide price scale in which the industry operates. From stunners for less than $250 to ones you’d have to mortgage your house (and maybe your parents’ house) to buy, here are the top automatic watches on the market today for any budget.
The Sub-$250 Pick Timex Waterbury Dive Automatic Watch Read more $219 Huckberry
The Sub-$250 Pick Casio Edifice Automatic Read more $300 Amazon
The Sub-$1000 Pick Kuoe Old Smith 90-002 Read more $645 Kuoe
The Baller Pick Bell & Ross BR-05 Grey Mirror Steel Read more $6,500 Bell & Ross
While not impossible to find a great watch at the $250-mark, you are going to be limited. Given the many internal pieces and complicated mechanisms needed to build an automatic watch, many brands have to charge a bit more for a quality automatic. Even so, brands like Orient and Seiko lead the way on well-made (and well-designed) options.
Orient’s range of inexpensive watches punch well above their weight-class and the Symphony III is no different. With its classic, clean design and movement that promises 40 hours of power reserve, this is a watch that’s made to be a daily driver without breaking the bank.
Timex’s Waterbury is a staple in their line-up and the extremely stylish Metrograph has an Art Deco-style case and dial that’s pared-down enough to keep things simple, but without looking boring.
The Seiko 5 is something of a cult favorite for the Japanese brand – and for good reason. It’s a perfect daily driver and a budget-friendly alternative to the Rolex Datejust. Best of all, it clocks in at just 37mm, which is the perfect case size for nearly any wrist.
As ever, Timex provides maximum bang for minimum buck with this classic "Pepsi" bezel diver.
At $500, the doorway starts to open up a bit more – but only a creak. The usual suspects like Timex and Casio, are populating this price point, Bulova and Sternglas are great alternatives who will give you a little more street cred among collectors.
Undoubtedly one of the best looking watches in the sub-$500 category, the Timex Marlin in this particular shade of green strikes the perfect balance between classic and modern.
Heavily influenced by motorsports, the Edifice is a bit of a departure from the digital, retro-charm of many mainstays for Casio. The integrated bracelet keeps it sporty, while the patterned dial makes it a little more interesting than other options on the market.
At 45mm, 200-meter of water resistance, and 42-hours of power reserve, the Bulova Marine Star ticks all the boxes for a great dive watch at a reasonable price – the two-toned bezel is just a nice bonus.
This fan favorite hits the bullseye of the style-quality-price nexus, and looks especially fetching with a bright yellow dial.
A thousand bucks is a perfectly reasonable budget to have when you want to upgrade your watch game without completely breaking the bank. Here, I’d recommend looking at smaller, or more indie brands to find some interesting designs not seen by more household names.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing their name, but Kuoe is starting to gain traction in the U.S.. The Japanese-based watchmaker produces high-quality, well-designed pieces that harken to a more classic watch style. The OLD SMITH is based on the military field watch, but with a slightly more refined design language.
A reborn grail from the Studio 54 era, with a vintage-correct 35mm case.
Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Unimatic
UNIMATIC uses the basic field watch as the springboard for their Modello Due, which strips it back to its barebones to make something a bit bolder, a bit more modern, and eye-catching.
Paulin is a Glasgow-based microbrand that’s known for colorful, unique, and whimsical watches, often playing with color to make their designs all the more interesting.
Needless to say, if money isn’t an issue, the sky’s the limit. Not all watches are created equal and buying just for the name recognition alone doesn’t always make for the best watch for the money. Instead, look for a price point that’s commensurate with the movement, design, and materials used, and you’ll never regret the decision to spend the big bucks.
Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Fears Watches
Taken from a 1924 archival design, the Brunswick’s cushion case, clean lines, and mother-of-pearl dial may all feel a bit “precious”, shall we say; but this is a workhorse watch that’s destined to be a daily driver for anyone who is looking for a little eye-candy on the wrist.
The IWC Ingenieur is a masterfully made ceramic watch (and matching ceramic bracelet) that will no doubt get you a few compliments every time you wear it to the office.
Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Bell & Ross
Not many watches can be mistaken for a Bell & Ross watch with its larger proportions and signature square case shape. The BR-05, the brand’s most popular model, is a sportier, slightly bolder answer to Cartier’s Santos.
Save to wishlist Save to wishlist Grand Seiko
It’s hard to narrow down one Grand Seiko to choose, but the White Birch is subtle and versatile enough to dress up or use as your daily driver. Most impressive about this particular model is the Caliber 9SA5 movement, which promises a whopping 80-hours of power when fully wound – nearly twice that of many others on the market.
Mechanical watch movements fall into two basic categories: hand-wound and automatic. Before the invention of automatic wristwatches in the 1920s (and long before the invention of battery-powered quartz movements in the 1960s) all watches were hand-wound. That meant you needed to manually wind up your watch every day to keep it running. An automatic watch (also called a self-winding watch) doesn’t require this because it winds automatically with the movement of your body as you wear it.
Most automatic watches wind themselves via a weighted rotor, which you’ll be able to see if your watch has a see-through case back (it’s the half moon-shaped piece right on top). When you wear the watch and move around, the rotor winds a spring, which turns the hands, date wheel and everything else that moves on a watch.
To keep your watch from stopping when you’re sitting still (or when you take it off at night) automatic movements also store excess energy and slowly release it over hours or days while the rotor is stationary. This is called a “power reserve,” and it typically ranges from 40 to 80 hours, with some going as high as a week or more. They’re useful if you don’t wear a watch every day, and don’t want to have to reset the date and time every time you put it on—particularly with annual or perpetual calendar models that can be complicated to set.
It’s not a downside, per se, but they do require some upkeep. Unlike a quartz watch that requires nothing more than a new battery every few years, a mechanical watch is a finely-tuned machine consisting of many tiny, precisely calibrated parts. Watchmakers have made huge advances in shock-and waterproofing over the years, but there’s still only so much abuse a mechanical movement can take. And that’s the thing: repairs to automatic watches can be expensive.
If you stick to the manufacturer’s recommended service schedule (it’ll need an overhaul and lube every 4 to 10 years, depending on the brand and model) and don’t make a habit of wearing it in the sauna, you’ll probably be fine. Whether it’s a $200 Amazon special or a $200,000 grand complication, automatic watches are designed to be worn, so the best way to take care of your watch is to wear it as much as possible.
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