Help! Watch options, sub 700.00 range?

No experience with Luminox myself but like others have said I have heard of people having some negative experiences with them. Marathon is what I would go with for myself given your tritium tube requiremen.

IF you would consider a watch with luminous hands/markers w/out tritium tubes any of the Seiko 007, Seiko Monster, Seiko 5, or Citizen EcoDrive diver's watches would be great choices and I have plenty of experience with both Citizen and Seiko watches. The only watch brand I'd consider above their price points is Rolex..........or MAYBE a James Bond edition Omega
 
Magrette makes a very nice watch in your price range.

Also try Maratac.

Also Lum Tec.
 
I'm a die hard fan of the Citizen Eco Drive.
My 2 Eco drive models cost me $350 each about 8-10 years ago and has not skipped a beat since.
I bang it on every door knob and corner I walk past and the crystal only has one tiny mark at 3 o'clock, which can be buffed out I think.
NO BATTERIES (runs on light) Best feature IMO
It looks great and they have an enormous line of different styles and prices from like $80-800 and they have great CS and great warranty.
 
I'd avoid the tritium and go with a Prospex Seiko for that kinda money. Personally a SRP655K1 would do it, its a real watch from a real watch company, with an incredibly durable automatic movement. Brands like luminox or anyone else trying to sell a >$100 quartz watch never sit right with me, they're almost always just hocking an image/ideal/fluff.
 
So came across an Aromurlite on Amazon, a returned unit. It wasn't something I would buy at full msrp, but with orange tritium tubes on the hands and 12. Blue tubes at 1-11 (Broncos colors). And a price below my price point! I pulled the trigger, and it arrived today.
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First off, I was thrilled to see the watch in perfect shape for a returned item. All the clear protective plastic still on. Box in acceptable shape. (Shipping dings.)

Quality wise, not worth a "William McKinley bank note" but it's close enough. This seems like a hodgepodge of parts made all over the world. From a company you've never heard of. But components fit well, and are of solid quality. The "armourglass" crystal gets great impact reviews, I'll fully test that... The movement is a Swiss Ronda 517 Quartz. Not great, but reliable. And the t25 tritium has a bright clean glow. (Even with blue/orange.)

Keep in mind, this was in impulse buy for a work watch, that will get beat on. I still have my eye out for a quality Pilot watch. At least I now have the tritium addiction kicked. And can focus on bigger things!
 
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Sounds to me like you described just about every Luminox I've ever seen. Should be able to stay below budget if you go that route
 
802-303 said:
I still have my eye out for a quality Pilot watch.
Click to expand...

I have owned a lot of different pilot watches but this is my favorite and the one that I currently wear in my rotation. It is big though, 47mm, and has a proven handwind movement. DeBaufre is not making these anymore but Steinhart is making virtually identical models.

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Be careful buying watches, just as you would with knives. You can find a watch brand that sounds good on paper, and they say that they will sell a $500 watch for $100, then you find you are actually buying a $20 watch.
 
^ That is a fine looking watch indeed! But the 47mm to my wrist ratio is a no go. Thanks for the forewarning with counterfeits. I was iffy about this Armourlite being so inexpensive, even being an open box item. But between return policy, and ability to check internals. I saw the risk to reward factor in my favor. And paid off, thankfully. However, any watch over 200.00 will be bought via dealer.
 
I like my Swiss Army Officers model automatic. It has a nice day/date window and has the military/classy look
 
For his university graduation last year, I bought my son the Victorinox Swiss Army Infantry Vintage and a separate Victorinox steel bracelet for it. It's a robust automatic mechanical watch. He did a lot of research before deciding on this watch. He was been very pleased with it.

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Whatever you get, my advice is to get a mechanical, be it manual wind or automatic. Especially if you're going up to $700.
 
The best budget brand I can think of is Mido. They have automatic movements, sapphire crystals, and screw-down crowns for under $1k. Hard to beat.
 
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