Inexpensive Watch Recommendations?

Bigfatts

Bigfatts

Joined
Mar 12, 2012
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So my brother-in-law just got a new job where he is inspecting parts and on each part he must mark the time. He is not a watch guy, but he now needs one. His b-day is next month and my sister wants to get him one. She is looking in the $100 range, give or take a little. It needs to be rugged and reliable. No need for frills but decent looks would be nice. Low maintenance is also nice. Now, I'm not a watch guy either, so I thought I would ask you guys.
 
Casio makes some really nice Analog & Digital combo watches. A guy I work with just got one, he paid about $75, looks clean and is tough.
 
I have a tough cheap watch, Casio g-shock!...only watch I would consider....ryan
 
Another vote for Casio G-shock. There is a wide variety to choose from around your sisters budget in both analog or digital.

If she can spend more, a Laco quartz pilots watch is a lot of watch for the money - $250 on Amazon.

861807_Genf_slide04.jpg
 
Either a Casio or a Timex Expedition will do well. I've been wearing a Expedition for almost 15 years now, and it's been great. Batteries last about 5 years, keeps perfect time, and has stood up for sone good punishment.
 
I wore a Seiko for years, the first "grownup" Christmas gift I ever got from my dad, and then a Skagen that my wife bought me for my birthday. I managed to kill both of them eventually, usually involving some sort of repeated impact with various things at work or playing in a gigging band. After not wearing a watch for a while, I bought a Timex Expedition several months ago, and I'm very happy with it. It's the only watch I've ever owned with a leather band, and my first Timex, so hopefully it holds up as long as the others.
 
Skagen makes some nice watches and uses lots of titanium for theirs. Nice and light also thin case designs which help non watch people get used to them.


-Xander
 
If he wants or appreciates automatic mechanical movements - the Seiko 5 series has many options under $100. They are pretty bulletproof as far as mechanical movements go, and he'll never need to buy a battery.
 
In the $100 price range... forget all of the analog watch recommendations if it has to be rugged and reliable. I often relate water resistance to how reliable a modern watch can be and in the $100 price range... you're looking at 50m. Save the extra $50 and go with the timeless classic DW5600 (any variant).

Casio-DW5600E-1V-Mens-G-Shock-Specification.jpg
 
There has been quite a few recommendations for G Shocks... they are great but many of them are gaudy looking and really only belong on a kid in high school. The one I have is the AWGM100-1ACR. First off it looks nice, properly sized and doesn't look like you're wearing a bread plate on your wrist. It's Analog but has digital date, timer, alarm, etc... It is water resistant to 200 meters, which is more resistance that just about anyone but Jacque Coustaeu needs. Its tough, it's a G Shock. Best of all, it's atomic. My resets itself everynight and I never worry about it being off. Oh, I forgot to mention it's solar powered too... In my opinion you can't get more watch value than this. Under $94 at some river site.
 
Casio - Totally solid watches and it does not have to be a g-shock either... there are plenty of good casio watches in the standard line up or look at the pathfinder series.
Examples:
The classic "Casio sports" watch runs around 10 dollars.
The basic "Casio Atomic" watch runs around 25 dollars and will never need the time set as it automatically syncs with an atomic clock.
The spendy "Casio atomic solar" watches run around 60 dollars and you will never have to set the time or change the battery because they are solar powered and sync automatically.

Put the words given in quotation marks into the search engine of the big online book seller to see what specific models and color options are available. :)
 
Bigfatts said:
So my brother-in-law just got a new job where he is inspecting parts and on each part he must mark the time. He is not a watch guy, but he now needs one. His b-day is next month and my sister wants to get him one. She is looking in the $100 range, give or take a little. It needs to be rugged and reliable. No need for frills but decent looks would be nice. Low maintenance is also nice. Now, I'm not a watch guy either, so I thought I would ask you guys.
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The most important question is what the watch is for.

Bigfatts said:
he is inspecting parts and on each part he must mark the time
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I'm guessing he does that many times a day. Get him a digital watch, digital is perfect for that sort of timekeeping.

The next important question is "what can you afford?"

Bigfatts said:
looking in the $100 range, give or take a little
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Timex Ironman or Casio G-Shock. $50 watches, I assume that coming in under budget is OK.

G-Shock DW5600E-1V:

71P5P6sdqyL._UY550_.jpg


Ironman T5E231:

81rxAL-QFcL._UY500_.jpg


Ironman is easier to read and easier to operate. G-Shock is fail safe, overbuilt and tank proof.

Bigfatts said:
No need for frills
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One man's frill is another man's MRE. If you want to kick the price up to $100, G-Shock GWM5610-1 has Tough Solar Power and Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping.

gwm5610-1_xlarge.jpg


I love Casio's copywriting. Tough Solar Power is a rechargeable battery and a photovoltaic cell. If you use the watch's backlight frequently, solar is a good investment. Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping syncs your watch with signals broadcast from atomic clocks in Anthorn, Mainflingen, Fukushima, Kyushu Island, Xi'an, and Fort Collins, Colorado. If you change your watch's time zone when you change time zones, Fort Collins will keep it synced most places in the lower 48.

Bigfatts said:
decent looks would be nice
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Tastes differ. I like metal watches with standard lugs in a standard size for any strap or bracelet. Casio made digital watches like that 30 years ago.

P1010139-3.jpg


Now they make plastic watches with plastic straps. I don't care for the look, but they're sturdy enough and modern electronics are more reliable. I wear one to the gym. Black is the most practical color.
 
A basic digital Casio G Shock would be great for marking the time over and over. I picked up an Atomic one for under $100, has analog and digital, but if I had to mark the time, I'd go straight digital.
 
willythekid said:
There has been quite a few recommendations for G Shocks... they are great but many of them are gaudy looking and really only belong on a kid in high school. The one I have is the AWGM100-1ACR. First off it looks nice, properly sized and doesn't look like you're wearing a bread plate on your wrist. It's Analog but has digital date, timer, alarm, etc... It is water resistant to 200 meters, which is more resistance that just about anyone but Jacque Coustaeu needs. Its tough, it's a G Shock. Best of all, it's atomic. My resets itself everynight and I never worry about it being off. Oh, I forgot to mention it's solar powered too... In my opinion you can't get more watch value than this. Under $94 at some river site.
Click to expand...

Well, some people have large wrists while others have wrists reminiscent of a soggy french fry. Some G-Shocks are in fact exactly what a person needs. Several friends of mine that are Paramedic/Firefighters use them as duty watches. These guys aren't exactly on the dainty side either, a standard watch on their wrist looks like a kids or ladies watch. For a completely ridiculous sized watch, look into the Suunto military style. :p
 
A Luminox is old school but, very durable. The polycarbonate case and NATO strap are great for washing off when dirty. Simple, easy to use, durable, ..... and only a touch over $100 for entry level.

Yes, I have more expensive watches but, this is the one I wear everyday.
 
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