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Quality Watch Under £500?

dominic
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Hi, I'm a bit of a watch noob and need some advice on what's good and what's bad.
I've been looking for an automatic watch for under £500 for a while now, and I'm just not that sure what to get. I know that I don't want a quartz as I have had bad experiences with them in the past and am looking for something with a bit more quality this time. Are any watch brands good for this price range? I'd love to hear everybody's opinion on this.

Thanks very much 😀
 
The GMT Master
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If you want Swiss, then Tissot is your best bet. They've got a very strong range of automatics starting from about £300, and the fit and finish is impressive. Otherwise, Seiko is your friend - don't bother with UK Seiko agents as the British range is almost exclusively quartz. Check out the Seiko 5 range, and if you can find a Monster, then snap one up - they really are superb

Chris 👍
 
dominic
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Are Oris any good? I've seen a few of them which peek under the 500 mark.
 
The GMT Master
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I can't say I've handled any myself, but the general consensus is that they make a decent watch 👍
 
pascs
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Hamilton have some nice watches. I have one of their Seaview and really like it. I have plenty of Seiko's too, many of the dive watches have a cult following
 
U
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dominic dominic
Is there any specific watches anyone would recommend?

Yeah, we could recommend hundreds, but what style do you like? Chronograph, 2 hand, date, no date......
 
dominic
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Not a huge fan of chronograph, and I like to be able to see the date on my watch. 😀
 
dominic
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U ulackfocus
Yeah, we could recommend hundreds, but what style do you like? Chronograph, 2 hand, date, no date......
Also, my favorite metal for a watch is Steel if this helps. 😀
 
smithrjd
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There are several out there. Most will be an ETA movement if Swiss. Seiko uses an in house movement for the 5 series. An other brand that is often overlooked is Orient, a very decent watch well within your price range. They also use an in house movement.
 
SpikiSpikester
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dominic dominic
Not a huge fan of chronograph, and I like to be able to see the date on my watch. 😀

Chains like Ernest Jones have a decent selection searchable by price - best to browse around a bit and see what takes your fancy. As others have said, Tissot & Hamilton do some nice mechanical watches with dates in your range.

Of course if you want to go vintage you could do worse than a first generation dynamic with date 😀

Ps. That last comment might possibly be hopelessly biased 😜
 
dominic
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Found this watch which seems to suit what I'm after:
8360537
At £365 I like this one, unless somebody else has further ideas?
http://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/8360537/hamilton+men's+brown+strap+watch/
 
Mathlar
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SpikiSpikester SpikiSpikester
Chains like Ernest Jones have a decent selection searchable by price - best to browse around a bit and see what takes your fancy. As others have said, Tissot & Hamilton do some nice mechanical watches with dates in your range.

Of course if you want to go vintage you could do worse than a first generation dynamic with date 😀

Ps. That last comment might possibly be hopelessly biased 😜

Yes, like this:

2.JPG
 
The GMT Master
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The Visodate is one of my favourites in the Tissot line - it's a name that has a bit of heritage, it looks great, has both the day and date, comes on a nice deployant clasp, and it has a display case back. Great value watch for the money:

If you want something a little less formal on a bracelet, then I heartily recommend this PRC 200. Decent bracelet, 200m water resistance, and a really rather nice dial on it.

If you want something much sportier, then check out the new SeaStar - a very well spec'd dive watch for the money. Again, automatic, comes on a choice of bracelet or rubber, 300m water resistant, Helium Escape Valve, and uses the workhorse ETA 2824-2. Well worth a look

Chris
 
dominic
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The GMT Master The GMT Master
The Visodate is one of my favourites in the Tissot line - it's a name that has a bit of heritage, it looks great, has both the day and date, comes on a nice deployant clasp, and it has a display case back. Great value watch for the money:

If you want something a little less formal on a bracelet, then I heartily recommend this PRC 200. Decent bracelet, 200m water resistance, and a really rather nice dial on it.

If you want something much sportier, then check out the new SeaStar - a very well spec'd dive watch for the money. Again, automatic, comes on a choice of bracelet or rubber, 300m water resistant, Helium Escape Valve, and uses the workhorse ETA 2824-2. Well worth a look

Chris
Some nice choices in watches there. The display back is a really nice feature!
 
The GMT Master
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dominic dominic
Some nice choices in watches there. The display back is a really nice feature!

It certainly is - it's definitely worth trying a few of them on, they really punch above their weight
 
Lex4TDI4Life
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Being a Brit, you may want to check out Christopher Ward. They really do have some lovely, relatively inexpensive watches. I have my eye on one of their divers right now.

All ETA movements, nothing in-house or particularly revolutionary, but their designs are clean and elegant.

www.christopherward.co.uk


...and I have that exact same Hamilton Khaki on a bracelet as my daily beater 😉
 
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