5 Best Watches Below $1000: Timeless Investement on a Budget

If you’re a curious person who has fallen into the rabbit hole of the watch world, then you might be considering purchasing a timepiece under a specific price point. It’s always good to explore what these price tiers have to offer and see if there happens to be anything that strikes your interest as a potential purchase or an aspirational piece you can work towards in the future.

In this article, I’m going to review five of the best watches under 1000, in my opinion. Now, there are a bunch of great watches out there under that price point, but I’m going to cover a few from a variety of tiers and brands, from those just getting into the world of watches to pieces that die-hard enthusiasts will find interesting.

What you need to know

• There are many watches that would aptly fit under the ‘best watches under 1000’ title that come from a variety of tiers and brands.
• The Blue Planet, a watch from CIGA Design with a unique rotating display that has won a GPHG prize.
• Casio world time is the best digital watch for value. It’s packed with features, and has retro charm.
• The About Vintage 1926 AT’SEA is a vintage-inspired dive watch with modern functionality and a quartz caliber that beats at four times a second.
• Seiko 5 GMT offers a great entry point to GMT functionality. It features an updated Jubilee bracelet, and is made with reliable Seiko quality.
• Vostok Amphibia are unique Russian watches that are made entirely in-house. They are mechanically driven and come in a wide range of dial and case designs.

Blue Planet is my favorite watch. The Blue Planet would be a great choice for someone who is already familiar with a number of watches, and wants something that is a little more unique.

Before I begin, let me say that this is a Chinese watch brand. But before you skip over it, know that Blue Planet was the winner of a GPHG Award, beating out larger brands. It is the first time that a Chinese brand has won a GPHG and will forever be etched in the history of horology.

The one I have comes in a titanium case, which is refined and plays really well into its space-age theme, but there’s also a stainless steel option that comes in under the one thousand-dollar price point. This watch’s dial is its main feature. The dial may seem static at first but rotates like the Earth every 24 hour. It does this mechanically, using an automatic calibre. The outer rings show the time and the navigation pointer shows what time it really is. Telling time is a bit difficult at first, but once you get used to it, it’s easy. And as I’ve said before, this isn’t a watch for you to time something crucial – you’re bringing the wrong tools to the job in that case. In this case, it’s a watch to really take some time and admire.

If you take a closer look at the landforms on the watch’s dial, there is incredible detail to the depths of finishing, and can really be appreciated up close and in the right lighting. It’s almost as if you’re looking at a globe on your wrist, which makes me feel like a kid again looking into those snow globes during the holidays.

Continue reading: Ciga Watch Review – A closer look at the future of Chinese watch making 

Even though I wear analog watches the majority of the time I like to have a digital watch on hand for those moments when I need something quick and easy. Casio’s World Time is a digital watch that offers the most value for money. For the cost of a good lunch for one in the city, you’re getting a watch that can tell you every single time zone in the world, a countdown timer, a stopwatch, and an alarm function, all laid out in a dial design always displaying home time and this retro backlight that is so nostalgic.

This watch was first released in the 1990s. There was no UI framework that outlined how a digital timepiece should be able display all of these functions on a single dial, and still allow it to be read easily and fit comfortably on your wrist. So what you see on the World Timer is Casio’s way of doing what made sense to them, and it still looks good to this day.

World Timers are still talked about, but perhaps not as much in the watch industry as G-Shocks. G-Shocks, another Casio line of watches that are great but often too heavy and rugged for everyday use. World Timer is not as bulletproof a G-Shock but can take a lot of abuse. Its case is made of plastic and can withstand water up to a depth of 100 meters.

The Casio World Timer is as simple as they come. It’s easy to use with its four pushers and easy enough to understand how to set the time and use each watch function without bringing up the manual, unlike some other digital watches out there. If you’ve never owned one of these watches before or are in the mood to experience some retro tech, the Casio World Time is your answer, especially for its low cost.

This list wouldn’t be complete without a great dive watch. This vintage-inspired dive watch, the 1926 AT’SEA from About Vintage, combines modern materials and functionality in a case design that looks like it came straight out of the 1960s. This model comes in several variations, but I think my favorite is the black vintage-style version, with its creamy hour markers and handset, paired up with a gold aluminum bezel.

The large screw-down Crown without any additional crown guards reminds me of early dive watch design. The 39.5mm case features brushing and polished parts. I think this size is perfect for the vintage look and still has a nice wrist presence. I know a lot of enthusiasts who are afraid to go any smaller than 40 millimeters, but because this is half a millimeter down, I say give it a shot, and you’d be surprised how well it wears.

About Vintage offers a variety of straps and bracelets. If it already comes on this great jubilee-style bracelet, but if you don’t find it fitting on this oyster-style bracelet, just opt for their NATO wave strap, which also feels great on the wrist. Now, looking at the hand sweeping on the dial, it may surprise you to know that it’s actually a quartz caliber that beats at four times a second. I’ve never come across a watch with this kind of movement, and I have to say, it’s pretty cool. It’s not trying to fool anyone into thinking it’s an automatic watch, but to be honest, it fooled me.

And unlike some watches out there, the 1926 AT’SEA as a whole doesn’t just look good; it’s actually a capable dive watch. Now, I’m mostly a professional desk diver, but in case you’re taking this watch in the water, you can take it down to 200 meters and track your elapsed time in relation to the luminous pip on the bezel. What else could you want in a classic divers?

Seiko 5 GMT was a release this year that really got me excited. Seiko was the first brand that introduced many of us to watches. The fact that GMT functionality is available in a classic-shaped case is a bonus. I know there are a lot of enthusiasts out there who aren’t really into this piece, mostly because it is just a 5KX with the GMT hand, but to me, it’s a great watch for those who have been on the fence about owning a GMT watch.

Now, this isn’t a true GMT, but for the price and reliability of a Seiko, this is a great watch altogether. The orange dial is my favorite, but you might prefer a more subtle color. After owning several SKXs & 5KXs I appreciate the updated jubilee band. I loved the original jangly jubilee bands from the original SKX but this new version is much better made and feels more substantial.

The bezel is friction-fitted with the case and features a 24-hour bezel. The bezels are much more refined compared to the Vostoks that have friction-fitted inserts. Now, it’s probably going to move around depending on what activity you’re doing, but for the most part, it’s been staying in place for me.

When I first got into watches, I’ve always been curious about GMT functionality and potentially owning one. Back then, there wasn’t really much in the way of affordable mechanical options from major brands out there, let alone micro-brands. Seiko has been able to develop a new in-house GMT movement that is affordable and is basically a modified variant of their existing movements. This is a huge game-changer for watch enthusiasts. This movement is used by many watch brands to produce their own GMTs.

Keep reading: Seiko 5 GMT Review – Your affordable mechanical GMT in 2024?

I didn’t own a Vostok until pretty late into my collecting journey. I mean, I always knew about them and saw them all over my feed, as well as Amazon’s suggestions for a watch making it an easy but interesting pick for the best watches under 1000. I always assumed the quality of these watches would be cheap and toylike. However, it wasn’t until I held one in hand from a good friend of mine that I decided to pull the trigger on one…okay, maybe a few of them.

These Vostoks are kind of like Swatches – they’re relatively inexpensive, so it’s really easy for your collecting to get out of hand. These Vostoks, unlike Swatches are all mechanical and manufactured in Russia. It’s probably my favorite design of case for Vostok: the 090. It has a tonneau design case with dial markings that look like Panerai Luminor. The watch did originally come with a bracelet, but honestly, you’re better off just tossing it away and getting a different strap for it.

I also gave the bezel a circular scrub with a sponge. It made the watch look more expensive. I noticed whenever I wear my Vostoks out in the wild, I always tend to get compliments on them, and they’re mostly coming from non-watch enthusiasts, which is pretty interesting.

Now, if you’ve never operated a Vostok before, you might be in for a little surprise, as it’s a little bit quirky. The bezel is friction-fitted, so it doesn’t quite stay in place. You may even think that the watch is broken if you pull out the crown. It is very wiggly. All of this is a part of the Russian industrial design, and it actually contributes to its durability in terms of water resistance and toughness. The best part about these Vostok Amphibias is that they come in various case and dial designs, so there’s surely a Vostok that fits anyone’s style and preference.

Video Review

The conclusion of the article is:

Sincerely, I have to admit that compiling this list of watches was much harder than I expected, since the list could easily be 1,000 options long if you look at all the best under 1000. Also, I tried to make my selections less obvious by including brands that you might not even be familiar with. There are many more watches that I could have selected, but I hope this list gives you some unique and interesting options to start or add to your watch collection.