best watches under £100 - 2020
eight best watch under £100 and eight good alternatives
Besides telling the time, watches make a wonderful statements about who you are and your personal style, including in some cases having the pleasure of talking about the impressive stories of some these collectable watches. Unfortunately, the high price of a lot of watches keeps many away from them. This article has been written to suggest the best value watches available for under £100.
The rules followed in this article were:
- Only watches purchases new for under the price of £100 were considered
- A watch was included in the list if at the time of writing this article we were able to identify one under £100
As the writer I am a huge fan of automatic watches so was naturally geared more towards them although I have made sure that some automatic alternatives have been provided. Our eight top watches were provided below with a very good alternative for each one of the eight watches suggested.
My favourite watch in this category is the Seiko SNKL23 which was dubbed the “$75 dollar watch that looked like a million bucks” by the very reputable watch magazine, Hodinkee. Unfortunately, while the watch was originally significantly less than £100, the high praise it received sparked a huge spike in its demand and this, combined with the rumours that Seiko has discontinued the watch, has driven the price of this watch well over $100 (closer to double it’s original price). If of course you can find the SNKL23 for close to its original price, or even on of it’s other family member such as the SNKL15 or SNKL43, they are definitely good buys but for the purposes of this list, I have decided to remove them for the selection process.
Seiko SNLK23
Let us start this list with a very good alternative Seiko collection to replace the SNKL collection mentioned above.
Seiko 5 SNK600 Collection
Seiko SNK603
The Seiko 5 series is the most affordable range of Seiko where most of their watches have amazing value. In the absence of the SNKL collection mentioned above, the SNK600 collection is a great alternative even though this collection is also becoming more rare, specifically the SNK 601 (white dial) and the SNK 603 (blue dial). They are both based on the Automatic Seiko 7S26 movement.
Specs
Case diameter: 37.5mm
Movement: Japanese Automatic Seiko 7S26
Crystal: Hardlex
Case back: Yes
Water Resistant: 30m
Watch Type: Dress Watch
Estimated price: £60 (Creation watches)
Good alternative: The Seiko 5 SNKA collection (SNKA01 – White dial, SNKA03 – Cream Dial, SNKA05 – Blue dial, SNKA09 – Black dial)
Seiko 5 SNK800 Collection
Seiko SNK809
The Seiko series SNK800 is the second Seiko in the list. If the aim is to buy a field watch in this price range, then look no further than the Seiko 5 SNK800 collection. The SNK800 watch is a great field watch, probably the best value field watch in the market. The SNK model numbers are based on dial colours with the current range being the SNK 803 (beige), 805 (green), 807 (blue), 809 (black) and M95 (red). Like most Seiko 5 models, the movement is based on the Seiko 7S26 automatic movement.
Specs:
Case diameter: 37.5mm
Movement: Japanese Automatic Seiko 7S26
Crystal: Hardlex
Case back: Yes
Water Resistant: 30m
Watch Type: Field
Estimated price: £60 (Creation watches)
Good alternative: The Timex Expedition Scout 40 is a great alternative which will likely cost a bit less as well (£49.99-69.99 on the Timex website) although the Times does come with a quartz movement rather than an automatic one like the Seiko.
ORIENT RAY ii
The Orient Ray II is an one of the best value diver watches around which is both very well made and from a very reputable brand (part of the Seiko group). It comes in blue and black dial variations.
Specs:
Case diameter: 41.5 mm
Movement: Japanese Automatic Orient F6922
Crystal: Hardlex
Case back: No
Water Resistant: 200m
Watch Type: Diver
Estimated price: £104 (Jomashop)
Good alternative: The Mako II from Orient is an equally good excellent alternative for the Orient Ray II.
Invicta Pro Diver 8926B
The Invicta brand is like a marmite, most people either really like it or really dislike it. The Invicta Pro Diver 8926B as a classic 40mm watch with a Submariner case that at about £70 doesn’t break the bank.
Specs:
Case diameter: 40 mm
Movement: Japanese Automatic Seiko NH35A
Crystal: Mineral Glass
Case back: Yes
Water Resistant: 200m
Watch Type: Diver
Estimated price: £101 (Invicta Website) but can be found for cheaper (Creation Watches £71)
Good Alternative: If you are looking for a cheaper diver watch and do not mind about having a automatic movement, then the Casio Duro with a black dial would be an ideal alternative, especially you are into larger watches at 44mm case.
Vostok Amphibian Classic 120059
Vostok in a watch company based in Christopol Russia. In 1965, they were made suppliers for the Soviet Union Army by the Soviet Ministry of Defence and were commissioned to produce a new diver watch that could withstand the pressures of 200 meters under water. The produced the Vostok Amphibian, named by the local workers for it’s ability to be effective on land and in water. It has since gained a large cult following. It is a very rugged and well built watch even if it might not have the same timekeeping accuracy as some of the other watches on the list. While there are countless of Vostok Amphibian watches to choose from (can be checked on meranom.com), we have gone for the Vostok Amphibian Classic 120059 which includes the famous paratrooper dial.
Specs:
Case diameter: 41 mm
Movement: Vostok 2416 movement
Crystal: Mineral Glass
Case back: No
Water Resistant: 200m
Watch Type: Diver
Estimated price: £51 (meranom.com website but might be found cheaper on ebay).
Good alternatives: The date function on Vostok watches does not have a great reputation when it comes to the ease but which one can change the date. If you are looking for good alternatives without the date function just like I did, two good alternatives are the Vostok Amphibian Classic 120656 and the Vostok Amphibian Classic 120811.
Pagani Design PD-1639
If you are into originals and do not appreciate copies these watch will not be for you. There are a number of Chinese brands in the market which are creating copies of watches at really low prices and at very bad quality. Pagani Design is a Chinese company focusing of copying some watches from more reputable brands, but unlike many other Chinese companies does an exceptional job in doing so and a fraction of the cost of the original watches. Pagani Design has produced a number of homage watches that can usually be found on the Alibaba website and while most of it’s watches have some shortcomings, especially visible in the quality of their bezel, the PD-1639 (Homage of the Submariner) is one out of two of their watches where the quality is very good. It is 43mm large in comparison to the Submariner’s 40mm but otherwise it looks identical with some impressive specs such as sapphire crystal which is very rare for this price segment, an open case back and the very good Seiko Automatic NH35A movement. It comes in black, blue and green dials but the Green Submarines homage looks very good. While there are a lot of people who not like to wear homages and I understand this as I am one of them, if you are not someone that minds, this watch features an impressive spec list for it’s price, rarely seen in any watches below £100.
Specs:
Case diameter: 43 mm
Movement: Japanese Seiko Automatic NH35A
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal
Case back: Yes
Water Resistant: 100m
Watch Type: Diver
Estimated price: £55 (AliExpress).
Good Alternatives: An alternative to this watch is the Loreo Submariner watch, another Chinese company which is producing a similar homage submariner watch of about similar quality.
ORIENT BAMBINO
Orient, subsidiary of Seiko, is a watch brand that is considered one of the most prestigious brands outside the Swiss brands, especially in this segment. The Orient Bambino is considered by many if not the best, one of the best value dress watches in this price segment by this very reputable brand. While there is a wide variety of Bambino watches we have recommended the Bambino 2nd Generation Version 2 which can still be found within the £100 range.
Specs:
Case diameter: 40.5 mm
Movement: Orient Automatic Movements – varies depending on the watch (F6724 movement or the newer F6922)
Crystal: Domed hardened mineral
Case back: No
Water Resistant: 30m
Watch Type: Dress
Estimated price: About £80-£110 (ebay) £101 (creation watches)
Good Alternative: The Orient Symphony is a good alternative to the Bambino if you are looking for something slightly cheaper.
Timex Waterbury Classic 40mm
Timex is a historical US watch company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut which was renamed to Timex in 1941 when Thomas Olsen purchased the company. The Timex Waterbury Classic watch derives from the the manufacturing facility location where the firm used to be based from where the firms pre-1941 historical name originated from and hence a very good collectors watch to have at a very good price. As one can see from the selection list, I am not a big quartz fan but the Waterbury Classic watch is the only quartz watch recommended in the list of the eight primary watches recommended and a watch good enough to be part of any collection. The watch comes in black and white dials.
Specs
Case diameter: 40 mm
Movement: Quartz
Crystal: Mineral Glass
Case back: No
Water Resistant: 30m
Watch Type: Dress
Estimated price: £89.99-£99.99 (Timex Website)
Good Alternative: If you do not want to go for a quartz then the Cadisen C1032 is a Chinese made dress watch carrying an impressive set of specs including an NH36A automatic Seiko movement with a 40mm case and can be found on Alibaba Express for as little as £47.