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As we've seen over the past several days, 2022 was undoubtedly an exciting year for all kinds of watches, but I'm here to talk about my bread and butter, budget watches. Seeing as a big part of a budget category is, well, the budget, we assigned a somewhat arbitrary limit of $1,000. And though you'll see that such a limit allows for a solid group of great options, you don't need to spend $1,000 to get a great watch as our budget watch of the year doesn't even spend half of the maximum budget.
When we asked the Hodinkee Editorial Team to vote for their Budget Watch Of The Year, the winner didn't exactly run away with the prize. That only speaks to how many great options were added in 2022.
But this year we considered a long list of watches and paired it down to just 10, many of which – but not all – were nominated by yours truly. There's a little something for everyone and, if you're a broad spectrum enthusiast like myself, one could argue that you could kick off an entire collection from the roster below without spending as much as you might on a single entry-level luxury watch.
Over the past year, I've reviewed – and even bought – several of the following watches, so let's kick it off with what my colleagues and I voted as the best budget watch of the year.
Winner: The Seiko 5 SSK-Series GMT
This announcement wasn't really a surprise as Seiko has had many of the ingredients for the Seiko 5 SSK GMT sitting on the shelf for years. Many of you will know the lineage of this watch by sight alone as the format, sizing, and aesthetic is based on that established by the hometown budget dive watch hero – the beloved SKX007.
But that can be said for much of the current Seiko 5 range. Where the SSK stands out is that it includes Seiko's new 4R34 GMT movement. With the introduction of the SSK GMT earlier this year, Seiko added a feature that feels more in line with the 100m water resistance of the new Seiko 5 series while also filling a gap (at least aesthetically) that Seiko nerds have been dreaming of since before I first got into watches; an SKX with a GMT movement.
So here it is, the Seiko 5 SSK GMT, which was originally announced in three versions (black, blue, or orange) with a steel bracelet, a non-ratcheting 24-hour bezel, a cyclops over the date at three, and a fourth hand running a second time zone in the "caller" or independent 24-hour hand setup. The case is 42.5mm wide, 13.8mm thick, 45.7mm lug to lug, and has drilled lugs and 100 meters of water resistance.
From the moment it was released, I knew I needed to get one and I quickly picked up the SSK003 version, which has a blue-purple dial, a blue/black bezel, and a red GMT hand. I wore it a lot over the summer (when the somewhat larger dimensions didn't bother my sleeve) and found it to be a great travel companion and a really fun iteration in the SKX bloodline. The bracelet is a huge step forward compared to the original on the SKX, with a tighter build quality and solid end links, and the SSK works on just about any strap you fit between its lugs.
At $475, it's a great-looking everyday watch that is travel-ready and I'm not at all surprised it took home enough votes to win, but there are still plenty more budget options on the list.
Close In Votes: MoonSwatch, Apple, And Timex
Next up in terms of votes, we have a trio of exceedingly different watches, the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra, and the Q Timex Vintage Hodinkee LE. What I find interesting here is that each one of these watches hits differently while still coming in under $1,000.
The MoonSwatch's popularity (both within the Hodinkee Editorial ranks and otherwise) is not exactly surprising, it was absolutely the biggest watch news of the year and despite being a $260 dollar watch with a plastic-adjacent case and a quartz movement, these colorful takes on the Speedmaster design language remain hot commodities despite being announced some nine months ago.
Truth be told, I only managed to get a MoonSwatch to call my own last week. For some reason – likely nothing more than the obvious Project Alaska vibes – I picked up a 'Misson to Mars' and have so far found its coloring very hard to match with a strap I like. Perhaps I should have gone with Jupiter or Neptune, but at least the stakes were low.
Next up, and on my wrist as I write this article, is the Apple Watch Ultra. While I have come to like smartwatches over the past few years, I have not reconciled with the inability to also wear a dumb watch – one I love simply because it's loveable (I refuse to double wrist). But, for a busy day of meetings, exercise, or when I'd just like to leave my phone at home and take a phone call on foot, the Apple Watch Ultra is a great tool for the task.
It's beautifully built, well featured, has a wide array of strap options, and even offers a few specific benefits over a standard Apple Watch, including a larger, brighter, and flat screen, titanium construction, 100 meters of water resistance (vs. 50m), dual GPS antennas, and about double the battery life. Oh, and it can also be used as a dive computer. If you want an Apple Watch that can do a whole lot, it's the obvious choice and at $799, it also brings a bunch of competition to the multi-sport smartwatch segment.
Finally, we have a pair of sweet Timex models, including both a Q that our limited editions team made with Timex and the lovely 38mm Giorgio Galli S1 Automatic. Sure, it's a bit presumptuous to put one of our own LEs on the list, but at $189 we are confident that it offers a ton for the money. Measuring 38mm wide and featuring a travel-ready 12-hour bezel, the Q Timex Vintage Hodinkee LE has a subtle and classic vintage look that is matched by a steel bracelet that can easily be sized without a tool. So easily, in fact, that my wife sized ours immediately and I have yet to add all the links back in so I can try it on my wrist.
Want something more modern and elegant? We remain deeply impressed by the Timex Giorgio Galli S1, which is available in a few different versions, all 38mm, with an automatic movement, and a beautiful case and dial design that carries the name of Timex's long-standing design director. It's a modern take on a classic format and at $450 it's a lovely alternative to the more casual dive watches and chronographs in the list.
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Dive Anyway You Like
But what if you want a diver, maybe even something closer to the max budget? 2022 was not short on dive watches but two very different takes made our short list, the Citizen Challenge Diver and the boldly colorful Farer Aquamatic.
The Citizen is a single unit of classic dive watch that has been crafted from the brand's Super Titanium, meaning it offers a simple and straightforward neo-vintage look with almost no weight on wrist. Powered by an automatic movement and available in either black or blue, if you want the easiest-wearing dive watch of 2022, look no further as this subtle and straightforward Citizen, which simply disappears on wrist.
Offering the opposite in terms of wrist presence, the Farer Aquamatic is a loosely conventional 38.5mm steel automatic dive watch that packs more color per square inch than just about anything this side of a MoonSwatch. Mixing excellent sizing with an array of fun-loving colorways, the Aquamatic nails what you need from a dive watch while also feeling like a vacation for your wrist that includes a trio of quick-change mounts (including a great bracelet).
Both of these divers will cost you just a few bucks shy of the limit while representing the variety, quality, and maturity of the entry-level dive watch in 2022. I'm glad both made the list, and that I don't have to pick between them.
The Weird And Wonderful
Finally, we close with another pair of very different watches, the Bulova Wilton GMT and the Citizen Aqualand JP2007-17W. While I didn't nominate the Wilton GMT to the list, it's not hard to see the appeal if you're into travel watches; it's under $1000 and features a "flyer" GMT complication (also known as a local jumping GMT). Unlike the "caller" GMT function of the Seiko 5 SSK GMT, this means that the Wilton is ideal for changing time zones while traveling, as you can quickly update the main time display for a new time zone without disturbing the position of any of the other hands.
Over the past few years, we've seen this kind of GMT functionality become slowly more available at lower price points and that's what is so exciting about the Bulova Wilton GMT. I for one hope that 2023 is full of budget-friendly watches that use the same Miyota 9075 movement.
And last, but far from least, is a watch I absolutely nominated to the list, the wonderful Citizen Aqualand JP2007-17W. Alongside my Scurfa M.S.22 (which is a limited edition and long since sold out), this Aqualand is easily among my favorite watches of 2022, especially if you're talking less than $1000. Though not yet available through U.S. channels, this lume dial ana-digi dive watch is among the most charming and surprising watches I've had on my wrist all year.
On paper, it's not a watch I would have expected to like very much, as it measures 50.8mm wide (with the pressure sensor lump at nine, otherwise 44mm), 14.4mm thick, and 47.7mm lug to lug. But it wears remarkably well. Sure, it's big (not small) and likely more of a summer option, but after taking delivery of my own example, I was surprised to find that it worked really well on my wrist, sitting flat and benefitting from the relatively short lug to lug. Bonus points for an excellent, if bulky, rubber strap that helps to keep it in place and complete the commando vibe.
Adding to the happy on-wrist experience, the JP2007-17W features a wonderful and bright lume dial, a handy digital display at 12 (with features like day/date, chronograph, second time zone, and depth gauge), a great 60-click bezel, and a dark case finishing that really works with the color of the dial.
I like to think of it as my Japanese Ploprof and, given the roughly $500 asking price online, if you want a unique dive watch experience in 2022 that won't break the bank (nor, surprisingly, your wrist), I wholeheartedly suggest you take a closer look at this chunky, feature-rich, and positively glowing Citizen Aqualand. Sure, it was at the bottom of the list in terms of votes, but I think that's only because it's a bit hard to understand on paper. On wrist, it's easily my personal budget watch of 2022.
A Good Year For Frugal Wrists
So there you have it, watches of all kinds, all under $1,000 (well under, for many). As I asserted from the start, it's a great time to be into watches, and having a limited budget doesn't mean you have to limit your enthusiasm or the scope of what you can have on your wrist (aside from solid gold, sadly).
From the conventional to the colorful and even the downright oddball, these are our picks for the best watches under $1,000 of 2022, a year that was not short of great watches, even if you needed to stick to a budget.
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The Hodinkee Shop is an authorized retailer of Apple, Seiko, and Timex watches.
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