Editors' Picks We Each Had $100 To Spend On A Watch. Here's What We Got.

We haven't crunched the numbers, but the average price of watches featured on HODINKEE admittedly falls somewhere between "pretty expensive" and "dear lord, how do people have that much money?" The truth is that most enthusiasts (and, um, most watch writers) never come anywhere near purchasing pieces at those prices. So in the spirit of egalitarianism, we devised a thought experiment: If we each had a hundred bucks to shop for the coolest watch we could find, what would we buy? Then we actually went off and did it. The results are below. 

When I was first coming up in the watch world, the watch to get if you wanted to get a real watch, from a real brand, with real history, was Seiko and the go-to watch was the Seiko 5 – so much so that James Stacey writes below that the series basically "amounts to a cheat code" for a challenge like this. The Seiko 5 and its many variants were then and still are strong contenders, although Seiko 5 for modern Seiko more often means the Seiko 5 Sports series, which pick up stylistically where the discontinued divers like the SKX007 left off. However, in the back of my mind was another brand: Orient, which could often be found in the hybrid wholesale and retail jewelry and accessory shops that used to line lower Broadway in the Flatiron district. 

For this challenge, I did some hunting on Amazon and lo and behold, found this rather startlingly handsome Orient 3-Star automatic, which has a very cool gradient brown dial finished with what are for all intents and purposes Geneva stripes. The stripes shift in tone in a very eye-catching but not too flashy way, and the watch has all the unpretentious charm and unusually good value (if you like this style at all) that used to be synonymous with Seiko 5. Of course, nowadays an Orient watch is a Seiko watch, or at least a Seiko Epson watch. Orient started as an independent company in 1950, but became an Epson subsidiary in 2009 and was fully integrated into Epson in 2017 – my 3-Star actually says "Epson" on the back, and the movements are made, in-house, at Akita Epson in Yuzawa, Akita, Japan. Yours on a surprisingly supple five-link bracelet with fliplock clasp for less than ninety of your favorite dollars.

–Jack Forster

Orient FAB0000DU Men's 3 Star Stainless Steel Brown Dial Day Date Automatic Watch

I was looking forward to trying a watch from Breda. A friend asked me what I thought of the brand and I was hoping it was the type of thing I could recommend to a stylish woman that wants to try wearing a watch regularly before plunking down serious cash. I also thought, smugly, how great it would be to have a worthwhile experience with a watch that HODINKEE has yet to cover. After all, they are sold at Madewell, which is owned by J. Crew, home to the acceptable mall watch. How wrong I was. As soon as I unveiled the burgundy and rose-gold-plated Virgil, my dreams of a starter Tank Must flew out the window faster than a coffee cup forgotten atop a minivan. The leather band was about as buttery as a cat’s tongue. The dial was the color of dried blood. I felt too embarrassed to wear it out of the house so I left it on my dresser for a couple of days while I was traveling, hoping to see it in a new light when I got home ... what can I say, sometimes a first impression is really spot on. The brand has lots of other models; maybe some of those are wonderful. As for this piece, in the words of the actual Virgil, “Trust one who has gone through it.” 

–Daisy Alioto

Breda Virgil , $72 

A watch for under $100? There are plenty of choices, but I was determined to get a good one – the best one. I'll be honest, my mind went places like the Seiko 5, or an automatic number from Orient, but as cool as it is to get a mechanical watch at that price point I knew I would be left disappointed when it comes to accuracy (this is no slight on my colleagues who made those choices … or is it?). Ultimately I got the 500-pound gorilla off my back and picked up my first G-Shock – the classic DW5600E. Look, I know that having a Casio and a Casio G-Shock on this list technically breaks the rules – but I think we can agree they operate in different universes. This is the model that's as close to the OG G-Shock as you can find on the market today. I've long thought about buying one, but just never got around to it until this little opportunity came along. I'll admit, the price sort of shocked me. This is what it costs to pick up what many consider to be their favorite watch of all time? It costs just short of $70 on Casio's website, and I picked mine up for about $45 on Amazon. It's a piece that's been put under all manner of stress tests and survived. It's even been certified by NASA for travel to space. All that at less than – forget $100 – $50?? This one may someday go to the Moon –  for now, I am over the moon. 

–Danny Milton 

G-Shock DW5600E, Amazon, $44.99.

Some collectors operate in the five and six-figure ballpark. I might never get there. But two figures? Two figures, I can do. My collection is brimming with "affordables" from all the usual players. I have Timex, Swatch, G-Shock, and Casio models, and I'm always on the hunt for cool variants I haven't yet discovered. But for this article, I wanted to go a different route and highlight something that would be new and novel in my personal watch collection. After a weekend spent scouring the internet for sub-$100 timekeepers, I emerged with my first Bertucci – and boy, is it fun. This 40mm quartz field watch features a glow-in-the-dark resin case, with fixed bars, and a glow-in-the-dark single-pass fabric strap. For 85 bucks, I think it's just about the most fun you can have on your wrist. And the best part is that, if I ever get tired of it, it would make an excellent hand-me-down for any younger collector to help ignite their love for watches. Because, seriously, who doesn't love stuff that glows in the dark?  

–Logan Baker 

Bertucci DX3 Plus Glow, Ultimate Field Watch, $85

The SNK80X Seiko 5s basically amount to a cheat code for a challenge such as this. While officially replaced by the latest generation of Seiko 5 watches, the SNK803 (or one of several siblings) can still be found with relative ease online for less than a c-note (just barely). For what is essentially the same amount as it costs to fill my car with gas, you can get a 37mm steel Seiko with a simple but steadfast automatic movement (the 7S26), 30 meters of water resistance, and a look that blends elements of both pilot's and field watches into one legible and attractive package that has more wrist presence than you might expect. For $100, it's a steal. Heck, it'd be a solid enough buy at $150. Measuring 42.5mm lug to lug and 10mm thick, including a display case back, the SNK803 comes on a matching tan canvas strap (which is nicer than it needs to be at this price). It's a de facto pick for a reason, and the whole casual/tool vibe is solidified by a matte blasted case finish that looks great with the tan dial. These humble little Seikos punch way above their weight class, offering accessibility to those who may be new to watches without shortchanging true enthusiast appeal. In a world where an SKX007 can now command a $500+ price tag, the SNK803 has never looked better. 

–James Stacey 

Seiko 5 SNK803, Amazon, $99

Timex and Todd Snyder have collaborated quite a bit over the years, from a 34mm hand-wound revival of the Marlin dress line, to this colorful and classic 38mm Milano (with quick-release band for an easy strap swap). For 70 bucks and change you get a dress-casual hybrid from a modern menswear titan designed in partnership with the most iconic American watch brand, well, ever. 

–Trevor Gilliland

Timex x Todd Snyder Colorblock Milano, Todd Snyder, $74

There are a few Black-owned watch brands out there, largely fashion watch brands in the $300 range. SPGBK offers up a bunch of watches in a variety of colors for even less. I scooped up the Dogwood because I do love a minty-ish green moment (got to get my green watch in while it's still on trend) even if the design is a little more toolish than I would normally go for. My reaction after wearing it is, "yup, that's a watch." It doesn't do anything particularly special nor does it feel all that special, but for the price that's a-ok. I do like the unique color, and I doubt I'll add anything close to this shade to my collection in the future, so it is nice to have in the rotation. 

–Nora Taylor

Dogwood, SPGBK, $79.99

This whole harebrained idea, to see what we could all buy with a hundred bucks of company money – that idea was mine, hatched after I dug deep into an Etsy rabbit hole and emerged holding this wonderful vintage Raketa. So you'll forgive me for cheating at my own game and spending $18 over the limit. For that matter, if you could've seen the disastrous "leather" strap this thing came with, a material surely extracted from the saddest cow in the Soviet Union, you'd know why I forfeited an additional $29.65 for this handsome NATO with the racing stripe. Cheap things have a way of becoming expensive. But I love and am amused by this watch. I'm into the giant namesake zero where the 12 should be. And the fact that it has an exhibition caseback, just in case anyone wants a really close look at a rock-bottom movement. By the time you read this, the crown will probably have snapped off between my thumb and forefinger. That's alright. I got a good story out of it – which, in watches as in life, is as good a reason as any to do something dumb. 

–Nick Marino

Raketa Big Zero, Etsy, $118

Full disclosure, my main watch for the past five years was a Fitbit. So when I heard about Withings, it got my attention: An activity tracker that’s sleek, elegant AND tracks steps and sleep? And for under $75? Sign me up! The company makes more expensive models, with more bells and whistles (as well as others, under $100) – but I liked the simplicity of one of their older models that I found online, the Withings Activité Steel activity tracker. The Activité was designed in Paris and built in Switzerland (newer models are made in France), and the 36.3mm stainless steel case contains a quartz movement that automatically adjusts to local time by syncing with the Health Mate app. The app can be downloaded on your phone and tracks movements including walking, running, and swimming (50m of water-resistance), and calories burned, as well as monitoring sleep cycles. Add in the fact that it’s easy to stay on top of your progress via the subdial, and the fact that you don’t need to charge it (it runs on a replaceable battery), and so far, I’m a very satisfied customer! Now I just need to start racking up more steps... 

–Laurie Sprague 

Withings Activité, Amazon, $65

Sure, you have things like the Rolex Turn-O-Graph made for the Thunderbirds or the IWC Blue Angels Chronograph with insignias on the dial, and you even have small schematics of airplanes with some of the Bremont Military models, but I'm not sure there's another watch that puts the airplane more front-and-center on the dial than this special-edition Komandirskie made to honor the SU-35 Russian fighter jet. The SU-35 is a hell of a plane, and it can give anything in the US Air Force's inventory a run for its money, and it costs far less to operate. Sounds a lot like Vostok, too. You have to respect both. Normally I'd pick a Seiko diver for around $100 but the days when Seikos were priced like that are getting smaller in the rearview, so I figured I might as well have some fun and pick something truly out of the ordinary. I initially set out to find something from Japan, but I ended up with something Russian instead. 

–Cole Pennington

Vostok Komandirskie SU-35 Flanker Fighter Commander Russian Air Force, Amazon, $78.99

When looking for a watch under $100, my first thought was that it has to be fashionable. I went with the old-school gold-colored Casio that is marked as a men’s watch, though the strap is adjustable for anyone’s wrist. This is a huge plus, for me at least. This watch can be dressed up or completely dressed down, while still getting great use out of it. This vintage-style Casio has an alarm clock, a light to see the display in the dark, and is water-resistant. And, hey, it tells the time. I don’t know if I can ask for more on a budget! 

–Tiffany Wade

Casio A159WGEA-1MV, Macy's, $48