Watch Guru Top Picks - Bang for your buck!
With so many watches on the market and so many of life’s expenses getting in the way, treating yourself to one might be the last thing you’d want to do.
But buying a timepiece needn’t cost you a small fortune, you can treat yourself or someone special to a watch from Watchshop, they have watches for all budgets from a host of reputable brands.
And with today’s blog it's up to me to guide you on some of the “best bang for your buck” watches you can get.
The term bang for buck is often considered by some to be the best features and materials you can get for your money, for me I think it’s that and much more for example, I like to be able to have an established brand for not alot of money. Like our first brand Rotary...
Rotary Quartz Watch
We start off with the Rotary Quartz Watch GB05176/24, an affordable quartz GMT watch with a look of a watch costing you thousands, in fact this one has a resemblance to a very expensive Japanese counterpart.
The GMT complication is often reserved for more expensive and often luxury timepieces, that is because of the GMT complication that the movements inside have are a little bit more premium and expensive.
If you’re left wondering what the GMT is, it's the inclusion of an additional hand to the watch, this additional hand can then be set for a different timezone, so for example your main time will read your local time and the additional hand would be set up for an alternate time zone.
For me, it doesn't matter what the watch can do for me, but what the watch looks like to me and I absolutely love the green dial. It really adds to the sporty elegance that this watch exudes, and is certainly a winning combination with that orange GMT hand. The bezel works differently than a dive bezel as the Rotary Henley has a 24 hour static timing bezel that is used for your second timezone and is finished in stainless steel like the rest of the watch.
Rotary have chosen to include this watch with a sapphire crystal a glass that has anti scratch properties this shows me and hopefully shows you that you don’t have to spend a lot to get alot, something a watch collector like me can get behind.
Citizen Eco-Drive Watch
Need more evidence that this blog is jam packed with “bang for your buck” watches? Well here you go, how about this Citizen Eco-Drive BN0155-08E, a solar powered timepiece that will never need a battery replacement due to being powered by light!
This watch comes with an anti reflective mineral crystal of course sapphire would have been the preferred option, but to remain competitive in pricing Citizen have made the smart choice and chosen mineral, but this is no normal mineral crystal this one has been upgraded with anti reflective coating.
Again to keep the price down this watch comes with a rubber strap and not a metal bracelet, but being an ISO 200 metre certified diver it isn't uncommon to find watches supplied with these straps, they last a very long time and withstand the elements of diving and salt water.
For this price it’s not easy to pick up a certified divers watch, but Citizen being the watchmaking powerhouse that they are have managed to and that is because with these cost saving measures they have carefully thought out they can then provide you maximum value for your money.
Rotary Oxford Watch
A long established brand is one of my factors for me when I’m buying a watch, don’t get me wrong it isn't the be all and end all of a watch purchase after all my collection have some very recent microbrands, but there is just that sense of security buying a brand steeped in history, and Rotary is one such brand. A brand with Swiss roots and a recent winner in the UK jewellery awards for best watch brand.
The Oxford is a classy ladies offering that is very simple in design yet stunning in its delivery and the one thing that caught my eye is this remarkable blue dial, on the dial you’ll be able to read British Design which Rotary must be very proud of, because the design really works, do you know how I know?, because my wife liked this watch and she isn’t even a watch wearer.
What particularly blew me away is the inclusion of a sapphire crystal, a feature that is quite uncommon on a lot of ladies watches, and a feature that really isn’t going to move the needle for a fashion purchase, but you see that is Rotary, only an esteemed watch maker would know the importance of adding a sapphire to this watch.
But why does this make my “bang for buck” blog, the major draw for me is the Rotary Oxford has the look of a very popular Swiss watch that has a blue dial not to dissimilar, the crowned logo counterpart of course is in a league of its own but is also more than 20 times the price.
My job today is to bring you bang for your buck and this certainly for me, fits that criteria and guys if you’re in the market to treat that special lady of yours then this needs to be considered.
Ladies Tissot Seastar 1000 Watch
The final watch in the blog is from Tissot, a Swiss brand established in 1853 which can be just one reason why you might pick a certain watch, for me though it’s more than that, because the Tissot Seastar 1000 is more than a ladies watch, I honestly feel this would suit a smaller wristed watch wearer and it doesn't look half bad on my 7” wrist. A watch that can be worn by husband or wife, now that's “bang for your buck” alright!!!
Included in the package is a silicon band and the watch comes complete with a metal bracelet, giving you two looks for the price of one, that's even more “bang for your buck”, I’m no Martin Lewis but right now I do feel like a money saving expert for sure.
But what else does this watch bring?, well it’s packed with a Swiss quartz ETA movement, sapphire crystal and a massive 300 metres water resistance, this isn’t just a pretty face it really has some substance but talking about its sultry looks, you’ll see the dive bezel is finished in a light silver which isnt really a detriment but more of a positive because I think it allows the watch to look larger then it actually is, helping pull off that unisex look. If it had a solid aluminium black bezel it would close in the watch and make it appear smaller, so a great choice from Tissot on that design front.
So that pretty much wraps up today's blog, hopefully you have found my choices helpful, it's pretty important to try to get value for money, but sometimes we can get bogged down trawling the internet for a great deal, reading review after review so hopefully this blog will help save some of that headache.