Collection Ideas- 4 Watches, 2k Budget
I was thinking about a scenario if a young enthusiast me asked current day me, "what's a solid collection on a budget?" How would I respond?
So I came up with a well-rounded collection of 4 watches with a budget of 2k that I think young me would have enjoyed and would be great for anyone.
The first is the Orient Ray Raven II. It's a tool watch and sports great specs, an in-house movement, and can be changed up with any number of straps. It's a great looking tactical piece. I always recommend Orient to anyone looking for "their first automatic watch."
The second watch is the CW c63 Sealander GMT. A great GMT that sports the iconic look of the McQueen without being a 1-1 clone. Sporty enough for everyday wear yet classy enough to work with a suit! It is a perfect balance of sports luxury that juxtaposes the rugged military look of the Orient.
The third is a Brew Metric. With a unique case shape and pops of color, this is a great, contemporary looking watch that works well in any number of environments. I love microbrands and this is one brand that you can tell really cares and is great for any enthusiast!
The final watch is a square Seiko dress watch. There had to be something dressy in this collection and I think this Seiko rounds out the 4 nicely. Thin and classy, the look is timeless and adds a fine finish to the 4.
This collection comes in at 1760 USD, well under the budget of 2k. You can buy add a G Shock beater in here too!!
What are your 4 watch collection under 2k? If you like this and want to see more post like it, comment with other collection ideas and I can do more posts like this!
Collector of anything from Casio to Omega.
Great selection. I would probably include a field watch - Hamilton Khaki. And I've never been one for a dedicated dress watch, I will wear any one of my more stylish looking watches. Unless its black tie then I will wear a pocket watch 😊
Great selection. I would probably include a field watch - Hamilton Khaki. And I've never been one for a dedicated dress watch, I will wear any one of my more stylish looking watches. Unless its black tie then I will wear a pocket watch 😊
Reasonable and I did consider adding a field watch. But I felt the Orient carried that general military tool aesthetic well enough to exclude one. With the money left over you could add a Seiko 5 SRPG39!
Reasonable and I did consider adding a field watch. But I felt the Orient carried that general military tool aesthetic well enough to exclude one. With the money left over you could add a Seiko 5 SRPG39!
In that case I'd swap out the Orient with #glycine Combat Sub. Sure you could make that fit budget still. And any money left over, in the worst case #casio f91w 😎
In that case I'd swap out the Orient with #glycine Combat Sub. Sure you could make that fit budget still. And any money left over, in the worst case #casio f91w 😎
That's a great idea! I have no personal experience with glycine but def love what I see!
This is probably a little over 2k now, but if you get the seiko in a sale which will happen, then this is a good all round collection
This is probably a little over 2k now, but if you get the seiko in a sale which will happen, then this is a good all round collection
That's a great set for sure! I was tempted to add an Alpinist too!
I recommend adding a Seiko 5 sports GMT as a choice
I recommend adding a Seiko 5 sports GMT as a choice
I was very tempted for sure! For me I wanted a sharp delineation between a diver and a GMT! Otherwise I totally would have! This gives me an idea for another post... 🤔
Starting top left and working clockwise: RZE Resolute in Medalion yellow. A fun colourful field watch from one of the masters of titanium watches RZE. A light fun automatic watch with good specs for the price, you can knock this one around and with RZE’s hardening coating it can take a beating.
Orient Bambino 38mm. The go to dress watch for people on a budget. A nice looking simple watch for when you’re wanting to dress up.
Seiko Speedtimer panda dial. There’s a reason these are so popular, it’s because they’re great. You want the Rolex Daytona looks on a budget this is the one to go for.
Certina DS action diver. I wanted to go with the titanium version but that would have put me over budget, but even without that this is a nice wearable diver at 38mm you can wear this most of the time and with the Powermatic 80 movement you can put this one down, wear the other three for three consecutive days and this will still be running. It’s nice to see Certina getting more recognition now as they’re a Swiss brand that make great watches, I’ve had a Certina for 10 years never had it serviced and it’s still running at about COSC certification levels.
Field, dress, chronograph and diver. All with some level of waterproofing, and coming in at just under budget, so no G-Shock with these. I’ll also admit that I’m going with sale prices for three of these, but that’s the prices I found and those three are often on sale.
Starting top left and working clockwise: RZE Resolute in Medalion yellow. A fun colourful field watch from one of the masters of titanium watches RZE. A light fun automatic watch with good specs for the price, you can knock this one around and with RZE’s hardening coating it can take a beating.
Orient Bambino 38mm. The go to dress watch for people on a budget. A nice looking simple watch for when you’re wanting to dress up.
Seiko Speedtimer panda dial. There’s a reason these are so popular, it’s because they’re great. You want the Rolex Daytona looks on a budget this is the one to go for.
Certina DS action diver. I wanted to go with the titanium version but that would have put me over budget, but even without that this is a nice wearable diver at 38mm you can wear this most of the time and with the Powermatic 80 movement you can put this one down, wear the other three for three consecutive days and this will still be running. It’s nice to see Certina getting more recognition now as they’re a Swiss brand that make great watches, I’ve had a Certina for 10 years never had it serviced and it’s still running at about COSC certification levels.
Field, dress, chronograph and diver. All with some level of waterproofing, and coming in at just under budget, so no G-Shock with these. I’ll also admit that I’m going with sale prices for three of these, but that’s the prices I found and those three are often on sale.
This is a great collection indeed! Thanks for sharing! I haven't had personal experience with Certina but def love what I see!
Someone posed a similar question in a FB group recently - a complete collection for 2k. I think one should own something cheap and cheerful, so only nice watches (+ a G-shock) is not my style. The slots are:
G-shock (150)
Analogue Timex with indiglo (50 - 100)
Casio Royale (50)
Colourful Casio A-168 (50)
Vintage Prim dress watch (200)
That leaves 1400 for something nice, and these are my options:
a) Christopher Ward C60 Trident 300 (1200)
b) Seiko Baby Alpinist (800) + Orient Kamasu 2 (400)
c) Traska Commuter date (600) + Phoibos Voyager (300)
d) Wise Adamascus AD8 (700) + Boldr Venture auto date (400)
There's still room for something, like a mechaquartz chronograph, but I don't know those very well.
Great selection. I would probably include a field watch - Hamilton Khaki. And I've never been one for a dedicated dress watch, I will wear any one of my more stylish looking watches. Unless its black tie then I will wear a pocket watch 😊
Where yould you carry a pocket watch in black tie? Didn't you mean white tie, which has a waistcoat?
Where yould you carry a pocket watch in black tie? Didn't you mean white tie, which has a waistcoat?
No, my black tie is always military mess dress...
No, my black tie is always military mess dress...
So you have a tail coat for black tie as well! How versatile. :)