Which watch brand currently represents the best value?

For me in price point order

Orient. Does the job that seiko used to do. I own several including a Ray 2 , Mako 2 and Kamasu. Well made, good specs and in-house movements.

Gekota. British microbrand very affordable with great specs. I have the Pioneer 3. Underappreciated in general even on watchcrunch I believe.

Christopher Ward obviously. I don't own one yet bit I will do. Generally held in high regard for amazing quality at the price point.

Tudor. I recently bought a Pelagos. It was expensive compared to all my other purchases and yet I still feel it offers tremendous value for money. Move over Rolex. Tudor is doing for Rolex like Orient is doing for Seiko.

There are lots of others but these are strong contenders?

Orient, CW, Oris, Longines, Tissot, Tudor.

Sadly Omega is pricing themselves out of this category, and I fear some others may as well.

For me personally without question, Tudor.

From my own experience, Hamilton has my choice of best value for money. From $300 to the $1000 mark there's so much there. But it's all subjective as well, I also get so much value out of my gshock or my Citizen promaster with eco- drive. It's about what makes you and your wallet happy.

I forgot Hamilton in my input! I have the khaki field mechanical. I'm after a khaki king. I totally agree you get great quality for your money sub £1k.

Always a good subject. I own a Rolex OP, a Tudor BB36, a Ball Fireman Nightbreaker, a Seiko Alpinist, three Christopher Ward watches, and a fair collection of micro brands. If you are looking for value for money micro brands tend to win hands down, especially if you include Christopher Ward in that category. Their spec and finishing is outstanding, and up their with brands such as Tudor and Longines etc. However, you can spend even less and get fantastic timepieces. Nodus are superb, as is my Second Hour Mandela, Atticus Meteora, Peran Nera Rogue, Zelos Horizons, Relio Solstice, echo/neutra Averau, and Mitch Mason Chronicle. None of these watches will break the bank, and the fit, finish and overall quality on them is outstanding.

Thanks thekris. I have a hard time putting Oris in this discussion. Nothing against the brand, lots to like there and they do it well but even entry level models with off-the-shelf movements no longer feel competitively priced and their in-house models seem aggressively high given some question marks over their reliability. Were you thinking of any Oris models specifically?

Good shout on Zodiac - any recommendations?

One that I don’t think has been mentioned yet is Glycine. They can often be found for ridiculously low prices (under $500), and yet have amazing specs for the money. In particular, Costco is currently running a sale on a model of Combat Sub for under $240. Who else makes a high beat Swiss automatic with 200M WR and a sapphire crystal in a case under 11mm thick at that price? No one.

Thanks for that. You raise an interesting point with Seiko. I don't really consider them good value given the preponderance of the 6R movements with so-so performance. Anyone feel Seiko should be considered a value prop against the competition mentioned here?

up to $1500 its Farer and it isn't close.then $1500--3k id go longines... a little higher id say omega (5k seamaster is nuts) and after that (6-8k) I would go grand seiko or cartier... higher than that... maybe iwc assuming you cant get a rolex for stock price.

Tudor is overrated IMO and sold my bb58 without missing it... as many have.

I’m only personally familiar with why BCPD bronze which I own. I think that watch is a great value as it’s (to me) more interesting that the bronze divers I generally see and the price is ok. Part of my inclusion of Oris is that their watches can usually be purchased at a discount online. At those prices, I think there’s good value.

As an example, you can get the BCPD Bronze for $700 less than list on Chrono24.

Anything not housing an STP movement. Fossil did a lousy job of cloning the 2824-2. I’ve heard many reports of issues with the 1-11.

Forewarned is forearmed. Thanks for this!

Good question and one that begs to be pondered. Undoubtedly the lower end Swatch Group brands represent good value but what is value? It is more than simply cost and when it comes to watches, emotional reaction and affect needs to be considered.

To that end, I nominate Swatch. Cheap watches that seems to run for ever, as long as you replace the battery, and every time I strap on a Swatch, it brings a smile to my face. They make very entertaining watches.

Given their longevity, cost and continuing emotional reaction, I nominate Swatch as representing the best value, the most “bang for your buck”. 😁

Let the flames at my heresy begin! 🤣🤣🤣

Just for the triggers - Rolex. 😂

Escapement Time.

Sure to trigger a few but as mentioned above given that Rolex are likely to hold or increase in value it's not just hyperbole. Hard to envision taking any kind of serious loss on a Rolex outside of doing serious damage to it.

Casio, citizen, alpina and sinn for me

The question of ‘Value’ requires a financial reference. What is cheap for one is an unacceptable extravagance for another. With that expressed, I will share my thoughts in three price ranges.

Under $1000: Seiko. So many great budget watches, often under $500. As bonuses there is a strong fan base to sell to if you decide to sell (so you can depend on getting some of your money back), and there are mods possible (anything from plenty of options to upscale the bracelet to full customization that the mod community knows more than I regarding).

I don’t feel that the brands that focus in the $1000-$4000 offer ‘value’. It’s not that these watches aren’t worth buying. I have two Ball watches that are in this category. However, watches in this price range (new MSRP) often don’t hold value as an ‘investment’ (using this term VERY loosely). I bought my two Ball watches knowing that there isn’t a strong secondary market for them and if I decide to sell it’ll be a loss. I did not, and still do not, care. I love the watches and have no interest in selling. However, it wasn’t worth it to me to try to wait and try to acquire them cheaper later because the other pincer is that the exact models I wanted might be hard to find. So, therefore, while I feel watches in this price segment can be interesting and worth buying they are almost never represent a good ‘value’.

$5000-$10,000, Omega. Lots of truly great watches. Top notch products that are objectively better than their obvious competitor, Rolex. The coaxial escapement also gives extra value in that the design requires less maintenance. These watches are holding value relatively well. So, like Seiko, if you decide to sell there is a strong market and you can realistically expect to get a good price for the watch.

$10,000+. Glashutte Original. Now, GO doesn’t hold value as much as I feel it ought to, so buying preowned is a way to have these watches at a significant discount. That said, MSRP is typically $10k-$20k. The ‘value’ play, here is buying preowned. But the watches are exquisite, and truly high end. I have two, and LOVE them. I love them enough that I would buy one new and accept the depreciation factor if I decide to expand my core collection in the future. It’s really a high end feel, fit, and finish.

Thanks for your thoughts, Oz. GO are an interesting brand that don't get discussed much, even in a forum like WC. Would you post a review of yours?

I'm very interested in Habring but tough to see their watches in the metal and get a proper feel for what they're offering, sadly.

This question is easy. It’s the watch brand you bought most recently. Right?

Ah, you're a realist I see 😀

I’m not sure that any review I wrote would be better than what can easily be found on YouTube. I don’t have high end cameras for quality pictures, and videos are probably a better form of content for a watch review.

I will say I love both the GO’s I have. The PanoMatic Lunar, in particular, is even more beautiful in person than pictures show. I just don’t think I could do better than the many reviews that already exist.

I think you nailed it… Hamilton, CW, Longines and Tudor… in that price order too! Plenty of variety in styles from each of those brands too.

CW are great value as the build quality is amazing, however in the lower price end they have the basic selita movements so are priced appropriately.

Hamilton & tissot are in a similar boat to the CW, I thinks its more of a brand recognition thing.

CW feels like it's less mainstream at the min.

I love em 😍

I would say based on price ranges.

Casio-Seiko-Christopher Ward-Tudor-Grad Seiko

I do feel CW is a great value, great watches, design, quality, etc. But this is all subjective. My BB GMT or my Speedy just feel better. Are they that much better? Certainly doesn’t mean the CW isn’t great, especially for the price. I might put Hamilton up there, Monta might be but they got too expensive in the last year. Tissot has a lot to offer and of course Seiko but there you have to really shop.

Casio and Timex are for most part, value for money (as strictly time pieces). After that, it's all a matter of perception and preference....mostly, on what that time piece does or means to you