Best chronograph under $500?

"Nicely designed" is in the eye of the beholder, however, I feel as though Citizen's offerings don't get as much love or attention as they should. They are priced right and well made.

I agree about the Citizen chronographs I don’t know enough to tell if this is a homage to something else and don’t really care? but I do think it looks nice. 

And was well under $500. 

Hello and welcome! I have a number of sub-$500 chronographs; a Citizen Chandler AT0200-05E, a Tissot PR100 T1014171605100, a Casio Edifice EFR-545SBDB-1BVCF, and a Seiko Recraft SSC513. I have to say that I like the function of the Seiko Recraft best because of the Mechaquartz movement. The Tissot does measure down to a tenth of a second with one of its sub-dials, so it is the most accurate outside of the stopwatch function on a digital watch, but it still has the second hand that ticks at one beat per second. The Recraft has the second hand that ticks at 4 beats per second. It's also the nicest looking of the four and solar powered as well.

 Vintage-wise you could try and get a Tag Formula 1 if you wanted it sporty? Not to everyone’s taste I know, but options.

I really enjoy this Sugess. It's an AliExpress watch, but it's a real mechanical chronograph (ST 1901) great looks and well under your budget. 

Maybe it's far from the best up to $500, but I like it

Citizen eco-drive chronos have better reputation than meca-quartz. any mechanical chrono is very expensive to fix.

I think the Seiko Flightmaster should be it 

I very much like the design of the Seiko! Wow, you have quite a few chronograph in the collection! I can't seem to find one I like but by the sounds of it Seiko and Citizen are the way to go. 

I do actually quite enjoy the look of these tags. Nice price point too for a big name brand. Loving the look of your model on that rubber strap! 

That sir is an absolute beauty of a chrono! 

I've been looking at these too, different from the ever so popular seagull but still has the specs and looks to pack a punch. Great watch 

I’m worried these might have gone well above your price category recently - you could always try and get a Kirium.

This two are my favorite options under 500 automatic:

Surprisingly there's plenty of tag chronos on ebay floating around the £500 mark. I enjoy the dials of the Kirium however I love to swap out straps and of course, that would be an issue with that model. Very good suggestion though 😊

Lovely suggestions, you've hit every style and look there. Thank you for your contributions! 

Not seen this model before, I'll check it out! 

I am glad you liked it. Another one that I can suggest is the Junghans Form C. Junghans has a tradional history on Bauhaus design:

https://www.junghans.de/en/collection/watches/junghans-form/form-c/41477100?c=16

Here is a nice video about this piece (WatchFinder):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiPYOZnLJYo

Check out the Seagull 1963. I really enjoy it. Love the design and it's been reliable and accurate.

You can find them at a good discount 

I'm a huge fan of the Seagull 1963 but if you're looking at something a bit different check out Straton watches. I have a Curve Chrono (meca-quartz movement) and I really like it. @KyleSchut is a top bloke too. My Curve...

Check out the site as there's plenty of retro stuff that's worth a look https://www.stratonwc.com/

Lots of great choices in here! Recently my Seiko Flightmaster has been getting a lot of wrist time. 🛩

I second the Kirium recommendation. It was not a value at the over $1500 MSRP they sold for new, but they can be easily had for under $500 used in great condition and they were very popular so there are lots to choose from.

Casting a vote for the Orient Neo 70's Panda Dial (WV0041TX). Solar meca-quartz Seiko Solar V175 movement. QC is the only potential concern as sometimes the lume dots may be misaligned with the hour markers but for ~$200-300 USD, it is a solid chrono! For what it's worth, the misalignment is barely noticable on day-to-day wear and for the price, I've been very satisfied. Feel free to ping if you have any questions!

I know it’s obvious and done to death, but it’s obvious and done to death for a reason. 😅👌

Been enjoying the Nezumi Tonnerre, very accomplished piece for the money. Worth a look for sure 👍

If you want a used watch with real wrist presence solar powered amazing build quality you can't go wrong with the citizen 2100 series. I've had 2 in the past and they are stunning watches in the flesh 👍

Absolute elegance 👍👍👍🇩🇪