What do you consider a “Beater” watch?

It just has to “take a beating”. Whatever the cost.

My Panerai has turned into a beater watch of sorts. I still try to take care of it the best I can but it’s the watch that if I am wearing I don’t go home to change out of it before going to the gym. I also hike in this watch a lot but I do that will all my watches. It’s a luxury watch at 7,900 msrp but something about it screams that it can take whatever I throw at it and be fine. If it gets to beat I’ll polish it at some time in the future. Polishing a watch once or twice in its lifetime does not negatively effect the watch

I think the watch views ME as the "beater wrist" and when I am long gone and someone else is wearing them, they'll be on a proper wrist...

It's relative.

I used to look at beater-watch as synonymous to throw-away-watch.

Now I look at it as a watch that can withstand a "beating" while simultaneously not giving me anxiety. The watch that comes to mind is the Tudor Ranger, but of course thousands of other watches qualify by my standards.

For me mostly basic Casios to G shock max. Lesson learned I witnessed way back in a Ballys fitness center two buff 💪🏼 dudes got into it became one slap the plate hard enough some how it cracked the dudes grand Seiko dial glass he was wearing. It’s got so ugly the guy with the cracked dial throws his protein shake at his partner and missed hit my workout partner. Guy storms out they band him from the gym. The gym owner apologized he said that was a bad case of steroids gone bad.

My perspective has changed over time. I doubt I’ll ever be the “wears a Rolex everyday climbing mountains and skydiving with it” kind of guy, but I do want a watch collection that I wear…a lot. So I’m going to put all of my watches through some action. There are models that won’t head to the golf course with me because they aren’t made to take the swing forces, but for the most part I’ll wear whatever. I do have a special watch that I use for swimming…a 20 year old Citizen that my wife got me. It wasn’t made for this, but it’s doing what I need it to do. It and my G-Shock are my “beaters”

That’s crazy!!!

As I do not yet own a watch over $1000, I can't easily say that's the beater price limit.

I would choose below a $200-300 range, if it were an option in the poll.

As previously stated, the answer to this question is relative.

I buy watches I can wear doing 99% of what I do on a regular basis. If they get a scratch or damaged in some other way, it's just part of life.

That said, if I'm doing something that is likely to damage my watch, I take the watch off.

People clicking "under 1k/5k" make me feel poor.

Personally, I don’t care about scratching up my watches unless it’s one of my 3 limited edition watches, then I tend to baby them a lot (especially my Bell X-1)

Watch is an instrument, a tool, worn on the wrist, to ascertain the approximate value or worth of an arbitrary construct, meant to measure the earths rotation in relation to the sun.

TL;DR, #useyourtools YMMV.

I take care of all my watches regardless of their price. I don’t mind a small scratch here and there from every day use but I’m extra mindful not to slam it against anything. I mean at the end of the day, the watch is like 40mm x 12mm thick. If it gets hurt, I get hurt too XD.

I don't really like the concept of a "beater" watch. Having said that, most of my watches clock in at $100 or less and I'm on record as clumsy... so, either none are "beaters" or all of them are.

I will differentiate beater and a watch I can sacrifice. I do not wear my watches at the gym, I put on my Garmin instead because that's what it's meant for. So I go to the gym wearing a watch and take it off and switch to my Garmin before I start my workout (and I go to the gym nearly daily).

However when I travel to some countries around the region that I don't want to draw attention to what I'm wearing (due to high crime rate) I will switch to a watch I consider as "can be sacrificed", in case stolen or even mugged. For me, it is my GShock. I think it while still metallic it doesn't draw attention and will be considered low value.. even though I will hate to lose it (or any other watch when it comes to it).

I've worn jackets I didn't want to lean up against a brick wall, boots I didn't want dog's nails to touch, and pants I didn't want to kneel down in, and it's just not for me. It bugs me to no end that I would have to worry about my clothes being damaged by normal actions or environments I'm likely to encounter. It's not about badges of honor or negligence for me, and I suspect it isn't for the many other people who allow their items to come face to face with life. If you want to preserve pristine cases by protecting it from everything, cleaning it, and storing it like that, go right ahead, but not caring to do that does not make someone a poor keeper of watches.

I'm not keeping a polished piece of metal perfectly polished because that doesn't matter at all to me, not because I'm lazy or inept. If I break a balance stem, they're repairable for a reason. Some people wear watches like they're a delicate painting on the wrist, which is fine, but it's not the only way to think about and wear a watch. I have basically no anxiety about wearing my watches, store them on my counter top, wash them with a toothbrush and soap when they get covered in dirt or sunscreen, and have yet to break one. I probably will one day, and I will just get it repaired.

I think the price of the watch is a pretty inconsistent metric for beater watches. It depends more on how durable it is, how much you are afraid to let it get scratched, and how affordable and available repair services are for it. A thousand dollar g shock is a far better beater watch than a polished, automatic seiko dress piece for a third the cost.

Beater? Mostly G-Shocks up to $300 or so. Anything Swiss or vintage is saved for work, etc.

If I actively wanted scratches on my watch, I'd drag it on a leash down the street. I would become so honorable so fast.

GShock for doing the dishes 🤣

(as let's be honest that's where most of the stainless steel scratches come from)

Everything else gets worn for whatever

Porsche doesn't any more:

https://youtu.be/R8-9oIq1hxw?si=hdhyUYxlawy9IeJ0

I chose option B because all my watches are in this category and I hardly find myself in situations that call for a specific beater watch. Well, I wouldn't wear my vintage dress watch during gas engine maintenance training.

This is my current beater. $30 and easily replaceable, very legible, solar powered, stopwatch and alarm with good wr. Also light and thin.

A beater for me has to be easily replaced with no sentimental attachment. The upper limit is probably around $150 for me, but cheaper is always better.

I wear all my watches without regard for cost however if there is a likelihood of damage, I will wear my Longines Hydroconquest or Ball Engineer II.

I think a "beater" is mostly based on how easily it could be replaced or repaired... taking into account availability and the price to do so.

Dammit! I just knew as soon as I posted that that someone was going to come along, push up their glasses, and tell me that actually Porsche did make a tractor at one point! 🤓 Damn internet! 😂 Well played. 👏🏽

Since I spend a good time of the year in more dangerous parts of the world a “beater” for me is smth I wouldn’t mind getting stolen. In my case that’s a Dan Henry for 250€

A beater is what one designates a beater. But i am like you and very much put price into the equation

This is the prime factor for me. Thought about getting a Tandorio GMT for this reason.

I think the most popular answer her would be under $100 but for me as I've gone through my watch journey I would say that the beater watch is the watch you grab the most when you know you're doing something rough or some "hard work" regardless of the price.

I've learnt that the best one watch collection, is actually a two watch collection:

1. The star of the show 'GADA' daily wear that can be dressed up, or hiked in, you can swim with it, dine in it, feed the baby and read it in the dark. It'll cover off 99% of all daily duties, and do them all well.

2. However, the daily one watch can only do this job if it's not beaten up and scratched to high hell. You can't wear a car crash to the office. So for the tasks that consistently and severely punish a watch: DIY / painting / gardening / car repairs / trips to the dump, etc - a cheap, tough 'beater' is a necessity. This is only used when i'm scratching around carrying heavy, dirty, abrasive objects that will ruin a stainless steel tool watch. The Gshock is the inevitable weapon of choice.