Watch brands?

[TheShaun]

What watch brands offer good variety (business, casual, etc.) and at very reasonable prices?

I have one watch, a Diesel, it's versatile, i can wear it with a suit or with a pair of shorts. I've had it for 4-5 years and it looks brand new. But after wearing it daily for so long, let's face it, the leather band is starting to get funky. It needs a break.

On that note, any tips for getting the smell out of the leather? I've tired baking soda.

 

[icon]

I've used dishwash liquid and old toothbrush on my Boccia, but I think I will finaly replace the lather band.
In the same price range of Diesel, I am increasingly attracted by Fossil watches, nice sober design.

 

[WGPower]

Don't you think it would be wiser to spend a little more on a quality watch?

Omega, IWC, Patek..

 

[Austin]

There are a multitude of reasonably priced brands on the market. What is your budget and preferences?

As far as your leather band, buy a new band for it. You can get a good watch band for less than $20. Try here:

http://www.internationalwatchman.com/home.html

 

[Unknownsoldier]

Sekonda do a Breitling copy for between 40-80 pounds (saving only about 3740 pounds....), I've got one and my mates think it looks smart....

Tom

 

[johnmrson]

I think that Tissot are an excellent Swiss watch and are very well priced for what you get.

 

[DS/B MCS]

There are a multitude of reasonably priced brands on the market. What is your budget and preferences?

As far as your leather band, buy a new band for it. You can get a good watch band for less than $20. Try here:

http://www.internationalwatchman.com/home.html

Give us your budget and we can offer advice on brands. Here is another good place for straps
http://www.panatime.com/

 

[Emmett]

Don't you think it would be wiser to spend a little more on a quality watch?

Omega, IWC, Patek..

I don't know about the OP, but when I did wear watches, I was too hard on them to justify buying nice ones.

 

[TheShaun]

Budget: $70-120

 

[Thebigspendur]

Your really limiting your self there. You can get a G shock, some seikos and citizens, some swatches. Go to wally world you'll see em all.

 

[ALL HANDS WORKING]

You may be able to get a Wenger Swiss Army, the Victorinox are more expensive. You might want to consider a Russian Watch, some of their automatics are very nice.

 

[SAFETYpin]

Seiko 5, many many styles to choose from, and lots of models in that price range. I just picked up a snk809 for $70. Timex, Citizen, Orient, Vostok (Russian) lots of great stuff out there besides $wi$$ watches.

snk809

Citizen ny2300

Timex

Vostok (The Life Aquatic)

 

[DS/B MCS]

Your really limiting your self there. You can get a G shock, some seikos and citizens, some swatches. Go to wally world you'll see em all.

+1
Try and bump your budget to $200-$250, and you'll have a much bigger pool to choose from.

 

[SAFETYpin]

Don't you think it would be wiser to spend a little more on a quality watch?

Omega, IWC, Patek..

Why?

I would like an Omega Speedmaster pro but only because of its space history.

 

[Austin]

You might want to consider a Russian Watch, some of their automatics are very nice.

I really can't recommend Russian watches. I have owned Vostoks and Poljots in the past. Sometimes you get a good watch and other times you have problems with them. Their winding mechanisms are quite different and temperamental.

 

[scottish steve]

+1 on the Seiko 5. Only thing is, if you're a stickler for accuracy, an automatic the second hand for which you cannot stop, might annoy you. In that case, get a Lorus, which is the affordable brand from Seiko. Very well made, accurate and should last a long time. One tip which I don't think anyone here'll pull me up on:-

If you're going to buy a watch, buy a watch made by a company that makes watches! Diesel, Armani etc are just buying in movements wholesale and slinging them into cases they've had a 3rd party knock up somewhere. If it says Japanese Mvt on it, then its probably a most basic Citizen, which is ok, but if it doesn't it could be anything, and will probably be made in China.

Casio and Lorus might not bring you much watercooler kudos, but they're well-made, great-value products which I am not ashamed to recommend.

 

[scottish steve]

P.S
watchworx.co.uk sell great straps and have good customer service.
And here's a quartz equiv. to the Seiko, from Lorus

 

[johnmrson]

Budget: $70-120

For that sort of a budget I'd be looking at an Invicta.

All 3 are within your budget

 

[MrMoJoe]

Don't you think it would be wiser to spend a little more on a quality watch?

Omega, IWC, Patek..

There, are plenty of quality watches for much, much less than one would pay for any of those.

Your really limiting your self there. You can get a G shock, some seikos and citizens, some swatches. Go to wally world you'll see em all.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would assume the limit is not by choice, but rather a matter of practical necessity.

Personally, the economy has not been kind to me over the past year. Even in good times, an Omega or an IWC would be a luxury item for me, something I may never be able to justify. Am I the only one?

 

[Aevum]

considering you can get quality mechanical watches from orient, seiko, or citizen for less then $100,i think its usless to bother with replicas which have no quality control and only embarace youself infront of others who have the real thing, my old man got in to replica rolexes for a while, we were walking in a mall and suddenly i hear a thump, i looked at the floor and started laughing... one of the links just broke apart (real rolex links are solid) and the watch just went to the floor,

replica watches usualy carry cheap chinese movements that cant even keep time, and quality replicas which carry eta movements usualy are more expencive then getting a better quality watch from a lesser brand like hamilton or tissot,

do yourself a favor, get something cheap but good like a PRS-516 from tissot, or if you want even cheaper, a Seiko SKX007 and save youself the embaracement and fustration that come with fake watches,

btw: i love my omega daymatic, but for a good while i wore a seiko 5 untill i could afford it, theres no shame in wearing a seiko,