Some of the Best Watches For Men are All Under $500

Do it, if you can

BY: Beau Hayhoe
Update: June 10, 2024

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Did you know your watch says a lot about you, and your style? Besides being used for practical reasons, the right watch adds a little something-something to your wrist, and allows you to make a statement. Similar to your favorite cologne or must-wear pair of sunglasses, sometimes you can never have just one watch. And if you’re looking for the perfect gift for him whether it’s his birthday or Christmas, you can never go wrong with one of these totally on-trend (yet, classic) options.

In your journey through the world of menswear, there are certain forks in the road you might tend to cross. As you search for the perfect Oxford shirt, the best pair of blue jeans or even the best men’s underwear, you might realize one thing: Your wardrobe is missing a little something extra, and that “something extra” is a stylish wristwatch. A watch, in this day and age, is an accessory that some might overlook, but it’s a crucial one in matters of purpose, functionality and style.

It’s easy enough to depend upon your phone to tell the time, but adding a truly stylish, affordable watch to your rotation is fun (yes, fun!) and intentional. It adds something extra to your look, it serves a purpose (whether diving or hiking), and there’s always something to be said for an accessory that even James Bond himself wears. But because we can’t all be 007, or dress on his budget, let’s set some parameters. There’s a wide range of watches out there available for under $500, with options for dress watches, dive watches and more. These are the best men’s watches under $500 to amp up your wrist game accordingly.

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PRICE

Perhaps an obvious one, yes, but there’s also a vast array of differences among the best watches under $500. At the upper limit, even a somewhat more affordable men’s watch might use a different or more complicated movement or build, boast additional features (like a chronograph or a rotating bezel) or offer more in terms of style. All were crucial in building out this list of the best men’s watches under $500.

UTILITY

Some watches, particularly on the lower end of the spectrum, are about doing one thing and one thing only: Telling the time. Or rather, make that two things: Telling the time while adding a dash of style to your next #OOTD. Others have more to offer in the way of added features, but each entry on this list isn’t nearly as complicated as ultra-high-end watches that soar into the four and five figures, sometimes with an increasingly complicated dial design (and an increasingly complicated way of telling time).

STYLE

There’s an entire universe in terms of variety and style among watches under $500, even if some watch snobs might tell you otherwise. The search for a watch might encompass a bit of everything: There are sleek leather watches meant to be worn with tailored clothing, there are rugged watches meant to be worn into the field, and there are even options that can do a bit of both (like a stainless steel dive watch, for instance). There’s an indefinable style factor, but when you know, you really do know.

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SEIKO Men's Automatic 5 Sports Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch

best watch under $500, overall

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Let’s get right into it when it comes to shopping for a men’s watch under $500. It’s a great baseline price if you want to start or bolster your watch collection, particularly when it gives you the opportunity to snag a finely made Seiko watch. But the real benefit to adding a Seiko dive watch – this particular one especially – to your rotation? It just so happens to mimic the look of the much, much more expensive Rolex Submariner, which is never a bad style move. While it features a smaller case size, it packs a punch in terms of water-ready capability, and it’s even refined enough to dress up with business casual looks when back on dry land.

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Timex + Todd Snyder Mk-1 Amalfi

best collab

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Let no one tell you a stylish, sharp men’s dress watch requires you to spend an arm and a leg.

And in a world where vintage leather watches are getting harder (and more expensive) to come by, there’s a quick and effective way to add a crisply designed watch to your wrist. The solution? Shop through Todd Snyder, where the famed American menswear designer has teamed with equally famed American watch brand Timex on a refined, old-school dress watch. With a throwback-sized 36mm case and a cream-colored dial, it should pair easily with your favorite navy blazer or an Oxford shirt (sleeves rolled, of course).

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Fossil Neutra Chronograph Watch

most affordable watch

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Feast your eyes on all the features you can add to your watch rotation for under $500, including triple-chronograph utility from famed watchmaker Fossil. The do-it-all brand specializes in watches suited for dressy occasions as well as casual, everyday style situations, and the handsome Neutra Chronograph is somewhere between the two. The 44mm dial size is bold without overdoing it, while a crisp white dial plays nicely off a brown leather strap. Remember that critical blend of form and function discussed earlier? This chronograph proves you really can have it all, and at a low price.

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VAER Watches Meridian Solar Dive Watch

best dive watch

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When one dives (pun intended) into the world of field and dive watches, the results might prove unexpected. For instance, it’s hard enough to find rugged USA-made menswear, let alone intricately crafted timepieces made in the United States. But VAER has been on a mission to change that in recent years, all the while paying homage to the classics. This dive watch, which should function as heartily on dry land as in the depths of the ocean, looks like much more expensive models in terms of its dial (hint, hint, Rolex), all the while taking advantage of durable construction and an innovative solar-powered movement.

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Bulova Stainless Steel Leather Chronograph

best high-low

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The great thing about getting into the world of stylish men’s watches is that there’s something to fit every taste. That goes for subtle dress watches as well as hard-wearing stainless steel watches, not to mention timepieces that are somewhere in the middle. In this case, a contrast-stitched leather strap plays nicely off a patterned grey dial – it’s a high-low sort of look that pairs well with, say, a rugged henley and blue jeans or else a soft-shouldered navy blazer and a chambray shirt. You see? A watch with a “high-low” design works well with other “high-low” styles. And for under $500, triple-chronograph functionality meets any demand from sunrise to sunset.

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Naval Watch Company GMT Mechanical Watch

best for gmt functionality

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There are almost no boundaries in the world these days – travel and watch collecting (and wearing) very much included. That brings us to the GMT (or Greenwich Mean Time) watch. This innovative style allows the wearer to use a fourth watch hand (beyond just the hours, minutes and seconds hands) to track the time across another time zone. Simply set the GMT hand accordingly, then hit the road. Accordingly, this rugged watch boasts water-ready utility, a streamlined design for easy legibility and a sturdy Seiko automatic movement.

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Citizen Eco-Drive Garrison Watch

best casual watch

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While the notion of shopping for a watch on a budget might call to mind cheaply made timepieces, there’s a plethora of brands that have made it something of a specialty – Citizen very much included. Its distinctive Eco-Drive movement ensures accurate timekeeping on the go (powered by the sun, of course). Plus, the durable design of the Garrison is also a casual style favorite. The green nylon strap contrasts nicely against a dark dial, but it’s really the durability of this nicely sized 42mm watch that should make it a rugged favorite for your wrist game.

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Q Timex Reissue Watch

best reissue watch

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It’d be surprisingly easy to compile a list of the best watches under $500 using only options from Timex, the revered American watchmaker first known for its clocks and pocket watches. That’s a lot of history for one brand, and that means Timex has quite the archive to draw on. Its Q Timex Reissue line has proven wildly popular in recent years, as the brand dives back into quartz styles from the 1970s. The result is a range of timepieces like this two-tone red-and-blue (“Pepsi”) watch, which is subtle enough to be dressed up and sporty enough to pair with a navy polo, tan chinos and white canvas sneakers. And yes, it’s well under $500 – put the cash toward the rest of your wardrobe.

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Beau Hayhoe

Welcome Beau, our Men's Style & Grooming Editor here at Brostrick. A journalism grad from Michigan State University and current Brooklyn resident, Beau has been covering all things guys are into for publishers like Maxim Magazine, Esquire, Men's Journal, Fatherly, Business Insider, Gear Patrol, The Robb Report and more.

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Some of the Best Watches For Men are All Under $500

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