Great watches for less than €300
Casio, Citizen, G-shock, Herbelin, Lip and Tissot are having a meeting on Frank Sans C’s channel for a presentation of their less than €300 watches… As well as their variations. Affordable gift ideas – by no means insignificant – that you will enjoy as the holidays come!
CITIZEN, Challenge Diver Automatic
Citizen offers us a burst of colours with the Challenge Diver Automatic of the Promaster Marine collection. Green, smokey orange, blue or black, the dials have different nuances to satisfy all the amateurs of diving watches with a nice price-quality ratio – less than €300. Indeed, each Challenge Diver Automatic is in stainless steel, 41 mm wide, and has all it takes to explore the seabed with rotating bezel, hands and indices covered in luminescent coating for perfect visibility and up to 200 meters water resistance. The automatic calibre offers a roughly 45-hour power reserve and is visible through a transparent caseback. The black, smokey orange, and green versions have a urethane strap. As for the blue dial, it is coupled with a steel bracelet.
Urethane strap – €269
Steel bracelet – €299
Technical details:
41 mm steel case
Strap available in steel or urethane (black/green)
Transparent case back
Black, smokey orange, green or blue dial
Mineral glass
Automatic calibre 8204-21A
-10/+20 seconds per day average variation
Day and date
45-hour power reserve
21,600 alt/h oscillation
200 m water resistance
G-SHOCK, GM-2100BB-1AER
G-Shock superfans will be delighted to get an emblematic model of the brand back, the GM-2100BB-1AER. Recognizable for its octagonal bezel, this edition has an ionised case in glass-reinforced resin combined with steel. Water resistant to 200 meters, just like the other models of the maison (read the articles “As young as ever” and “G-Shock 40th anniversary”), this model has an intense black dial with Neobrite-coated hands. This specific coating provides long-term illumination in the dark. The ultimate tool watch is equipped with many characteristics and functionalities that built G-Shock’s reputation, such as shock-resistance, world time function, 1/100-sec accuracy chronometer, countdown timer, five daily alarms etc. Completing the black total look, the watch is endowed with a black resin strap.
€219
CASIO, CA-500WZGG-1B
With this Casio calculator watch CA-500WZGG-1B, we are going back to the future for less than €300! The purists will tell you that this is the watch that Michael J. Fox – alias Marty – wore in Back to The Future, the iconic 80s movie.
A true “madeleine de Proust”, this retro model once again reinvents itself through three new models. Golden, steel grey or silver, this piece displays a super trendy metallic look. It has it all! The oblong-shaped resin case is a staple of the collection. Moreover, this “cool gadget” stands out with its calculator that can handle nothing less than 8-digit computations on an LCD screen.
In addition, this Casio is equipped with dual time, 1/100-sec stopwatch, alarm, full-auto calendar, and many other everyday life useful functions. Light and shock-resistant – like the other watches of the brand – it has a steel ion-plated band very resistant to scratches. This edition will be a hit with fans of the movies and vintage watch collectors.
Gold and steel grey colours – €89,90
Silver colour – €69,90
Click here to read the Casio CA-500WEGG-1B full technical sheet.
LE COQ SPORTIF x HERBELIN, Chronographe Intégrée
Here comes a fitting collaboration this Autumn with the first le Coq Sportif watch collection conceived by Herbelin. Sharing similar values, the two maisons reveal this steel 316L chronograph in the colours of the sports brand.
The 42 mm case has a white dial minted with a textile pattern and adorned with blue, white, and red contrasting colours, respectively corresponding to the minutes, the small seconds, and the hours. The dial also has luminescent hands, a red seconds hand, a date aperture at 6 o’clock and a le Coq Sportif logo at 12 o’clock. A reference to the Made in France quality that is dear to the two brands: the steel notched crown is decorated with a three-coloured aluminium ring. Water-resistant to 100 meters, this edition is animated by a quartz Myota movement. As for the white strap made in TPU – a resistant, recyclable, and biodegradable material – it is integrated into the case, thereby naming the line.
€179
Technical details:
42 mm brushed 316L steel case
Fixed bezel in brushed 316L steel
Screwed-in case back, mineral glass, sapphire coating
Steel notched crown with a three-coloured aluminium ring
100 m water-resistance
White dial minted with a textile le Coq Sportif pattern
Black baton applique indices with silver edge
Hours and minutes hands covered in white luminescent coating
Red centre second
Minutes counter (blue) at 9 o’clock; hours counter (red) at 3 o’clock; small seconds (white) at 6 o’clock
Date aperture at 6 o’clock
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, date
Quartz movement (Myota)
TISSOT, PR100
The timeless Tissot PR100 made a name for itself among the collections of the watchmaking maison thanks to its clean lines and classic look. “P” stands for precision, “R” stands for robustness and “100” for the – surprise! – 100 meters water resistance. This steel watch is available in two different diameters and many different colours for its brushed or sun-brushed dials. The 34 mm versions have blue, grey, and steel blue dials in mother-of-pearls or gold PVD. The 40 mm ones are in blue, black, green, or grey. This watch is endowed with an interchangeable bracelet and a well-made Swiss quartz movement “EOL” (End Of Life) that indicates the end of battery life.
€295
Click here to read the Tissot PR100 full technical sheet.
TISSOT WEBSITE
LIP, It’s Possible!
“It’s possible: we produce, we sell, we pay ourselves” is the slogan of a generation and of a struggle that left its mark on the year 1973 in France. That year, the employees of the Lip manufacture indeed took control of their factory in Palente after being threatened by their directors with filing for bankruptcy and 480 layoffs.
After the occupation of the building by the workers and a general assembly, the return to production controlled by the workers – renamed “the LIPs” – was voted. Half a century after this unprecedented social struggle, Lip is paying homage to them through a quartz watch in an edition limited to 1973 copies. This watch has a 38 mm 316L steel case. It mostly stands out thanks to the inscription on the silver dial: the historical slogan. The light beige leather strap emphasizes the vintage look of the piece.
Edition limited to 1973 copies – €199
Click here to read the LIP, It’s Possible! full technical sheet.
See also:
Read also: