Less than €500: our 8 reference watches
Owning a great watch without ending up penniless isn’t a pipe dream. Nowadays, various reliable models are available under €500. Although they can’t compete with the quality of high watchmaking houses, they can still be stylish and functional tools, proving you can treat yourself with a good timepiece at a reasonable price. Here are 8 models worth to notice.
HAMILTON, Khaki Field Quartz 38mm and 33mm
With this new Khaki Field Quartz model, Hamilton expands their iconic field watch collection by releasing a reliable item deeply rooted into their watchmaking legacy – for less than €500. Designed to assist any urban jungle explorer, this novelty combines military-inspired functionalities with modern accuracy, without altering the aesthetics.
Available under 2 dimensions – 33mm and 38mm – this watch takes after the utilitarian DNA Hamilton is famous for. The sturdy and compact case nests a quartz calibre renowned for its accuracy, providing a constraint-free use, come rain or shine.
Inspired by the Hamilton G.S. (General Service) model launched during the 1960s for British civil servants, the design of this model follows the house’s historical heritage. The purposely-refined dial provides optimal liability thanks to the rail-track minute circle inherent to tool-watches. The hands, indices and numerals are coated in Super-LumiNova®, whose tint depends on the variation – bright white or green, echoing the old radium-based luminous paints – thus ensuring good liability under any circumstance. The color palette is a tribute to the military universe, with black, white, blue or khaki variations associated with NATO-style or metallic bracelets.
With an affordable and controlled price, this Khaki Field Quartz edition establishes itself as the ideal first-base item to enter Hamilton’s universe. A successful balance between watchmaking know-how, technical requirement and a strong-tempered character.
€495
Technical details:
Case: 38mm – Stainless-steel
Height: 8.3mm
Distance between lugs: 20mm
Dial: Green
Hands: Hours, minutes and seconds hands coated in Super-LumiNova® / “Old Radium” green
Movement: Quartz
Bracelet: Green NATO-style fabric or stainless-steel
Crystal glass: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50m
€440
See the technical specifications sheet of the Khaki Field Quartz 33mm
Technical details:
Case: 33mm – Stainless-steel
Height: 7.5mm
Distance between lugs: 18mm
Dial: Blue
Hands: White hours, minutes and seconds hands with white Super-LumiNova®
Movement: Quartz
Bracelet: Blue NATO-style fabric strap / Black NATO-style fabric strap
Crystal glass: Sapphire
Water-resistance: 50m
TISSOT, PR 100 40MM
The Tissot PR 100 model, launched in the early 1980s, soon became one of the brand’s iconic watches. The name is a summary of its DNA: accuracy (P for précision), sturdiness (R for robustesse) and water resistance up to 100 meters (or 10 bars). A watch designed for a daily use, and able to follow any tempo.
Nowadays, the PR 100 model keeps evolving, with a design brought up to date and directly inspired by the Gentleman and Classic Dream collections. The 40mm 316L stainless-steel case displays balanced and refined outlines. The large-diametered dial, with a sapphire crystal glass, enhances the liability. The dials, available with brushed or sun-brushed finishing, come in a variety of colors: blue, black, green or gray. With a discreet date aperture at 3 o’clock, they display hands and applied indices coated in Super-LumiNova®, ensuring good visibility, even in the dark.
At the watch’s heart lies a Swiss-made quartz movement equipped with the EOL (“End of Life”) feature that indicates the battery’s end of life – guarantee of reliability and practicality. The PR 100 model is available either on a 316L stainless-steel bracelet or on an alligator-style grained cowhide strap. The interchangeable quick release system allows to switch from an urban style to a casual look in a single click. Functional, liable and versatile, this model is an asserted daily watch.
€295
See the technical details of the Tissot PR 100
LIP, Rallye Meca-Quartz
Produced in Besançon, France, the historical birthplace of LIP, this edition from the Rallye collection echoes the motor sports aesthetic surrounding the line. Designed as a true time-measuring device, this model combines historical visual references with a modern architecture.
The aesthetic features are inspired by 1960s and 1970s motor sports codes. The black matte sun-brushed dial, with contrasting golden hands and indices, displays the mention “Autodrome”, evoking vintage racing-car dashboards. The light brown perforated leather strap imitating driving gloves is equipped with a chrome-plated straps buckle.
This chronograph features a round 40mm polished stainless-steel case topped with a double domed sapphire glass and an anti-reflective coating. The screwed-down case back provides a water resistance up to 50 meters.
But the main feature of this watch is the hybrid movement Time Module VK64 that combines a quartz basis to display the time with a traditional chronograph mechanism. It can measure down to the 1/5th of a second up to 60 minutes, with a chronograph minute counter at 9 o’clock). The dial also includes a 24-hour counter at 3 o’clock, a quickset date and a stop second function. Two tachymetric scales graduated from 30 to 900km/h complete the set.
ESKA, Chronograph Racing Azur
This new Racing chronograph sets a new milestone in Eska’s development. The house introduces a timepiece with a controlled look – designed to combine legibility, functionality and accessibility. The vertically brushed blue dial sets the tone of the piece and creates a striking contrast with the white rail-tracks minute circles, while the red chronograph hand adds a sporty touch. This model features 2 traditional chronograph scales: a tachymetric scale, used to measure an average speed, and a telemeter scale historically designed to estimate the distance with an event both visible and audible.
The watchword is efficiency: baton indices and oversized 12 and 6 numerals that provide optimal legibility under any condition. The Racing Azur chronograph thus follows a functional approach, designed for mechanical watch lovers and motor sports enthusiasts. Powered by the automatic SL4617 calibre, this bi-compax chronograph features a self-winding system with a stop second function, a 28,800 vibrations per hour frequency and a power reserve of about 45 hours. Eska chose to propose a real automatic complication in a price bracket usually meant for MécaQuartz models, thus ensuring the affordability of this edition.
With a 41mm diameter and a height of 12.8mm (excluding the glass), this new Racing chronograph opens Eska’s latest collection. More modern and polyvalent, it is inspired by the sunsets and sunrises igniting Lyon’s skyline – a salmon dial is also available. Iconic detail of the collection: every case back is engraved with the outline of the French city.
€490
Technical details:
Case
316L Stainless-steel
Dimensions: 41mm (case diameter) x 12.8mm (excluding the glass) / 14.9mm including the glass
Sapphire crystal glass
Screwed-down case back engraved with Lyon’s skyline
Water resistance: 5ATM – 50 meters
Dial
Azure: Vertically brushed blue dial
Indications: Hours, minutes, second chronograph hand in the centre – Timer 30 minutes to 3 hours – Small seconds counter at 9 o’clock
Movement
Calibre SL4617
Bi-compax chronograph
Self-winding
Power reserve: ≥45 hours
Frequency: 28’800 alt/hour
Bracelet
Leather strap
YEMA, Rallygraf Alpine Cup Series
As the official timekeeper of the Alpine Elf Cup Series, Yema does much more than measuring the time: it’s becoming an essential part of the French motor sports legend. This special Rallygraph turns out to be a tight chronograph where each technical detail echoes the DNA of the Alpine Cup Series. The Seiko VK64 mecha-quartz calibre powers the watch, a daring choice that combines chronometric accuracy, proven liability and mechanical thrills. The neat and immediate trigger of the chronograph evokes the strict standing start of the race, while the autonomy and the sturdiness of the movement address the challenges of a modern sportive use.
The new Rallygraph introduces an entirely redesigned 316L stainless-steel case. Integrating the tachymetric scale on the inner rehaut, instead of an external bezel, makes the whole piece 0.8mm thinner while enhancing visibility. Such architecture gives the 39mm model a more balanced look and leads the eye to the centre of the dial – a true “watch-board”. The re-adjusted crown and pushbuttons increase the ergonomics and the sporty signature of the whole piece.
The bi-compax dial, inspired by vintage dashboards, offers a crisp and functional contrast with its reverse panda configuration. The date aperture at 6 o’clock balances the Alpine Cup Series logo located at 12 o’clock, while the central seconds hand tipped with Alpine blue precisely points to the inner tachymeter scale. The dial, protected by a double-domed K1 mineral crystal, plays with perspectives and light, thus creating a subtle optical effect that evokes bygone dashboard instruments. Lastly, the case back stamped with the Alpine logo and the perforated Rally leather strap, made in Franche-Comté, France, perfect this mechanical tribute.
Leather strap – €390
Stainless-steel bracelet – €490
See the technical details of the Rallygraf Alpine Cup Series
SEIKO, 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition
Limited edition of 9,999 pieces – €460
Technical details:
Movement
Calibre: Automatic winding 4R36 calibre
Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour
Power reserve: 41 hours
24 jewels
Functions: Stop second hand function – Day/Date display
Case
38mm – Stainless-steel
Height: 12.1mm
Crystal: Hardlex
Unidirectional rotating bezel
Hands and indices coated in LumiBrite
Screwed-down see-through case back
Water resistance: 100 meters
Bracelet
Stainless-steel three-fold clasp with secure lock – Additional pink nylon strap
See the technical details of the Seiko 5 Sports Pink Panther Limited Edition
Seiko website
See also:
Read also: