Six Stainless Steel Watches under $300
Originally Published 7/13/2010
When picking out a new watch, the stainless steel wristband is usually what a guy will reach for first. It’s dressy. It’s formal. And James Bond can make it look really quite good. The only problem with a metal wristband is that unlike leather, the styling can go wrong very quickly. If the links are too dainty, or there’s gold or other metals plated on there, that watch starts to look like nothing more than jewelry. And that’s not good.
Details Magazine suggests a metal watch band for that large swath of time between suit and t-shirt and jeans. Unfortunately, the average price of their six picks is $3,868. Which is pretty ridiculous. Here’s six that won’t set you back more than a tenth of that.
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Orient Black Mako Automatic – $107.57
Seems like everyone who’s ever owned an Orient raves about their quality and style. At just over $100, the Orient Black Mako is a nice alternative to the seemingly everywhere Invicta Pro Diver
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Seiko SUN 007 Kinetic Black Ion Watch – $188.49
There’s a definite tactical look to this watch, but since the dial has none of the usual chrono or tacheometer business usually seen in other military models, it’s kind of refined. No battery thanks to the kinetic movement and a power meter on the face lets you know how much energy is left in the reserves. A terrific deal at under $200
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Citizen Eco Drive Ion Plated Perpetual Calendar – $270
| Eco Drive Nighthawk – $229
The Citizen Eco Drive power-train is about as good as it gets. No batteries, and if you have a larger watch collection and let one of these sit for awhile, all you have to do is take it out and set it in a naturally lit room for a day. The Ion Plated Perpetual Calendar
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Tissot T-Sport PRC-200 Chronograph – $299.00
For the guys who like a good amount of flash on their wrist. This thing is attention getting. The face is dark blue but the classically positioned chronograph dials are a slightly lighter shade. The links are intricate and the entire thing has a high shine. Add on top of that the fact that 20 of the 22 Amazon reviewers gave it 5 stars.
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Emporio Armani Silicone Strap Chronograph – $295.00
As Limon Zerga/Saul (AKA Carl Reiner) said in Ocean’s Eleven
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I can’t say enough good things about my titanium Citizen Eco-Drive, and I’d definitely recommend the brand to anyone looking for that “all-around” watch when you’re not putting on a full suit.
Curse you, Joe. I’ve become sort of a watch freak since I started reading this blog, and these are all enticing. I especially like the E.A. and the Tissot as unique watches. But I also kinda want the Lacoste rubber band mentioned in a past article. ARG!
Heh… been awhile since I had someone say “curse you” to me…
somehow I want all of these watches, the E.A. and the Citizen ones look the tastiest…being as I work in an office where i don’t have to wear a suit everyday these would all be perfect go-tos….excellent post, one of your finest
Joe, it was in an endearing manner, don’t worry lol.
Yeah, I picked up on that Bryan… your comments are always appreciated. What’s the saying? If someone’s not cursing you, you’re not doing your job?
Great post on watches Joe! Am I sensing an affinity to watches as of late? I’ve been feeling the same, and recently picked up a vintage gold Omega watch on Ebay, but this post is giving me the urge to snatch up the AE or Citizen Eco Drive.. my wallet hates you right now. Anyways, since we are on the topic of watches, have you ever explored changing bands ie leather, Nato, etc to maximize the looks of your current collection? I would love to see what you can conjure up.
Thanks for these suggestions so far!
I have the Black Mako with the rubber strap that I wear daily just bumming around. I get lots of compliments even though I think it of more of a knock around watch with the rubber. I like the black strap with the black face. I also have the blue faced Mako with the stainless strap but wear it for dressier occasions.
As a self-appointed watch master, I can agree with the Citizen Nighthawk. I one one in black on black. Beautiful.
The rest is not particularly impressive and that Seiko is just bad. Instead of that Emporio Armani watch, I would go for this Fossil (yes, Fossil). That is one of the few Fossil’s I would get, and I actually own that watch face, but with a brown leather strap and in a different color, which you can see here
(terrible picture though)
I think when buying a steel band watch (if you must), look for the flattest links you can find. Don’t go for those 3D embossed, alien space craft links. Aim for something close to what Cartier does with their bands
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Here are some inexpensive steel band watches I would consider:
Kenneth Cole KC3872
Fossil Chrono FS4436
Seiko 5 Automatic
@Micky: “The rest is not particularly impressive…” Child Please.
Haha.
The EA Chronograph is just fantastic! I get compliments on it all the time and it’s just so comfortable. Has the perfect amount of flash without being over the top. Great choice!
Nice choices, with the Tissot and the Citizen (with the Orient close behind) as my favs on this list. $300 is a decent ceiling on price as this allows for quite a few choices at a reasonable price. Here are a couple more of my favs:
Bernhardt Sea Shark – $199
http://www.bernhardtwatch.com/seashark.html
Still on my to get list. Heavy watch (190g), sapphire crystal and screw down crown for under $200. If you like diver watches, this is definitely worth looking at.
Torgoen T5 – $250
http://www.watchmann.com/proddetail.asp?prod=T05203
Clean looking GMT watch on stainless.
Deep Blue Pro Sea Diver 1k – $281
http://deepbluewatches.com/prose1kbrord.html
Like a big brother version of the Orange Mako. Automatic movement, sapphire crystal, screw down crown, 46 mm case (big) and 220g (heavy!).