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Affordable Men's Style

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Steal The Style: Dream Watches – Part III

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Cheaper Alternatives for Esquire’s Big Black Book Spring 2012 Watches

The average cost for one of Esquire’s 22 “dream” watches is $13,964.  More than a few of us have never spent that on a car, let alone a watch.  The most expensive is a Platinum Paneri which runs, and this deserves to be written out check style: forty four thousand eight hundred and 00/100.  What would you write on the “memo” line for that check anyway? I’M RICH BIAATCH! ?  Still, they’re stunning, and Esquire excels at showing us the top of the line.  The following are more attainable, Dappered-chosen alternatives that you can be awake to enjoy.
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#16.  ESQ Stratus – $495 | Titanium Chrono – $19.50
Both ends of the price point spectrum.

Their Pick:  Breitling Steel Avenger Seawolf
The Alternative:  The dead ringer style-wise would be the ESQ, but it’s half a grand.  Since the automatic-or-die crowd is losing their minds over a $500 quartz, a cheaper option would be this non-chrono from Luminox, or, the TWENTY dollar model from the sold-by-Nordstrom “Titanium” brand on the right.

 

#17.  ESQ Classic Sport – $349.99 or Seiko5 – $57.65
Expensive Quartz, Cheap Automatic, both with custom straps.

Their Pick: Omega Steel Seamaster Planet Ocean
The Alternative: You want some orange or yellow accents, on either a black or blue face.  Not a lot of those out there.  So, look for the dial, and then switch out the band for something with matching stitching if you can find one.  The ESQ comes with a silicone strap and is pricey, even through Overstock.  A warning on the Seiko 5:  it’s not the biggest thing in the world, so it’ll look downright dainty on larger wrists.

 

#18.  Invicta Date Master II – $71.14
Invicta has been known to borrow some styling.

Their Pick: Rolex Steel Oyster Perpetual Explorer II
The Alternative:  You think Invicta was going for a similar style here?  Invictas are… Invictas.  Inexpensive watches that have a ridiculously high “retail” price.  They even make some automatics.  But something less copy-cat would be Orient’s white dial Thresher.  The Invicta is quartz, the Orient is automatic.  More on the Thresher here.

 

#19.  Hamlin Ultra Thin – $90.00
Try a deep burgundy band.

Their Pick: Hermes Cape Cod Simple Calendar
The Alternative:  There’s not a lot of slim rectangle (or in this case, a rounded out Tonneau style) case watches for men out there, so a blue dial is going to be even more rare.  This one comes with a steel mesh band, but again… watch bands are like painted walls in a just purchased home.  They’re easily changed.  Movement is Japanese quartz on this one.

 

Hugo Boss Rectangular Case – $175.00
Rectangle case watches can get feminine quick. This one doesn't.

Their Pick:  Baume & Mercier Steel Hampton
The Alternative:  Is the Boss really that close?  Not really.  But it’s plenty masculine.

 

Stuhrling World Time Swiss Quartz – $124.99 or Citizen Eco Drive 8700 – $281.25
Busier than a Wal-Mart on Black Friday.

Their Pick:  Mont Blanc Steel Star Worldtimer
The Alternative: The resemblence of some of the key details on the Stuhrling makes you wonder.  It’s a quartz, and it’s pretty obnoxious, but the stylized numbers and the world time feature are both there.  The Citizen isn’t a match at all, but it’s the same wheel house of real busy dial, with some sharp numbers (Arabic or Roman) and function based ring around the outside of the dial with words instead of numbers.

 

Seiko Retrograde Day Indicator – $148.00
Wish it was at least fulfilled by Amazon...

Their Pick :  IWC Da Vinci Chronograph
The Alternative:  Kenneth Cole made a watch that looked awfully similar to this for awhile, but it seems to have disappeared.  The Seiko isn’t a chronograph, and beware… it’s sold, for now, through a 3rd party on Amazon.

Comments

  1.  I was waiting for the Omega Seamaster Professional, but alas it didn’t make the Esquire cut.  Do you have any suggestions for that one?

  3. Why are all of these watches so ugly and of shit fashion quality? Does Macy’s own this blog?

  4. I wouldn’t touch hugo boss square watches again. I had one two years ago which ended up with moisture in the face after I washed some dishes. It was supposed to be waterproof to 100m and was only splashed incidentally. I called their customer service (which was decent) and ended up with a free replacement of the same model. The exact same thing happened to the replacement watch.

  6. Settle down guy. The purpose of this posting is for ‘Cheaper Alternatives to Esquires list.’ So it looks like Joe has done a pretty good job of finding stuff in a range of prices that bear resemblance to the original pieces.

  10. Agree.. Definitely appreciate what Joe is doing here, but personally, I would rather have the real thing or something that is cool in its own right and not made to look like what its not.

  12. Nope, Macy’s doesn’t own Dappered.  And like Mike said, this was about finding watches that look like the Esquire picks.  Not personal picks, but stylistically close. 

    It wasn’t easy to find watches that match the details of the Esquire picks since those were certainly unique.  Bit of a goose chase really.  But, there’s no reason to get fired up over it.  Remember, affordable means different things to different people.

  15. If you don’t wanna read Dappered, I’m sure it wouldn’t break anyone’s heart to see you go….

  16. Ugh… and once again Dappered eats my post because it has too many links. Anyway. Search Bulova 98C62 for a blue quartz homage. The Orient Ray is a decent auto alternative. Both in a pretty reasonable $130-50 price range.

  17. The $20 watch isn’t bad and for $20, it’s just shouting, “hell, why not?”. Possible cheap gift that looks twice its value

  18. I’m not seeing that Titanium watch in black on Nordstrom.  Maybe they sold out of that color.  Too bad because the other colors look terrible.

  19. Loved dappered but watches and shoes are places where splurges should happen and $ equals quality.  That doesn’t necessarily jump to a 4K Omega as your first watch but there are some quality time pieces and good vintage finds in the $500 to $1000 dollar range, just as there are nice goodyear welted dress shoes in to $100 – $150 range.  

    Invictas, Orients, and these some of these other picks don’t do it for me.