Best Affordable Style of 2015 – The Watch

The end of the year means it’s time to hand out some awards.  No, there’re no little statues to pass along, but over the next few days we’ll still highlight some of the best in affordable men’s style from this past year.  And it was a good one. Feel free to send in additional nominations here.

 

THE QUARTZ: Skagen Holst Multi-Function – $155

Slim and sleek. Suit worthy, and you could probably even wear it with a tux. Yet it’s still easy to wear with jeans and a sweater/OCBD combo. The sub-dials at noon and six are well balanced on the dial. Shades of an IWC Portuguese chrono, but this is no chronograph. Instead, the sub-dial at noon is a day indicator, with the date being displayed by the sub-dial at 6 o’clock. That eliminates the rectangular cut-out day/date windows seen on most watches at three o’clock, and instead, the curves keep on keepin’ on. Currently at full price on Amazon, but sit tight and you can get one of these things for $80 – $90ish when on sale.

 

THE AUTOMATIC/MECHANICAL: Orient Polaris – $402.50 (w/ 30% off code*)

A brand new arrival, and we were lucky enough to give one away recently. But its recent release and the fact that Orient sent one along for a giveaway hasn’t swayed us at all here. It’s the looks and build quality that makes this one the hands down winner of 2015. It’s hackable and hand-windable. It has a convenient power reserve indicator. And that super subtle GMT hand? Along with the cobalt blue on top of the dual textures on the dial? Damn. Was just 40% off during their holiday sale. $400 is no small bill to pay, but you get a lot for that investment.

Also Receiving Votes: The new Orient Mako USA Automatic. Seiko’s fast looking new SNDF chrono. Rodina’s NOMOS Homage. The new Timex Waterbury Chronograph line. Christopher Ward’s redesigned Trident 600.

*About Orient’s Codes: Try Dappered30 or Youtube30. Both should work, and offer you the choice of a free watch at checkout. Sometimes selection on the freebies can change depending on what code you use, so, use whatever gets you something that you think you’ll like. There’s lots of 30% off codes out there.