Double Time: The Affordable Two Watch Collection – Under $100

About The Series: Double Time is for guys who like watches, but don’t necessarily want a big collection. What we’re going for here are two watches, at different affordable budgets, which as a team can fill just about any style need in every-day life. A casual watch and a dress watch. Those are basically the parameters. 

 

Invicta 40mm Pro Automatic 89260B – $64.99 ($80 – $100)

It’s a “tool” style watch, a dive watch, and for the purposes of this series, it’s a dress watch. Yes this is gonna be your dress watch with a budget of $100 or under. If James Bond can wear a dive watch with a tux, someone on a 2-watch-budget of $100 or less can wear this Invicta with a suit.

The Invicta Pro Automatic Diver is a staple in the affordable men’s style world. At 40mm it looks great on almost all wrists. With 200m of water resistance, a Japanese automatic movement, and classic good looks (let’s just call it a very strong “homage”), it punches well above its historical price of somewhere under $100. The only trouble with this thing is the engraved INVICTA on the 9 o’clock side. It’s too much. But thankfully it’ll be either under or just up against a shirt cuff if you need to lean on this thing when dressed up. And it’s… sixty bucks. We all have to make compromises in life. Anyway, if you’re a DIY-er, you can always try to take it off yourself.

The center links are also polished, which isn’t favored by some of us. A quick fix for that would be to take the bracelet off all together, and swap in a NATO or leather strap. Obviously that’ll cost you more money. You could always try to knock the shine down by scrubbing up/brushing the polish to a matching(-ish) finish with the other links.

 

Timex Unisex Weekender 38mm Watch – $34.30

The model that basically re-launched Timex as a more fashionable brand some 15 years ago. This is for when you want to set the heavy metal of the Invicta down. Okay, so the Invicta isn’t super heavy, but a dive watch can be a bit much on bright, sunny days, or when you’re seriously dressed down (say, athleisure). The Timex Weekender is light, fun, and does its one job well: It tells the time.

38mm dial diameter with a 20mm strap width, so if you do decide to use a NATO on the Invicta, you can bounce back and forth/trade “clothes” with the Timex too.

Know that the Weekender models are infamous for making a louder than average “TICK” sound with each snap of their seconds hand. It drives some people absolutely bonkers. If you’re particularly susceptible to annoyance via repetitive noises, be prepared to stuff this thing way back in a sock drawer while you sleep. Or invest in a box fan, and set it on high each night to drown out the relentless Tell-Tale Heart beating inside of your Timex.

 

Total Cost: $99.29

Got a wristwatch duo you’d like to recommend for Double Time? Send those in to joe@dappered.com. And thanks to our man Brandon for the idea for the series.