Sure, you can get a great watch on a budget, but the real fact of the matter is that if you want a watch to wear for the rest of your life, you’re going to need to spend a bit more. We’ve rounded up the best watches for under $150 before, and while they’re impressive, we think that the golden mean of watch shopping is the under $1500 range. That’s because watches under 1500 carry all the hallmarks of a luxury watch without the five-figure price tag.
Don’t get us wrong, $1500 isn’t cheap. A high-quality timepiece is — and always has been — an investment. But while the entry point for the Rolexes and Audemars Piguets of the world stands at around $5000, copping luxury watches under 1500 dollars is a task worth undertaking.
So, to save you time and money, we hit the net to round up the best watches under 1500 dollars. From the Bauhaus expertise of Junghans to luxury diving watches from Gucci, here are some of the best investment watches to bag on a budget.
German watchmaker Junghans takes inspiration from the national treasure that is Bauhaus. The 20th-century design movement looks to clean lines and minimal detailing to get a strong, no-nonsense point across. The Max Bill watch is one of the brand’s leading designs with a clean face and reliable J800.1 movement.
For those in search of a smaller watch, the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Watch is a winner. A 40mm case sits perfectly on smaller wrists and slots effortlessly into all outfits without dominating the visual. Equipped with a Swiss-made ML115 movement, this caters to function, too.
Based in Detroit, SHINOLA takes its name from a discontinued shoe polish. Producing items ranging from leather goods to bicycles and seriously high-quality watches, it’s a mind-boggling display of technical ability. This handcrafted chronograph comes with an Argonite 5050 quartz movement.
JBW is a relative newcomer to the world of luxury watches and it’s making its mark with a range of limited-edition releases under the RESERVE umbrella. Each of these pieces comes etched with a unique code and once it’s sold out, we may never see that fire iridescent finish again.
Many wouldn’t dream of buying a watch from a fashion house, but recent years have seen some of the top houses placing more of an onus on the technical side of watchmaking. This Tom Ford watch looks to mid-century designs — think Don Draper in Mad Men — with its rectangular face and matter-of-fact markings. Oh, it’s Swiss-made, too.
While the gold-standard in watchmaking will always be Switzerland, Scandinavia has made a spectacular entry into the market in recent years. Names like Ole Mathieson, creating some wildly understated luxury watches for under 1500 dollars, are central to this burgeoning powerhouse.
Gucci’s watch offering is not one to ignore. Details like the Web strap demarcate this watch as part of Michele’s label, but the utilitarian Diver’s Watch design feels a long way from the embellished, dreamlike world of the RTW collections. But, in the world of watches, maybe that’s a good thing.
TAG HEUER is a perennial presence in watchmaking. The Swiss manufacturer was founded in 1860 which is more than enough time to perfect the art of the timepiece. Powered by a proprietary TAG HEUER movement, the Formula 1 Chronograph is housed in a 43mm case that stands out on the wrist.
Like to know what’s going on inside your watch? The FOB Paris R360 Torch Watch gives you an unhindered view of the inner workings. Cogs, dials, miniature screws, and all components in between are on full show. Not only does this on-show design emphasize the levels of craftsmanship that go into each FOB timepiece, but it’s also a hypnotic visual asset.
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