These days, the watch industry is undergoing a lot of changes. The wide availability of cell phones — with clocks! — has turned the once-ubiquitous wristwatch into a fashion accessory. This isn’t a bad thing. It just means that not many people are buying basic digital watches anymore.
Because we like to keep our finger on the pulse, we’ve cruised Reddit to find the most popular watches online. We started out with r/Watches, because it’s the most logical place to find popular Reddit watches and Reddit replica watches. Then we checked those watches on r/WatchHorology, which is the subreddit where watch geeks gather to jaw about movements and other technical aspects. Finally, we checked in with the experts at r/malefashionadvice, to make sure we were choosing the top Reddit MFA watches.
From what we learned on Reddit, smart watches and high-quality analog watches are the way to go nowadays. So we’ve put together a list of stylish analog watches that aren’t just utilitarian workhorses. They also look great. And most of them are reasonably priced. Redditors are generally thrifty, so if you’re looking for the best watches under $500, Reddit offers plenty of options.
The Alpinist is the second Seiko watch on our list, but it’s far from second place. In fact, based on what we’ve seen on Reddit, it’s the best of the bunch. It's exceptionally durable and versatile.
Check Prices On AmazonThis venerable watch has been on the market since 1961, although Seiko has made several tweaks and improvements over the years. The current version first went on the market in 2006, and that’s the version we’re reviewing, so keep in mind that some features are different on a vintage Alpinist. For example, some of the 80s and 90s variants used a quartz movement.
Today’s Alpinist has a clean look, with no complications other than a simple date window at the 3 o’clock position. Odd-numbered hours are marked with gold triangles, while even numbered hours are marked by matching Arabic numerals, with no minute scala to clutter the picture. The hands have a skeletonized pattern, with lume paint in the cutouts for easy night visibility. The dial itself is a gorgeous, shimmering green, although it looks like a flat forest green in dimmer lighting.
This watch is water rated to 200 meters, so it’s fine for snorkeling and other underwater sports. It’s solar powered, with a 40-hour battery reserve, which means you can use it as a daily driver and keep it in a drawer over the weekend. It also features an internal compass ring, which we really liked. Because the ring is fully internal, it won’t collect dust, dirt and grit like many novelty watch compasses.
The Bulova Accutron is a formal watch, designed to be worn with a business suit or a tuxedo.
Check Prices On AmazonBulova is an established American watchmaker that’s known for high-quality quartz movements. They were acquired by Citizen in 2008, but continue to operate as their own label under the Citizen umbrella.
Their Accutron watch is designed to be fairly large, with a 45mm diameter and a case that’s 13.5mm thick. It’s still lightweight, though, thanks to a titanium case that brings the total weight to only 4.96 ounces. The titanium case is also corrosion-proof, although you still don’t want to take this watch out swimming; it’s only water-resistant to 30 meters, which means it’s splash-proof, not waterproof.
That said, you wouldn’t want to use the Bulova for athletic activities to begin with. It’s a dress watch, and it’s made to be worn with formal clothes. From the flat black dial to the black leather strap, this watch exudes class.
The watch face itself includes three subdials: a minute dial, a seconds dial, and an hour dial marked off in decimals rather than minutes. It also features a small date window. All functions are controlled by a multi-function crown, which hugs tight to the side of the case when it’s fully depressed. A tachymeter on the outer ring completes the picture, and adds a lot of functionality to a watch that would otherwise be simply a fashion statement.
One thing we like about the Accutron is the fact that it’s easy to modify. Bulova produces several different variants, so if you want to mix and match dials and other features, there are plenty of options for building your own beautiful custom watch.
The Orient Bambino V4 is a gorgeous automatic watch that comes in four different colors.
Check Prices On AmazonThe Orient Bambino V4 is a simple watch that’s designed to be both attractive and affordable. If you search for it at r/Watches, you’ll see post after post from people who bought it as their first watch. This makes sense, since it’s one of the most beautiful watches you can get your hands on at this price point.
The dial has a sunburst design, and is available in four colors: blue, brown, gray, or green. The blue sunburst is ringed with silver scala, while the other colors warm rose gold scala that exude class, but which are more understated and less flashy than a traditional metallic gold. There are no numerals, but the face is still easy to read, with large hashes at five-minute marks and a thick double hash at the 12 o’clock position.
Be aware that this is a budget watch. The movement is only rated to +/- 20 seconds a day, which is fine for a fashion statement, but not as accurate as you’d want to see on a professional timepiece. The factor band is also fairly flimsy, but that’s easy to replace. All in all, the Bambino V4 is still a great value for the price though.
One common misconception is that Orient is owned by Seiko. They’re not. Seiko watches are manufactured by the Seiko Holdings Corporation. Orient watches are owned by the Seiko Epson Corporation. Both companies started their business using the same Seiko movements, but they are independently owned and operated, and the Seiko Epson Corporation usually just refers to themselves as “Epson”.
The Seiko Prospex features a screw-down crown, a high-visibility dial and hands, and a uni-directional bezel, all mandatory features on a dive watch.
Check Prices On AmazonSeiko is the best-known Japanese watchmaker on the market, and they’re one of the few brands outside of Switzerland that has a reputation of being as good as any Swiss watchmaker in the business. Their automatic movements have become known throughout the world for their high quality, especially considering how much more affordable they are than the leading Swiss brands.
The Seiko Prospex is perhaps Seiko’s most well-known watch, and it’s available in more variants than you can shake a stick at. We’ve linked to the basic model, but one reason this watch is so popular among enthusiasts is the wide variety of aftermarket parts. Want to add a Pepsi bezel? They have one. Want to swap in a solar movement with a digital display on the dial? They make one. Want different scala or a Roman Numeral dial? You can order them from Seiko. Basically, if you want to build your own custom watch, the Prospex is a great base model.
It’s also a fantastic choice for scuba divers. The bezel is uni-directional, so if you’re using it to time how much air you have left, it’s not going to spin the wrong way and leave you stranded. If anything, it will spin counter-clockwise, so you’ll think you have less air than you actually do. When combined with the screw-down crown and the high-visibility lume dial, this makes the Prospex exceptionally safe for underwater use, when you need to be 100 percent sure that your equipment is safe and reliable.
The Luminox 3051 comes with a rugged rubber watch band that’s flexible and difficult to break.
Check Prices On AmazonLuminox is a relative newcomer to the watchmaking business. The company was founded just 30 years ago, in 1989, and they’re known for using tritium instead of traditional lume dials. Because tritium glows from radioactive decay, it doesn’t need to be recharged by sunlight. This means that even if you’ve left your Luminox watch in a drawer for three weeks, it will still glow just as brightly as it did before you put it in storage.
The downside is that tritium decays over time, and it has a half-life of 12 ½ years. This puts an expiration date on your dial. But considering the length of time we’re talking about, a tritium dial is still a good investment.
The 3051 is Luminox’ athletic watch, with a big, beefy stainless steel case with a powder coated matte black finish. This finish is a great choice if you’re worried about scratches, because it just doesn’t show them as clearly as a flashy metallic finish. The mineral glass crystal also helps with this, since it’s very rugged. It also resists glare, which is a nice feature when you’re reading your watch on a bright, sunny day.
One thing Redditors have noted is that Luminox watches vary widely in quality. If you get a good one, it will last you for a decade or more. If you’re unlucky and get a defective one, you’re not going to be quite as happy. Inspect your watch thoroughly upon arrival, and take advantage of Luminox’ warranty program if there are any issues.
The Tissot Visodate has a minimalist design and a clean, narrow bezel, perfect for golf, business lunches, or any casual occasion.
Check Prices On AmazonThe Visodate is the flagship watch of Swiss watchmaker Tissot. This brand was first founded in the 1800s, before Merging with Omega and ultimately getting bought out by Swatch in the 1980s. Since then, they’ve transitioned from being a luxury watch maker to producing more casual, everyday watches, while still maintaining a reasonable quality standard and using the latest Swiss automatic movements.
This watch has a clean, modern design without a lot of bells and whistles. The minute scala are small and delicate, with fat silver marks every five minutes. The hands are also silver, and have a tapered design, with a fat base and a sharp point. The second hand is long and slender, and has a spade-shaped counterweight.
The dial itself is a deep black that looks great with any outfit, and keeps glare to a minimum. The only complication is a day and date window, with a multilingual day-of-week display. There are no pushers. All controls are operated from the crown, which has a push/pull design to allow you to set both the day and the time with a single control.
The Visodate comes in a beautiful display case that allows you to see the internal workings of the movement. Be careful not to get it wet, though; it’s only water-resistant to 30 meters, which means you can’t take it swimming.
The Frederique Constant is highly prized as one of the most gorgeous mid-priced luxury watches on the market.
Check Prices On AmazonFrederique Constant first started selling watches in 1988. For such a new player, this Swiss watchmaker has made quite a splash in the mid-priced luxury market. Not only have they designed their own movements, they also produce their own cases and porcelain dials. They were purchased by Citizen in 2016, but continue to operate as a semi-independent brand within the broader Citizen world.
This watch is built to look like a classic luxury watch, with plenty of complications and not a lot of bare space on the dial. The hours are marked with large, blocky Roman numerals, surrounded by a tachymeter ring and a thing that counts off the months.
Analog day and date dials occupy most of the 9 and 3 o’clock positions respectively, while the bottom quadrant of the dial boasts a beautiful graphic moonphase dial. This doesn’t serve much practical purpose in today’s world of tide charts, but it’s a fun vintage feature that brings an additional splash of class, and makes this watch into a true conversation piece.
The movement itself is reasonably accurate. It’s a Japanese quartz movement that’s manufactured to Frederique Constant’s in-house design, and remains accurate to +/- 10 seconds per day.
The Junkers Bauhaus has a long pedigree, dating back to 1920s Germany. The “Bauhaus” was the name of the engineering school associated with the famous Junkers aircraft manufacturer in Dressau, and run by the company’s founder, Hugo Junker. Junker himself was staunchly anti-Nazi, and was forced to flee the country when they came to power. Shortly afterwards, the Nazis seized his aircraft factory to produce planes for the Luftwaffe, but they had no interest in his tiny watchmaking company. As a result, Junkers chronographs are still with us to this day, and their Bauhaus is a tribute to their founder.
This watch has a white dial, with small scala and larger hash marks at the 5-minute marks. The numerals are on the outside of the dial and not the inside, and display the minutes, not the hours, which gives this watch a crisp, modern look. There’s a 24-hour subdial at the 6 o’clock position, and the subdial is easy to read because there’s not a lot of clutter around it.
The partial subdial at the top says “min”, but “min” doesn’t stand for “minutes”, it stands for “minimum”. The word “min” is where the 0 should be because this subdial is your power meter. Since the Bauhaus’ automatic movement has a 40-hour power reserve, the meter tops out at 40, and it’s fairly reliable. This is a nice feature to see on an automatic watch, and it’s satisfying to see the reserve creep up throughout the day as you’re wearing it.
The Citizen Nighthawk is a tough nautical watch with several extra features.
Check Prices On AmazonJapanese watchmaker Citizen became famous in the 90s for their Eco-Drive solar quartz movement. They were the first brand to offer reliable, affordable solar watches, and their success enabled them to buy up several struggling Swiss watchmakers like Bulova and Frederique Constant. These other brands, as well as many independent watchmakers, also use Citizen’s Eco-Drive movement under the brand name Miyota.
The Nighthawk is designed for nautical use, with multiple chronograph rings, but the coolest feature is the internal pilot’s slide rule. This ring is operated by a second crown that’s located at the 8 o’clock position. You can use it for unit conversions, or use the red “60” marker as a makeshift timer.
One unique feature on this watch is the 24-hour inner subdial on the left. It has two hands, red and white, which mark off the time on a two-tone half-subdial, which keeps the right half of the dial free for a date window. The main hands are large, fat, and bright white, so the time is easy to read even with all the complications.
When we looked for these Citizen watches, Reddit users had a lot to say about their versatility. The Nighthawk is a popular choice for both casual and formal wear, particularly if you’re looking for a single watch that needs to serve both purposes.
If you’re looking for the best overall watch, for work or play, the Seiko Alpinist is hard to beat. It’s been around for almost 60 years, and it’s still one of the best-selling mid-priced watches on the market. Not only does it look great with just about any attire, it’s also very rugged, with a tough case and crystal, and an internal compass ring that’s not just accurate but also fun to look at.
That said, not everybody’s needs are going to be the same. We’ve tried to point out which watches we thought were best for what purposes, but here are a few that stood out to us.
And that about covers it. With the help of Reddit, we’ve uncovered the best watches on the market. Now all you have to do is decide which one is best for you.
