Kickstart your collection with Bezel's picks for the best entry-level watches from iconic brands, all of which can be found priced below $10,000.
Timepieces come at different price points. There are cheap quartz watches that cost less than $100 and super high-end mechanical watches worth six to seven figures. As a new collector in the world of watches, you don’t have to buy the high-end stuff right away. There are several good quality luxury watches at an affordable price point that can kickstart your journey into luxury watch collecting.
In this review, we have selected some of the best watches in this category, with most models between $5,000 and $10,000 in price. Despite being super-affordable, these watches are from some of the biggest luxury watch brands and offer a wide range of impressive features. Read on to see our top picks for the best entry-level luxury watches and why they made the list.
The Speedmaster Moonwatch Ref. 310.30.42.50.01.001 is the latest generation of one of the most iconic Omega wristwatches. The design of the new timepiece was inspired by that of the 4th-generation Speedmaster worn by Astronauts on the moon. At first glance, this watch resembles any of the older Speedmaster Moonwatch models but has some subtle yet meaningful upgrades.
This Omega Speedmaster professional timepiece is powered by the OMEGA Caliber 3861 movement. In addition to the central chronograph function, this movement has a small second sub-dial a 30-minute and 12-hour recorder. The watch has a familiar black stepped dial, with recessed subdials in the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions.
The Omega Speedmaster professional moonwatch is presented in a 42mm stainless steel casing, which feels smaller on the wrist than its size on paper. It’s a comfortable watch with a tidy appearance thanks to its recessed pushers and polished lugs. While a 13mm thickness means this timepiece isn’t thin, it is also not excessively thick, sitting comfortably on a small wrist. Buying this watch means you’ll be getting arguably one of the most celebrated sports watches in history at an affordable price point.
Key Characteristics and Features
If you want an affordable luxury travel watch, the Tudor Black Bay GMT Ref. M79830RB-0001 is one of the best entry-level luxury watches to consider. It is an interesting-looking timepiece that barely resembles any older Tudor references, unlike the other watches in the Black Bay line.
Instead, Tudor seems to have taken direct inspiration from the Rolex GMT-Master and Master II to create this watch. The biggest design giveaway is the prominent black and red “Pepsi” bezel that gives the Black Bay GMT a striking appearance.
The Tudor Black Bay Ref. M79830 is a true GMT timepiece designed to track multiple time zones simultaneously. To get this functionality, this Tudor wristwatch is powered by the MT5652 caliber, which makes its debut for the first time in this wristwatch. The COSC-certified movement has 70 hours of power reserve and is equipped with a silicon balance spring.
The Tudor Black Bay GMT is a chunky watch with a 41mm width and 15mm thickness. While it might take some time to get used to the bulky size of this timepiece, it isn’t exactly oversized. The lugs and bracelet end links of this timepiece drop down dramatically so it sits nicely and comfortably on the wrist.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Luminor Base Logo 3 Days Ref. PAM00773 is a sub-$5000 entry-level timepiece from Panerai. Unveiled by the brand in 2018, this watch features a 44 mm stainless steel casing framing a round bezel. It’s an imposing design, even for people with large wrists. The watch also comes with the classic Panerai-trademarked crown protector, further raising its bulky timepiece profile.
The Ref. PAM00773’s dial is as simple as a Panerai timepiece can get. As a time-only timepiece, all you have on the matte black dial is a quarter layout of Arabic numerals mixed with stick indexes. The only superfluous element on the watch face is the Panerai Logo. The white version is slightly more crowded with a full layout of numbers, but the design is still clean and minimalist.
Panerai fitted this watch with its newly developed in-house movement, the P.6000. This manually wound movement delivers three full days of power reserve - hence the name. It’s the perfect watch for anyone buying an affordable entry-level modern watch with a classic design.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Breitling Superocean 42 is a reboot of Brietling’s Slow Motion Divers watch, which was quite popular in the 60s. The classic and modern versions are built on the same philosophy of minimalism and no-frills design. The Ref. A17375E71C1A1 was built to do one thing really good, which is to be a clean-cut dive watch.
With a form-follows-function design, Breitling has gotten rid of any feature that doesn’t contribute to this timepiece’s design as a practical underwater watch. The chunky 42mm watch is characterized by clean dials, with large luminescent indexes and a high-contrast dial ring to ensure maximum underwater legibility.
This Breitling timepiece is powered by an Automatic Caliber B17 movement. The movement is water-resistant to 300 meters (1000ft). It is also shock and salt-water-resistant, delivering maximum durability. The Superocean is the perfect watch if you need an entry-level dive watch that you can also wear to dinner.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Santos Cartier Ref. WSSA0029 looks like a pretty basic timepiece. But there’s more to this wristwatch, both in terms of its design and its rich legacy. First, you should know that this is one of the most popular Cartier timepieces, mainly because it is the first male wristwatch ever produced. Typically, a watch with a rich legacy like this would come at a huge price point, but the Ref. WSSA0029 is a nice deviation from the norm.
As for its appearance, while this watch looks pretty basic, it has some cool design features. For instance, the dial color looks like a basic silver color, but on closer inspection, you’ll find that it has a muted grainy sparkle that gives off different hues if light strikes it at the right angle. The sapphire crystal covering the watch face is also convex rather than flat.
For more specific specs, the medium Ref. WSSA0029 Cartier Santos has a 7-sided crown set and measures 35.1mm by 41.9mm with a thickness of 8.83mm. This dimension gives the watch a great wrist presence, but it’s low-key enough to be appreciated even on smaller wrists.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Mark XX is the latest watch in IWC’s Mark Series. Production of this classic line of watches began shortly after World War II, with the Mark XI, and the watchmaker has kept it up since then.
The newly-released Mark XX is an upgrade of the Mark XVIII, released in 2018 (Mark 19 was skipped because the number is considered unlucky in some cultures).
The Mark XX is a 40mm timepiece, which means it is a tad bit smaller than its predecessor (which was considered too big by many). This size reduction helps put the Mark XX in a sweet spot and makes it a perfect watch for everyday wear. It also has an upgraded bracelet that feels thinner than older versions and sits comfortably on the wrist.
Despite being one of the most affordable entry-level watches in IWC’s portfolio, the Mark XX is one of the best-looking ones. However, beyond aesthetics, this watch is also quite powerful internally. It is powered by the IWC caliber 32111, which delivers a 120-hour power reserve, a huge improvement over the 48-hour reserve in the earlier versions of this watch.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Oyster Perpetual Ref. 126000-0002 is a simple Rolex model with no complications or extra bells and whistles. It’s just a simple time-only watch with a 36mm oyster casing and a bracelet made of the same highly durable material. In addition to being extremely damage-resistant, the Oystersteel has an exceptionally polished finish that elevates its beauty. The 36mm size of this timepiece makes it quite versatile so that it can be worn by both men and women.
This watch model comes in various alluring-colored dial options, with the black dial being one of the most beautiful. The dial has a sunray finish that creates delicate light reflections and increases the functional reliability of this watch by making it quite legible. The hour markers are represented by white batons that stand out boldly against the bright black dial. This Rolex Oyster Perpetual has a domed that adds to its elegant, classic appeal.
The Ref. 126000-0002 is powered by an upgraded movement - the caliber 3230, the same year as the watch. The new movement promises higher reliability thanks to the use of Chronergy escapement. The self-winding movement is also built to be highly resistant to shock, dust, and magnetism, further boosting its durability and offering a power reserve of up to 70 hours.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Tudor Black Bay Chrono M79360N has a lot going for it. This vintage-inspired timepiece has a 41mm case diameter and a thickness of 14.4mm. This is a chunky watch that looks cool and comfortable on the wrist. Due to its classic design, this timepiece is often compared to its distant cousin, the Rolex Daytona.
Tudor created two dial variations of the Tudor Black Bay Chrono. The white dial variant comes with black subdials and has been nicknamed “the panda” because of this (the dial resembles a Panda’s face, with the subdials being the eyes). The other versions of the watch have white subdials on a black dial, so it is commonly called the reverse panda. Both versions are powered by the Caliber MT-5813 self-winding chronograph movement, which has a date, Chronograph, and Tachymeter functions.
Key Characteristics and Features
This timepiece is the latest iteration of the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M collection, which made its debut over two decades ago. The ref 220.10.41.21.10.001 is a 41mm stainless steel watch paired with a stainless steel bracelet. The bracelet features a polished center link and double folding clasp, which allows the most comfortable fit.
While there are more complex versions of the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra, Ref. 220.10.41.21.10.001 is as simple as they come. With nothing more than a date and time functionality, this timepiece has a simple, clutter-free dial layout.
The dial features the famous teak deck engraving that has become a signature feature of this collection. While the original Omega Seamaster released in 2002 was plain, the watchmaker introduced a vertical version of this Motif in 2008, which was subsequently changed to horizontally engraved lines in 2017.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Rolex Explorer Ref 124270 is part of a well-established family of Rolex watches. The watchmaker has been making explorer watches since the 1950s, and the reference 124270, released in 2021, is the latest addition to that collection.
The new watch comes in a 36mm stainless steel casing. The new size brings the Rolex Explorer closer in size to older explorer versions from the 90s. The dial of this watch also retains a distinctive vintage Rolex identity, with characteristic luminescent 3, 6, and 9 numerals on a smooth black dial. The hour markers and hands are also filled with luminescent materials, so they emit a long-lasting blue glow in the dark. It’s a cool and fitting feature since the watch is built for outdoor adventures.
While the case and dial of this watch have an old-school style, the ref 124270 is powered by an updated Caliber 3230 movement. This is superior to the movement in earlier versions, with an extended power reserve of up to 70 hours. It is also built to resist magnetic fields, temperature, dust, and water, making it quite durable.
Key Characteristics and Features
The Ref. SBGM221 watch from Grand Seiko is an elegant timepiece with a GMT function. Although GMT watches generally fall in the tool watch category, this timepiece looks quite dressy and has an appearance that differs significantly from the heritage and Sports lines. It is characterized by a distinct soft round shape instead of the harsh and angular design of other Grand Seiko tool watch models.
The watch sells for under $4,600, which puts it on the lower end of Grand Seiko’s mechanical watch catalog and makes it a perfect entry-level luxury watch to buy. Despite the low price point, Ref. SBGM221 is quite a bargain, offering more value than it costs.
The Grand Seiko Elegance GMT Ref. SBGM221 has an intense, attention-grabbing dial characterized by razor-sharp hands, sculpted indices, an elegant font for numbers, and an applied Grand Seiko insignia.
The date window is framed perfectly on the beautifully finished ivory dial. Beneath the surface, the watch runs on a Grand Seiko’s 9S66 automatic movement, a true GMT movement designed to track multiple time zones simultaneously and hold up to the rigors of travel.
Key Characteristics and Features
Finding luxury on a budget is hard, but it isn’t impossible. This list shows that several affordable quality, elegant, and functional timepieces from high-end luxury brands exist. You need to know where to look and find the best ones for your budget.
Whether you’re a budding collector looking to start your journey into the world of luxury watches or a seasoned buyer trying to expand your collection on a budget, our list of 11 best entry-level luxury watches is a great way to start.
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