Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
TW Steel is a fairly new and loud brand with a firm foothold in the market of oversized watches. Compared to many other watch brands, TW Steel are still very young after starting their business in 2004. It is obvious to see that the company has found a niche in the market for large and loud fashion watches.
Unlike larger watch brands, TW Steel is still family-owned by father and son duo Ton & Jordy Cobelens. The Coebelens family had been authorized dealers for other large watch brands until they decided that they would set up a brand of their own.
Since then, the company has heavily invested in marketing its watches through the use of celebrities and motorsport events. Most notably their watches have featured in movies such as 22 Jump Street and have been worn by actors such as Channing Tatum and Ice Cube.
Table of Contents
TW Steel As A Brand
Considering it is under 20 years old. TW Steel has grown at an incredible rate from being a complete unknown, to a global brand. Fashion watches are a notoriously difficult market to break into, so TW Steel has achieved a lot of success in a relatively short time.
The brand itself is best known for its metallic oversized watches. They are usually designed with a nautical theme, with the most iconic being the Canteen design. In general, people will either love or hate TW Steel. This is because its designs are very divisive and unique. Another brand to be compared with similar marketing and its own oversized unique designs is Invicta.
In current years, oversized watches are not quite as popular as they once were. With that being said, TW Steel still has a seat at the table and is not going anywhere soon. It has a very established brand identity and its watches are worn worldwide.
Are TW Steel Good Value For Money?
TW Steel are not luxury watches but are fairly high-end fashion watches. Therefore they are quite appropriately priced for what you’re getting.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that TW Steel has a very unique and individual style. You can see that they have not simply tried to produce as many different watches as possible and have instead gone in their own direction.
Perhaps the closest brand in terms of style to TW Steel would be U-Boat. The U-Boat company are not direct rivals to TW Steel since their watches are far more expensive and are entry-level luxury watches. The fact that TW Steel uses basic Miyota quartz movements, separates them from the fact that U-Boat uses reasonably sophisticated mechanical movements.
Are TW Steel Watches Expensive?
TW Steel watches vary a lot in price depending on the design. In general, they can cost anywhere from $100 up to $500.
This is very normal for a renowned brand in the fashion watch space. TW Steel are not making horological masterpieces, neither are they making cheap watches that don’t work well. Therefore the price is very normal for the industry. TW Steel watches are neither cheap nor expensive, but fairly priced.
The Most Popular & Iconic TW Steel Watches
Canteen
The Canteen was the first design to be released by TW Steel and still remains its most popular today. The design of the watch features an oversized crown protector which needs to be unscrewed and taken off to access the crown itself. This is unusual since most watches will either have crown guards or a screw-down crown.
This model measures in with either a 45mm or 50mm dial (model dependent) and is very thick, as well as heavy. You don’t have to worry about getting it wet either since it is 100 meters water-resistant.
Check The Price Of TW Steel Canteen Watches On Amazon
CEO Tech
The CEO collection was launched as Baselworld in 2011 and standards for Collection ExtraOrdinary. It certainly fits its name quite well since there really aren’t any other watches on the market that look quite like this.
Unlike most other TW Steel watches, the CEO Tech comes with a silicone strap. Alongside the well-curved lugs, this allows the oversized watch to fit your wrist very nicely and is very comfortable.
As for the case, the CEO Tech seems to be heavily inspired by Audemars Piguet. Other than the circular bezel compared to AP’s octagonal design, there is not too much difference in the appearance. If we compare the price of the two watches, that’s when the difference becomes a lot bigger.
Check The Price Of CEO Tech Watches On Amazon
Pilot
Funnily enough, TW Steel pilot watches are probably the most minimalist watches of the entire collection. Whilst they aren’t understated by any means. They are not quite as gigantic, bulky or loud as the other watches.
With that being said, the dial size is still a massive 45mm and the numbering is very bold (as you would expect with a pilot watch). The reason why the pilot watch doesn’t look as big as some of the other watches in the collection is likely because its lugs are quite a standard size. If they were oversize like some of the other models such as the Goliath, it would be even bigger.
Check The Price Of TW Steel Pilot Watches On Amazon
CEO Goliath
Most likely named after the biblical giant. There is nothing biblical about this watch, but it certainly is gigantic! It comes in 42mm or a slightly smaller measurement of 37mm. Whilst these numbers might not look as big as what you’re used to seeing. Don’t let this fool you. A typical oversize circular watch is now 45mm. The Goliath is square and is only 3mm smaller. However, the fact that it’s a different shape means its surface area is much larger, hence its name.
There are several different versions of the Goliath. All are square, but if you want a chronograph this will cost you slightly more.
Check The Price Of TW Steel Goliath Watches On Amazon
Grandeur Tech
The Grandeur tech is somewhat of a monstrosity. You will either hate it or love it. To be honest it looks like a Tag Heuer F1 Chronograph has been bred with an Audemars Piguet and this is the result.
It is an extremely large and loud watch, with a case size measuring 48mm. You certainly aren’t going to wear this if you want to remain low-key. Strangely enough, it is slightly more understated than some of the other watches which TW Steel manufactures!
Check The Price Of TW Steel Grandeur Tech Watches On Amazon
Alternative Brands To TW Steel
Due to the uniqueness of the TW Steel brand, there are not too many direct alternatives. Since many brands do not make super oversized watches, there are only a couple of competitors in this space.
U-Boat
U-Boat is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer that makes similar style watches to TW steel. With that being said, U-Boat makes much higher quality watches, albeit for a much higher price. The canteen-style watch is a classic for both of these brands and the choice between the two is pretty much whether you want to spend more money and get a better quality watch.
It’s likely that a U-Boat watch will hold it’s value better than a TW Steel watch.
Check The Price Of U-Boat Watches On Amazon
Invicta
The only other real competitor to TW Steel is Invicta. That being said, the two designs are very different. Invicta typically makes very loud and colorful watches. The similarity comes in the size. In particular, the Invicta Zeus Bolt Magnum is a colossal watch and actually makes some of the TW steel watches appear small. It is a gigantic 52mm wide and slightly over 20mm thick!
Check The Price Of Invicta Zeus Bolt Magnum Watches On Amazon