Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
In modern day, affordable automatic watches are something that everyone can have. Long gone are the days when there was no such thing as a cheap mechanical watch and you could only buy quartz. Due to the scale of production on which watches are produced, prices of automatic watches have decreased sharply since the 1970’s.
If you don’t know what an automatic is, essentially it is a batteryless watch. Quartz watches need batteries to function, without these they are powerless. An automatic watch does not need a battery. It is powered by the movement of your wrist throughout the day. Each natural movement of your arm will turn the rotor in the back of the watch movement. In turn this will coil the mainspring, powering the watch.
Of course, with that being said, you don’t simply want to go out and buy the cheapest automatic watch you can find – that probably won’t end well. Despite there not being too many brands that produce automatic watches when compared to quartz, there is still enough choice so you are not limited. There is actually quite a wide variety of quality and price to choose from. In short, you won’t always get the same quality watch when you spend a set amount of money. Some brands offer the best value automatic watches, where as others fall short.
Table of Contents
How Do I Choose An Automatic Watch?
Brand
As you will know in life, brand is everything. Regardless of whether branding makes sense or not, some names are trusted, others are not. Everything from our cars to our food is branded – watches are no different.
Thankfully for inexpensive automatic watches, there aren’t too many brands to steer clear of. This is because most of the brands do not produce their own movements at this level and rely on Seiko and Citizen to do this. Thankfully, these two companies make very solid and reliable movements, so quality is not too much of an issue. As you get deeper in to watchmaking and movements, you will find that price greatly varies for quality of movement supplied from each brand.
Movement
Entry level automatic watches are typically Japanese. Whilst you can find some good deals from Chinese manufacturers, it is a good idea to stay away from these unless you are truly an expert and know what constitutes good value for money.
On the whole, you will find the most inexpensive automatic watches are from brands Citizen and Seiko. This is because these two companies perfected their manufacturing processes decades ago and are still reaping the benefits from it. You can find good deals from Swiss automatic watchmakers too, however, these are more difficult to find and you have to stick with specific brands such as Tissot.
Value For Money
This is the main thing you want to consider and is going to be calculated by looking at both the brand, movement and price. Obviously the best quality automatic watches are well beyond the reach of regular people, often costing more than a house.
At the same time, neither do you want to buy a piece of cheap Chinese junk which doesn’t last very long. Thankfully, there are a lot of top quality brands which produce automatic watches at affordable prices. These are listed at the bottom of this article. There is something for everyone, particularly people with a small budget.
How Long Do Automatic Watches Last?
Typically an automatic watch will last around 3-5 years before its timekeeping ability starts to decline. However, this does not mean that the watch is finished with, it simply means that the movement needs servicing. Once serviced, the watch will last another 3-5 years, before repeating the process again and again.
If you take care of your watch, it can last far longer than a quartz model (which is already around 10-30 years depending on the movement quality). Granted quartz movements can be serviced or replaced, however this is sometimes not economical, as well as older movements becoming discontinued over time.
Proof of this can be seen all over the internet by vintage watch dealers. These individuals have a lot of automatic watches from the 1960’s and before, proving that automatic watches can last for decades.
Do You Have To Wear An Automatic Watch Every Day?
This depends entirely on the power reserve. If you aren’t aware what a power reserve is, it’s pretty much just a store of energy that feeds the watch over time. When this reaches 0, the watch will run out of kinetic energy and stop. If the power reserve is over 24 hours, then you will not need to wear your automatic watch every day.
Do Automatic Watches Break Easily?
No. Compared to quartz watches, there are more things that can go wrong and they certainly require more maintainence. However, if you are buying an automatic watch with a solid Swiss or Japanese movement, then your watch will not simply break. It may decline in accuracy over a period of time, but will not just stop working.
Are Automatic Watches Worth It?
This entirely depends on the brand, cost and complications of the watch. If you think of any product such as cars, jewelry or clothes, some are much better value than others.
Watches are no different and it often comes down to model compared to price. A Rolex submariner would be well worth it if you were able to buy it for $5000 (you can’t). However, at $50000 it would be a terrible price and awful value for money. Think of watches on a sliding scale, as the price goes up, you would expect the quality to follow. This is not true for all brands, but rest assured all watches featured on the list below are good value for money.
How Much Does It Cost To Service An Automatic Watch?
For the most part, servicing will start at around $100 for entry-level automatic watches. This price will increase as a watch becomes more complicated and has more sophisticated functions. An automatic watch which has a chronograph and moonphase indicator will cost a lot more than a simple automatic with either a Miyota or ETA movement.
The Best & Most Affordable Automatic Watches
Seiko 5
Arguably the most durable automatic watch, the Seiko 5 was built to be a budget and rugged watch with a solid movement. This is not the best self winding watch money can buy, but it is one of the cheapest and best value for money.
In summary, you’re not going to get a masterpiece when you buy a Seiko 5, but you will never be let down. It truly is a classic design and great for those looking for the best cheap automatic watch. It should also be noted that the Seiko 5 is available in pretty much any color you can think of. There are countless variations of this model that have been designed over its many years in production.
Invicta Pro Diver
There is an argument that Invicta make the best budget automatic watch in terms of value for money. You may be scratching your head since Invicta mostly make oversized quartz watches which are extremely garish and loud. However, Invicta really make a huge variety of different models, some of which are excellent value for money. The pro diver happens to be one of these great value models. It uses a Seiko NH35A and is available in a variety of different color schemes for under $100. Overall, this is one of the best prices combined with an absolute work horse of a movement.
Tissot T-Classic
There really aren’t too many budget watches which use ETA movements. Tissot is one of the few brands which produces true Swiss automatic watches at low prices. Although Tissot is the most expensive brand on this list, it is still very affordable. You are able to pick up a small selection of automatic Tissot watches for under $250, which is incredible value given the pedigree of the brand and the quality of the movement.
Swiss automatic watches are generally very expensive. In fairness, Tissot does use entry level ETA movements, but these are still top quality compared to any Japanese automatic in the same price range. Tissot is a brand with truly the best automatic watch movements for the price.
Citizen
More often than not, Citizen are playing second fiddle to Seiko in terms of automatic watch production. Seiko are simply able to churn out more designs for slightly better prices than Citizen. However, Citizen are a legitimate watchmaker in their own right and provide Miyota movements to many of the brands on this list, as well as other quartz based watches.
The most commonly associated style with Citizen automatic watches is their divers series. These watches are very rugged and durable and made to be used underwater. As with all Japanese watch brands, Citizen watches are super reliable and very tough.
Vostok Komandirskie
One of the very companies that produces affordable automatic watches outside of the far east is Vostok. This is a Russian brand that produce 100% of their watches (including movements) in house. As you would expect, Vostok are not a stylish or elegant brand, but they get the job done very well. Their watches are extremely durable and reliable. Russian movements are not well renowned for being the most accurate in the world, but they will not break on you and last for a very long time.
Orient Bambino
Only true fans of mechanical watches know about Orient. Others may have heard the name, but they do not truly understand just how great this small Japanese brand is. Although Orient are owned by the Seiko corporation, that does not stop their indepedent watch production. Orient is one of very few brands that produces really affordable automatic watches at a bargain price. Not only this, but Orient create their own movements and do not rely on 3rd parties for parts. In terms of accuracy and reliability, you really cannot beat Orient for the price. Their automatic watches typically cost under $150, which is a real steal considering the quality.
Swatch Sistem 51
You would not normally associate Swatch with automatic watches. The company was essentially set up to stop the dominance of quartz based watches coming out of Japan. However, in modern day the Sistem 51 series is pretty decent value for money and great for those looking to get in to entry level automatics.
Swatch named this series Sistem 51 since the movement unusually uses only 51 parts. This is very low for something that usually is made from 90+ pieces. Of course, Swatch automatic movements are not the best in the world, but they are still Swiss made and decent quality. Another real bonus from the Sistem 51 series is that there is a gigantic 90 hour power reserve. This is further proof that the brand is looking to entice people into buying an automatic who never would have done before. 90 hours means you don’t have to wear your watch for 3.5 days and it will still be running when you pick it up.
Bulova Open-Heart
Bulova are not the brand that they once were having moved much of their production from Switzerland to China and Japan. This has had some beneficial impact for the customer, as Bulova now produce very affordable automatic watches, rather than fairly expensive Swiss entry-level timepieces. Prior to this change in production, you would have struggled to find a mechanical Bulova watch for less than $250. This is good news for those who are fans of the brand as Bulova has always made some very original and striking designs, with the open-heart automatic being included in this.
Parnis
Parnis are fairly infamous as many Chinese brands are. Well known for the imitation of various Rolex models such as the datejust, GMT and submariner, Parnis do not have a reputation for being original. Even with all of this being said, Parnis do actually make decent automatic watches for great prices. If you are in to homage models, Parnis is especially good since they are creating replica watches for well under $200. In terms of movement, they use Miyota, which is the movement manufactured and used by Citizen. So contrary to popular belief, in terms of reliability, Parnis movements will not let you down.
Fossil
Fossil are not a brand which you would associate with mechanical watches. The fashion brand is one of the largest producers of quartz watches in the world and makes many other watches on behalf of other brands such as Armani, Skagen and Diesel.
However, in terms of automatic watches, Fossil are not too bad. For a start, they are very experienced at making fashionable watches, so if you want something a bit more stylish than practical. Fossil are great for those on a smaller budget. Secondly, Fossil use Miyota movements. As mentioned previously, these movements are manufactured by Japanese giant Citizen. They are both accurate and reliable, so there are no quality control issues when buying a Fossil automatic.
Rotary
Rotary are a brand which have recovered from trying to make their own movements. Their automatic watches were once quite a disaster, but since switching to Miyota (Citizen) movements several years ago, the brand has not had any problems in terms of reliability.
Although Rotary is usually a brand which you would associate with distinguished elegance and vintage designs, their mechanical watches do not really fit this trend. Typically you will find that Rotary produces mostly automatic skeleton watches. These watches are well finished and presented, they are not as loud as other brands skeleton pieces. Overall, Rotary are a little more expensive than rival watchmakers automatics. However, they do offer something different and are some of the best value skeleton automatic watches you can find.
