Finding a watch without hands is not too difficult if you want to stick to digital-only. However, there are more complicated and innovative designs that have traditional watch dials – yet do away with hands completely.
Whilst a watch without hands was once a luxury item, there are various breakthrough brands that have broken the mold and designed something completely and truly original. Of course, watches that don’t have hands aren’t anywhere near as popular as those with hands, so there aren’t nearly as many designs.
Most people in modern-day society will either choose a classic dress watch, digital watch, or smartwatch, with very little variety. This is perfectly understandable but can get a little boring for those wanting something extraordinary.
Thankfully, there are a lot of affordable brands that produce great watches without hands. These tell the time in their own unique way and are true works of art.
Table of Contents
Is A Watch Without Hands Even A Watch?
This depends on what your definition of a watch is. If you only consider a wristwatch something to be of a certain look or style, then perhaps a watch without hands should be called something else. However, a Casio G-Shock would certainly be considered a watch, even though it is purely digital.
Furthermore, Google defines a watch as “a small timepiece worn typically on a strap on one’s wrist”. By this definition, a watch without hands is certainly a watch. It may be very different from anything you’ve ever seen before, but it is still a watch.
The Best Affordable Watches With No Hands
Sinobi
Sinobi is a relatively unheard of Chinese brand. Whilst there is no specific name for this watch of theirs, it is a great design with no hands.
Just like a regular watch, the two white circles move around the dial in order to tell the time. This is an extremely minimalist watch and not what you would expect from a cheap watch that is made in China. The pricing of the watch is its most attractive feature. For under $35, you’re able to get a solid watch that tells the time with no hands. It isn’t made of the best materials, but you cannot complain given it costs so little.
Eone Bradley
A watch that has been featured many times on this website. The Eone Bradley looks cool as well as a proprietary method of telling the time for both visually impaired and regular sighted people.
Instead of using hands. This watch functions by two metallic balls which move around both the inner and outer parts of the dial. This way you can glance at the watch and see where the balls are to tell the time. If you are blind, you can feel where the balls are in relation to the hour indicators.
Obviously a truly ingenious design, the watch actually looks modern and stylish rather than a product that has been created with the intention of helping people. The price tag is also not bad given that nobody else can make this design.
Bobo Bird – Budget Choice
A fairly unknown Chinese brand that makes fashion watches. Bobo Bird is a strange name and is probably one of the last brands that would spring to mind when thinking about watches with no hands.
Surprisingly though, this is the cheapest watch you can buy that has no hands. At well under $50, there is nothing quite like this for the price. The time is viewed by the positioning of the red and black balls around the dial, which is easy and simple enough to read.
The fact that the brand uses a standard Miyota quartz movement is good for peace of mind since you do not have to worry about the watch breaking – since it is a budget watch made in China.
Casio G-Shock
This is cheating a little bit, as it is quite obvious that the Casio G-Shock does not have any hands. A tough and rugged watch, the G-Shock is extremely forgiving if you drop it, or even run it over with your car.
The fact that this model is a tough solar edition means that you will never have to worry about running low on battery. In addition to this, the watch uses atomic timekeeping, which means that it syncs to the nearest atomic clock. In other words – you will not find a more accurate watch than this.
It certainly isn’t the most beautiful, original, or elegant watch to look at, but it gets the job done. In terms of the price, you really won’t find better value money than the G-Shock.
Mr Jones
At first glance, you will likely be very confused when looking at a Mr Jones watch. It isn’t clear at all how you should tell the time since each timepiece they make is very different. Sometimes you will have a tiger staring at the moon, other times you will have an octopus menacing swimmers.
Either way, Mr Jones always manages to come up with something unique and original regardless of what design is on the dial.
Furthermore, you cannot really find any other watchmaker quite like Mr Jones. They aren’t the cheapest brand on the market, but given there is nothing else quite like them – they really are decent value for the money.
Klokers
A French brand that makes truly unique slide-rule based watch dials are Klokers. Produced in Switzerland, there is a guarantee of quality behind these watches – not just a gimmick-based appearance.
Telling the time on a watch with no hands can sometimes be difficult, but on Klokers watches it is actually easier than reading a normal clock. Simply read the numbers in a downwards fashion and you will be able to see what time it is. It may seem like an overload of numbers, to begin with, but if you learn to ignore all of the noise, this watch is incredibly easy to use.
The only drawback of Klokers watches is the price tag. Granted they are not the most expensive watch in the world, but they could be $100 or so cheaper. Even still, given they use a distinct design, they cannot be called overpriced.
Gucci Grip
Somewhat more expensive than every other watch on this list. The Gucci Grip is still a no-handed watch that is considerably cheaper than the pioneering luxury brands such as HYT.
Gucci did not come up with this overall design themselves – although as you can see, the case design print is quite clearly their own. At one point in time, this design of watch was very fashionable before quartz watches had been invented.
The luxury brand have put their own spin on this style of watch by reviving it from a grave of dis-interest. Available in both silver and gold, this watch is very unique but is really only worth buying if you’re a big fan of the Gucci brand. Other watches on this list are considerably better value for money.
