The 30 Best Watches under $500, Tested by Style Editors

When searching for a watch to keep on your wrist day in and day out, it pays to stick to the classics. Citizen did just that, drawing inspiration from vintage Japanese—an angular case edge, the crown at 4:00—and Swiss—the narrow, squared off hands and indices design. What resulted was a watch for all occasions that is both automatic and water resistant.

Read more: Best Stainless Steel Watches

Take a look at the history of field watches and one name boldly stands out: Hamilton's Khaki Field Watch. With rugged good looks, well proven durability, and a dependable movement, this timepiece has secured a place in menswear infamy. There is no date or day window, just the time with inset 24 hour "military time" markers, an indication of the watch's military heritage.

Read more: Best Outdoor Watches

Part dive watch, part dress watch, the SRPG05 from Seiko is a timepiece for all occasions. Considering it will compliment absolutely anything you wear, there is no reason to ever take it off. Well maybe to sleep, if that gets uncomfortable for you.

Dive watches are built to play in and explore the ocean. Shinola took things a step further by building a watch to help protect the ocean. The case and strap of The Sea Creatures watch are made from ocean-bound plastic, which means it looks great on your wrist, and is easier on the environment.

Read more: Best Waterproof Watches

Resembling a bathroom scale more than a wristwatch, this Breda is certainly a change up. Think of it more as a piece of jewelry that tells time than a typical timepiece. The Pulse Tandem offers an easy way to freshen up your work and social vibe.

Read more: Best Gold Watches

No watch brand does elegant design at a friendlier price than Orient. The Bambino provides a simple and sleek look usually associated with luxury dress watches. A faux-croc leather band puts a little extra icing on the cake.

Read more: Best Luxury Watches

Call it minimalist or modernist, either way Nordgreen makes a beautiful, simple watch. Not only does the face have just enough detail to tell time, the case is almost impossibly thin, leaving the tiniest impression on your wrist. However, you can spice things up with 4 case colors, 8 face colors, and over a dozen strap options.

A digital analog watch face is just plain cool. This modest little Casio is action packed with features like a calendar, a stop-watch, an alarm, auto- daylight savings, and 31 time zones. It is ideal for travelers who don't want the distractions of a smartwatch.

Read more: Best Digital Watches

California dials were popular for a minute in the 1960s, then pretty much disappeared. Defined by featuring roman numerals on the top half of the face and Arabic numerals on the bottom half, Timex recently resurrected the design for the Marlin line. It has a mid-century vibe that also feels timeless.

Kuoe is a new Japanese micro-brand that sticks to pre-WWII design principles. The Old Smith looks like your grandfather's watch that has been passed down for generations, but with all the benefits of being brand new.

Chronographs had their golden era in the 1970s. All the best examples from that period look like the instrument panels of race cars. There in lies the impossibly cool appeal of vintage chronos. Vaer nailed the retro automotive vibe and has five different secondary straps to really customize your look.

Canada isn't exactly know for its rich watch making heritage, but there is one exception: Marathon. Few companies combine rugged durability and heritage aesthetics quite as well. Take the Navigator, a ticket originally designed for pilots and parachuters, but also has a business casual style.

You may notice that a seconds hand is conspicuously absent here. This Swatch is designed more for artistic expression than accurate time keeping. While the colors and design are bold, the package is an understated 34 mm.

Everyone knowns G-Shock as the quintessential old-school smart watch. This includes a digital face in most cases, but not all. The analog-digital combination of the Black and Rust series provides the best of both worlds. You get all the G-Shock performance with a more traditional look.

Looking to spend most of your time in and around water? Need a watch that can take a beating? Is high night time visibility crucial? If you answered yes to all of three, then this is the watch for you.

Leave it to Timex to build a chronograph this good looking for just over $200. A nearly-all steel finish really makes the three colored inset dials pop. Even the bracelet sticks to the 1970s racing-inspired design.

Bulova gives you a little peek under the hood with a movement window on the face. The rectangular case is a quintessential dress watch design, reminiscent of the 1940s, and is timelessly cool. You can wear the Sutton with a tuxedo just as easily as with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Citizen categorizes this Promaster Dive as a women's watch, but we argue that it works as a compact men's dive watch as well. At 37 mm, the case size fits smaller men's wrist, and you can have a dive watch's performance without a chunky wrist-eating case.

Minimal? Maybe, but the 45.5 case with a lume painted face will still make a statement. MVMT made a splash with its first move into dive watches. This bad boy is built for play, more suited for vacation than the office.

Two-tone watches went out of fashion for a long time, but they recently made a triumphant return, and we're here for it. Invicta totally nailed the look here, at a ridiculously affordable price no less. The blue face and bezel really pull the two-tone concept together.