Building a Watch Collection on a Budget? Here’s Where to Start

When it launched in Southern California in 1981, the Shark was the world’s first “purpose-built” surf watch. The simple, easy-read display, 100-meter water resistance, bold colorways, and board-leash-style straps appealed to surf bums across the nation—even in landlocked states, as surf culture took hold of the national consciousness. Trends waned, however, and the brand bounced between owners until it was rescued in 2017. Today, thanks to social media advertising and a lust for all things retro, the Shark has found a new, growing audience—namely the cool kids of those original SoCal surf bums. This new Beach House model is our pick, but keep an eye out for the excellent kids' versions, too.

In 2022, Swatch and Omega struck budget watch gold. The MoonSwatch was, and remains, a phenomenal collaboration, selling a million units in the first year alone. Yes, Apple sold 53 million watches in the same time frame, but they weren’t queued for and lusted after with the same vigor. The Snoopy Moonphase changed things up again in 2024 with its NASA-inspired tweaks, but for anyone wanting a refresh without the wait lines, WIRED recommends the range’s excellent $45 color-matched rubber straps, launched last year, with Bioceramic loops and a Velcro closure that instantly updates (and upgrades) your wrist.

Based on the original 1980s Seiko A829-6029 “Astronaut" watch, the Rotocall is now the coolest digital watch since the Casio Calculator. Rotocall—also one of its original nicknames—refers to the chunky digital bezel. Turn it to neatly switch between eight functions, including dual-time, alarm, stopwatch, counter, timer, and time-setting. Although never officially approved for use by NASA, the watch did find favor with astronauts at the time, as it was easy to use when wearing a space suit. At 37 mm, it’s a comfortable size, too, and kudos to Seiko for sticking with the original colorways.

Affordable to the point of being disposable (but please don’t), the 21g, 35-mm F-91W has graced the wrists of such luminaries as Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and Napoleon Dynamite, not to mention art directors the world over. It’s a stone-cold classic, but we’ve hacked ours with Ollee, an ingenious drop-in smartwatch mechanism. Unscrew the F-91W’s back plate, swap the watch boards, and the simplest of digital watches will be reborn with Bluetooth connectivity, a partner app, a customizable display, world alarms, and NFC compatibility, plus a step counter, heart-rate monitor, and temperature sensor.

This Irish adventure-watch brand was set up in 2019 with the sole purpose of delivering a range of minimally designed quality tool watches that were both affordable and fit for purpose. The excellent Rotate North Atlantic diver exemplifies this ethos with a 40-mm 316L steel case, screw-down crown, unidirectional bezel, sapphire crystal, and glow-in-the-dark Super-LumiNova hands and hour markers, plus water resistance down to 300 meters (just shy of 1,000 feet). Inside, the automatic Seiko movement offers up 41 hours of power reserve. Even the sustainably sourced, brightly colored vegan rubber straps arrive with half-punched holes, so you simply pick the notch that fits your wrist and leave the rest unbroken.

Arguably one of the best-value elegant automatic dress watches available, the Orient Bambino's 38-mm design—shrunken from the original 40.5-mm casing—boasts a self-winding Japanese F6724 caliber movement that’s easily appreciated thanks to the exhibition case back. The domed mineral glass crystal and classic dial exude grown-up vibes, and while the 12.5-mm depth has heft, the gentle curves mean it still slips under a shirt cuff. Worried about getting it wet? This watch even has 30-meter water resistance.

The GA-2100 is nicknamed the “Casioak” thanks to its eight-sided bezel, reminiscent of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Now available in over 50 variations, this unmistakable G-Shock design combines reliable wear-anywhere toughness with the practicality of a solar-powered quartz movement and the modern convenience of Bluetooth LE. Waterproof to 200 meters, it sports an analog-digital hybrid display that, thanks to the companion app, delivers a surprising number of useful features: reminders, timers, world and city times with auto DST switching, stopwatch, and the invaluable phone-finder alarm. And while our pick of bold yellow might be a strong look, at 52 grams and just 11.9 mm thick, it’s anything but bulky.

With its SISTEM51 mechanical movement, Swatch’s second high-end collaboration with Blancpain brought its budget charms to the iconic Fathoms diver. Originally made for the French Navy, this Blancpain X Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Green Abyss model now brings the range to nine versions, all constructed from the same ceramic/castor oil–derived biomaterial used on the MoonSwatch. In contrast, the strap is made from recycled fishing nets. Waterproofing to just 91 meters won’t bother more premium divers, but the Swiss mechanism, made with just 51 parts, including an Nivachron titanium-based anti-magnetic metal alloy hairspring, will still look the part on any self-respecting contre-amiral.

First launched in 1978, with a flat barrel Tonneau casing and angular detailing, this “precise and robust” sportswatch was cool, stylish, and affordable. Today, the PRX exudes the same angular ’70s swagger, with its high-quality 316L stainless steel case and a striking ice-blue waffle dial. Want to go full movie star? Opt for the gold PVD-coated model. The Swiss-made Powermatic 80 movement features a Nivachron silicon balance hairspring that's resistant to magnetic fields, temperature variations, and shocks. Befitting its sports watch status, as well as an 80-hour power reserve, there's 100-meter water resistance (hence the “X”, signifying 10 atmospheres of depth). And if you’re not keen on the blue or the bling, dial options include black, navy, white, and dark green.