It's that time of year again to find gifts for our loved ones. Watches make excellent gifts; however, we understand that in today's economy, the prices of some watches can be head-turning. Therefore, we recommend some stylish watches under $500 that you can give to your loved ones or keep for yourself this festive season.
With no particular order in mind, here are five watches under $500 for you to consider.
Urbanist - RZE Watches
Starting with one of the best-selling collections from RZE, the Urbanist. This watch features RZE Watches' titanium case + Ultrahex™ coating and an interesting design that hides the solar cells, making them invisible on the watch face. This allows them to incorporate interesting dials on the Urbanist, making it stylish and fun to wear.
The Urbanist is also one of the first watches from RZE to provide a Lifetime Warranty for its movement, making this watch a true 'grab and go' adventure watch companion.
Retail pricing at $259 USD
Key Features
- Solid Grade 2 Titanium coated with UltraHex™ (up to ~1200Hv hardness)
- Japanese Miyota Solar Movement
- Swiss Super-LumiNova®
- Sapphire Crystal with inner-side anti-reflective coating
- 100m Water Resistant
Check out the Urbanist range here.
Hz03 - Hz Watches
This watch brand was founded in Australia, focusing on creating iconic, design-inspired timepieces with quartz movements. This approach has enabled Hz to make some of the most beautiful and iconic designs without inflating the cost.
The iconic Apollo 17 snapshot of Earth, which is known as the Blue Marble, is the source of inspiration for the Hz03. The Blue Marble is featured on the seconds sub-dial, making it a truly engaging timepiece to admire.
Retail pricing at $279 USD
Key Features
- Grade 5 titanium case
- Seiko VD78 quartz movement
- Domed sapphire crystal with three layers of Anti-Reflective coating (underside)
- 100m Water Resistant
Check out the Hz03 range here.
Vector - Vostra Design
From the creative minds of RZE watches comes Vostra Desgins, A watch brand with the ethos of creating products that collectors, casual fans, and enthusiasts enjoy. Focusing on the theme that recalls the 'populuxe' era, the Vostra Vector embodies nostalgia and fun in a wristpiece.
The Vector is one of the first debut timepieces for the Vostra brand. This series highlights the Populuxe era nicely with its colour tones, the matte silver watch case, and the bracelet. It also comes with a fun packaging that gives you a funko pop collectible vibe to it.
Retail pricing at $279 USD
Key Features
- VK63 Meca-Quartz Movement
- Matte dials with applied indexes filled with Swiss Super-Luminova™
- Sapphire Crystal with innier-side AR
- Screw down caseback with Viton™ gasket
- 100m Water Resistant
Check out the Vostra Vector here.
Ti Baseline Field Watch - BIGiDESIGN
BIGiDESIGN is one of the pioneers that has made a name for itself by creating excellent Titanium EDC (everyday carry) tools, which are used by many today. Their Base Line Field Watch takes on a premium everyday watch, built with high-quality materials, easily serviceable, and at an affordable price point.
This watch features a MechaQuartz movement, a hybrid watch movement that combines the look and feel of a mechanical movement, with a sweeping second hand, with the reliability of a high-beat-rate quartz.
Retail pricing at $199 USD
Key Features
- Seiko/TMI VH31 Mecha-Quartz Movement (371 Battery)
- Swiss Superluminova BGW9
- Easy access battery door "Hatch", no tools required
- 100m Water Resistant
Check out the Ti Baseline Fieldwatch here.
VERSA - Vario
Vario is a Singapore-based microbrand that has garnered numerous praises for its vintage-inspired watch designs. The VERSA is one of those interesting watches. It is a watch that features two reversible quartz movements, enabling you to display your time in two distinct styles on a single wristpiece.
You can use this as a GMT watch to show your home and away time by flipping the watch face. As each watch face runs on a separate quartz movement, it eliminates the limitation of a typical GMT, which is setting time for half-hour time zones.
Retail pricing at $428 USD
Key Features
- 2 x Ronda Slimtech 1062 1 Jewel repairable Swiss quartz movement
- 6-year battery life.
- 316L stainless steel
- 50m Water Resistance
Check out the Vario VERSA here.
I myself am a huge fan of solar and quartz moment watches, as they have high accuracy in keeping time, and their set-and-forget feature makes this watch a superb option for everyday use. If you're looking for a good timepiece that comes with a reasonable price tag, these are some of the watches that you should definitely check out.
