Watches

I got my brother a movado for graduation. I see him wearing it all situations except sport related

Orient

Check out Seiko presage 60s collection.

https://www.reddit.com/r/casio/comments/17intht/best_watch_under_500/

Certina DS ACTION. New if you can find or second-hand

My favorite is a Seiko SRPB41. Often referred to as a Seiko Cocktail Time. I have watches costing considerable more, and this watch leads the league in comments/questions by a considerable margin.
Great on a suit, easily slides under a cuffed shirt, yet you can wear them with shorts, flip-flops, and a t-shirt. Good size, they all hover around 40mm, give or take .5mm

There are dozens of watches in this particular Presage family. Web pics are washed out, over-priced. Go look at YouTube. They’re stunning in person. Can be hard to find in a store.

Watch prices range from $300-ish to $495. Department stores might have 1 or 2. Long Island Watch has a bunch, and they discount them a decent amount. Amazon will have some, and Teddy Baldassare’s store might have a couple.

Here’s almost everything about Cocktail Times except the 2022 and 2023 releases.

https://www.theseikoguy.com/presage-cocktail-time/

The model I mentioned above is one of my favorites, and I have 3 other Cocktail Times. SRPJ13 is another I got last year. The SRPJ13 has micro-scallop cuts that play a bit in the light, and form several patterns, one that is extremely subtle, almost like it’s an optical illusion.

The SRPB41 dial pattern is available in a few other colors. Green, pale blue, a charcoal, a silvery color, a few others I can’t recall. Pink and a reddish dial for women.

Browse that link I included. Some are discontinued or Limited Editions. And on eBay, they might shock you. I have an SRPH78 that’s now over $1000. The common ones don’t go up in value, but they’re still amazing, you can get them used to $225-$250.

They just released the SRPK15, looks the same as the SRPB41, but has a gold seconds hand and is on leather, comes with a deployant clasp. And is NOT discounted yet.

One last thing: Seiko leather on watches below $750 is not good. You’ll get 6 months out of it. It’ll start to crack and split like a pair of Walmart dress shoes. Go spend $10-$20-$30 on a better strap. Or two. One casual and one dressy.
Also, anytime you have leather on a deployant clasp, it will last longer.

Maybe look at some Hamilton watches if there's any nice ones in budget

In my opinion the 500-600 range doesn't have great value, outside of some interesting microbrand options (Zelos, Farer, Traska, Baltic to name a few)

Until you reach $1-1.7k (Oris, Sinn, etc), there is far better value to be had in the $200-400 range.

If I were you I'd nab 2 watches: dressier watch on leather like an Orient Bambino or a Seiko Cocktail time, and a diver (bracelet/rubber) from Seiko, Orient, or maybe the Casio Oceanus line.

Personally think this will be a much more enjoyable entry into watches for you. If you're dead set on a single watch woth a ton of strap options, my rec based on what you're looking for is a PRX 40mm.

Orient, Tissot, or Hamilton.

You might be able to get a pre-owned Hamilton Murph. It's a little easier to dress up, versus the other khaki field models.

Throw on a canvas strap, NATO, even a rubber strap for sports use.

Get a vintage-style leather strap, sailcloth or perlon for casual wear.

To dress it up, there's all manner of leather straps, but you could give mesh a try too.

PRX would probably fit the bill. It's slim and sporty but looks good, too.

Has proprietary straps, though. You have to get them aftermarket.

At that price point, Seiko Presage would be my first choice. Beautiful finishing, unparalleled dial designs, and reasonable accuracy to match.

The difference between a Seiko 5 and a Presage is especially noticeable when you dress them up, but both dress down well depending on the case/dial you choose.

Grey market Longines

Tissot Gentleman

You don't need a major brand if you're on such a tight budget. Go for a micro brand you like the look of. Eg Baltic, but there are many others.

I would suggest the sarx035. Good finishing, good size, can dress up or down.

I got my Hamilton murph for 700 and wear it both casually and with a suit and it works great. A little outside of your range but worth it.

Tissot Gentleman is a nice choice. Bulova Lunar Pilot if you want a "big" watch. Hamilton Khaki Collection.

Tissot Gentleman.

Tissot Gentleman is arguably one of the most versatile entry level Swiss watches on the market.

All solid choices (listed alphabetically):

• Accutron (used)

• Bulova

• Hamilton

• Mido

• Seiko

• Tissot

Orient Bambino

I would suggest the Seiko Panda Chrono.

it really does punch above it's weight. It's tool watch-y enough to be casual, but classy enough to look good in more professional settings.

the problem with a seiko pressage cocktail time, is it will only really look good in a fancy setting.

I would try and find one of the waffle dial pressage watches. that are more tool watch looking cheaper. like seiko waffle dial

A Seiko Presage is ideal for you.

Seiko or Tissot you are welcome