In the $500-$800 range what brand of watch stands above others.

Partly depends on what type of watch you're wanting.

Seiko and Citizen are the biggest brand names for watches in that ~$500 price range, but you can usually get better features for the same price from some of the smaller brands.

Islander is my favorite affordable watch brand, and they represent the best "bang for your buck" in sub-$1k watches in my opinion. Most of their offerings are dive watches, but they recently have started to offer a few other styles as well (dress, field/aviator, GMT, chronograph, etc.). And nearly all their stuff is actually well under $500.
https://longislandwatch.com/islander-watches/

Scurfa has a long wait list, but they make high quality dive watches in that price range.

Hamilton is a great option for non-dive watches in that price range.

Under $600:

What type of watch are you looking for, dress watch, dive watch,every day type?

As RougeJSK said Seiko and Citizens have an excellent variety in that price tange.

quote:

Originally posted by 71 TRUCK:
What type of watch are you looking for, dress watch, dive watch,every day type?

Everyday watches.

A 38mm-40mm watch with a plain bezel, a black or dark blue dial, and a stainless bracelet can be work in just about any situation, with just about any outfit. From the beach to the boardroom to the gym to a nice restaurant. Truly "one watch for everything".

For example, something like this Islander Brookville has a bunch of nice features and comes in well under your price range (and is currently on sale for even less at just $249):
https://longislandwatch.com/is...hire-crystal-isl-36/


Or closer to the top end of your stated price range, Hamilton has a number of options that fit this "one and done" niche, with the Khaki Field being one of their flagship watches:
https://www.hamiltonwatch.com/...haki-field-auto.html

I would look at Hamilton, Tissot, Seiko or Citizen.

Seiko 5 series of watches covers what you might be looking for. Long Island Watches has a good selection.

I know many here are watch aficionados and I appreciate the looks and value of a nice watch. However, I am tough on watches so my dress Casio stays at home and I wear a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar for every day. Long battery life, connects to my phone for alerts, a timer I can hear (Casio is too quiet for my deaf ears) and tracks my steps for fitness. It isn't TOO much smarter than me so I can use all the features. It is monochrome but I don't care. Between $200 and $300 depending on sales.

In the price range you mentioned. there is no real difference. They are all going to have the same relative automatic movements, sapphire crystal, SS housing, etc. None are going to hold their value more after X years, or actually be "better" in any real quantifiable or monetary way than any other equivalently priced watch. Just pick a brand, size, and style that appeals to you.

I actually prefer a a couple/three lower price watches over one more expensive watch, because variety and mood. The price range you have is never going to impress others, so use the same budget to maximize fun with for yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by techguy:
In the $500-$800 range what brand of watch stands above others.

What kind of watch are you looking for?
Dress - Fancier / formal looking watch
Dive watch- something that can take a beating
Everyday wear kind of thing

Hamilton Khaki Automatic.

I'm not a watch guy. Lots of good choices but I'm hoping to get something like this one day. Solar. Lumibright. Seiko diver.

https://seikousa.com/products/..._sid=07a851016&_ss=r

Solar watches are fine. Just understand that while you don't have to change batteries regularly like a quartz watch, you still have to replace capacitors since they wear out and stop holding a charge.

The difference is that the replacement interval is more like 10 years instead of 3.

I've adopted the apple watch because I like the health monitoring and I happen to have an iPhone, BUT I don't love it.

I've always been a big Casio fan, and the classic Japan-made GW-5000 is my favorite.

https://www.casio.com/us/watch...IEAQYBCABEgKeGfD_BwE

It's the resto-mod of G-shocks, classic looks and just enough new tech(solar power, self synchronized to local atomic clock, but NO Bluetooth or app nonsense) to make it very practical. I love everything about it, even the original resin band.

https://slickdeals.net/f/17508...315068a429b7dcd2bfe7

Oris when you can find coupons for deals like that.

Saw this one too
https://www.watchmaxx.com/oris...21-4051-07-5-21-64fc

Look at the Christopher Ward Sealander. If you order in GBP, it is cheaper than USD since it removes the VAT. I usually save a couple hundred dollars that way.

In that price range, I would say Seiko or Citizen as was stated previously.