How to Buy a Watch for Less Than $7,500

In today’s microbrand-filled watch-buying climate, getting a deal on a great timepiece is easier than ever before. Whereas once, the sub-$1.5K mark was laden with quartz-powered junk and the very least desirable of horological detritus from a few of the larger marques, the 2010s and 2020s continue to be a boon for the watch collector. Indeed, it’s never been easy to score yourself an excellent sub-$1,500 watch that’ll probably outlast you. (And your kid, for that matter.)

Elevating the upper price constraint to $7,500 opens up entirely new horological doors, however. In the sub-$5K category, there are still wildly good bargains from brands such as Tudor and Sinn, while the bigger marques like Swatch Group-owned Longines truly begin to shine. Between $5K and $7,500, the lines between excellent value plays and true luxury begin to blur a bit, and one needs to pay closer attention to things such as movement type, case and bezel materials, etc. We’ve curated a selection of watches costing between $1,500 and $7,500 from several different categories in order to offer you a wide variety of watch types, from dressier pieces to dedicated tool watches, and beyond.

The Tudor Pelagos is a heavy-hitting diver with a price that won’t leave you underwater.

Why $7,500?

The closer to $10,000 one approaches, the more one begins encroaching upon true “luxury” territory—the area where value plays are much more subjective and truly in the eye of the beholder. By bringing down the bar a bit away from five figures, we constrain ourselves to watches that must truly outperform in their given category in order to earn their keep. The timepieces that feature here are thus ones that we feel best encapsulate the realm between entry-level pricing and What the hell did I just do?! pricing.

Yes, you can own Omega’s iconic Moonwatch for less than $7,500.

The Watch Market at $7,500

We’re (largely) no longer dealing with microbrands the way we were at the sub-$1,500 category. (The higher the prices, the more small brands are referred to as “high-end independents” rather than “microbrands,” although sometimes the lines become blurred. Massena LAB is an excellent example of a microbrand that manages to straddle this line, particularly because it makes collaboration pieces with high-end watchmakers.) At this price point, we’re mostly talking about timepieces from larger, established makers, which is convenient: This means multiple points of sale in both e-commerce and physical models, plenty of information available online, and easy recourse for service.

An interior space at Watches of Switzerland, a boutique known and loved by many a collector.

Where to Buy a $7,500 Watch

While certain of the brands below operate e-commerce, others insist that you enter one of their boutiques—or a multi-brand boutique—in order to buy. While this can be inconvenient, we highly recommend trying on any watch before making a purchasing decision—especially one that involves the exchange of multiple thousands of dollars and possibly invites the wrath of your spouse or significant other. Go into the boutique, speak to a manager, try on the watch, and see how you feel about it. You can always mull over the purchase at your leisure at home and return later to pop some bubbly and seal the deal.

Dress Watches Under $7,500

Cartier Tank Must Solarbeat

Someone who couldn’t tell you the difference between a Submariner and a Speedmaster could likely still conjure up the image of a Cartier Tank, perhaps the world’s most iconic dress watch (with the possible exception of the Patek Philippe Calatrava). The Must may be quartz-powered (rather than hand-wound like more expensive iterations), but its white, Roman numeral-clad dial holds a secret: Light ingresses via a small cutaway and charges the battery, which can then run for a whopping 16 years. And yes, even this more affordable version still boasts the collection’s blue cabochon crown, elegant railroad minute track, and rounded brancards inspired by a vertical view of a World War I–era Renault tank.

SPECS:
Diameter: 22mm
Movement: Quartz
Water Resistance: 30m
Price: $3,300

Nomos Tangente Neomatik Midnight Blue

Speaking of value-laden watches: Nobody quite makes them like Nomos. The German brand, based in Glashütte, manages to offer handsome Bauhaus-inspired designs, pared-back dials, in-house movements, and a wealth of colorways for just a few thousands bucks. (And sometimes for much less than even that.) The Tangente Neomatik Midnight Blue is a perfect example: Measuring 35mm by just 5.9mm in stainless steel, it has the thin bezel and long lugs that characterize many Bauhaus watches, but its dark dial features fun pops of orange and turquoise that Walter Gropius might not have considered. Perfect for the design set, the Neomatik is a stunning timepiece in any iteration.

SPECS:
Diameter: 35mm
Movement: NOMOS cal. DUW3001 automatic
Water Resistance: 50m
Price: $3,580

Grand Seiko Elegance SBGK007

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While most dress watches are either round or rectangular, Grand Seiko manages to convey an undeniable degree of beauty via a slightly larger tonneau-shaped watch with a busier look. Measuring 39mm in steel, it features a handsome, sunray silver dial set beneath a dual-curved sapphire crystal. The Grammar of Design—a codified set of rules that have governed Grand Seiko’s watchmaking for decades—is readily apparent in the highly faceted applied indices and the brand’s signature dauphine handset. Meanwhile, a running seconds display at nine o’clock and a convenient power reserve display at three o’clock provide a (highly symmetrical) dose of utility.

SPECS:
Diameter: 39mm
Movement: Grand Seiko cal. 9S63 hand-wound
Water Resistance: Splash-resistant
Price: $6,900

Dive Watches Under $7,500

Oris Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy”

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The watch world tends to take itself a wee bit seriously—which is why it’s nice when a brand takes a chance by adding some levity to its catalog. The Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” editions from Oris sum up this philosophy well: At heart, this is a vintage-inspired dive watch with serious bona fides (38mm stainless-steel case, matching rivet-style bracelet, 100m of water resistance, automatic movement with date functionality), but the dial options range from light blue to hot pink to teal. We personally love the light blue version, which adds a welcome note of fun without veering too far into “Look at me!” territory.

SPECS:
Diameter: 38mm
Movement: Oris cal. 733-1 automatic
Water Resistance: 100m
Price: $2,750

Tudor Pelagos 39

For years, diehard Tudor fans have been gunning for a more compact version of the Pelagos, the brand’s professional-series dive watch. Finally, in 2022, the brand delivered in the form of the Pelagos 39, a scaled-down, fully titanium diver with a matching bracelet and a more compact case. And while some decried the loss of 300m of water resistance, the helium escape valve, and the automatically expanding buckle of the original Pelagos, most were overjoyed at the thought of a lightweight, go-anywhere, do-anything diver that also looks great and features a bulletproof, automatic movement. (Plus, the “T-Fit” clasp is perfectly serviceable and expands to fit over a wetsuit.) What more could you want from a sub-$5K, pro-level diver?

SPECS:
Diameter: 39mm
Movement: Tudor MT5400 automatic
Water Resistance: 200m
Price: $4,700

Omega Seamaster Diver 300M

Omega’s Seamaster Diver 300M is no doubt familiar from Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond—the first iteration of Ian Fleming’s hero to wear Omega. This version has several features that make the Seamaster Diver 300M one of the best values in high-end divers: Its 42mm stainless-steel case is equipped with a blue ceramic bezel with a white enamel diving scale, plus a helium escape valve at ten o’clock as well as a matching steel multilink bracelet. The blue “wave” dial is brightly lit with Super-Luminova within the applied indices and partially skeletonized sword hands, while inside beats a COSC-certified Omega chronometer movement with 55 hours of power reserve.

SPECS:
Diameter: 42mm
Movement: Omega cal. 8800 automatic
Water Resistance: 300m
Price: $5,900

Chronograph Watches Under $7,500

Tissot Heritage 1973

The 1970s were a wild time for watch design, with chunkier, tonneau-shaped cases being fitted with new automatic chronograph movements. Tissot’s Heritage 1973 celebrates that now-distant horological era by offering a 43mm, barrel-shaped watch with a white dial; an outer tachymeter scale; a triple-register chronograph with 30-minute, 12-hour, and running seconds registers; a date window at 4:30; and a lumed baton handset with a cool, orange-tipped chrono seconds hand. Powered by the automatic Valjoux 7753 workhorse movement and paired to a brown leather rallye strap, it’s a blast from the (highly groovy) past.

SPECS:
Diameter: 43mm
Movement: Valjoux 7753 automatic
Water Resistance: 100m
Price: $2,275

Tudor Black Bay Chrono Blue

A special boutique edition of the Black Bay Chrono, the Blue edition adds a handsome new dial to a beloved collection. Offering significant water resistance via a set of screw-down pushers, a screw-down caseback, and a screw-down crown, this dual-register chronograph with 45-minute and running seconds totalizers also boasts a date window at six o’clock, making it an ideal choice for the frequent traveler. Equipped with Tudor’s relatively new five-link bracelet with “T-Fit,” the Black Bay Chrono Blue is a marriage of vintage inspiration and modern tech, boasting the brand’s cal. MT5813 automatic movement with bi-directional winding and a 70-hour power reserve.

SPECS:
Diameter: 41mm
Movement: Tudor cal. MT5813 automatic
Water Resistance: 200m
Price: $5,675

Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch

The Omega Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” is a horological staple, having graced the wrists of NASA astronauts, plenty of celebrities, and at least one president of the United States. Powered by a hand-wound, in-house movement, the Moonwatch looks highly similar to the generations that preceded it—which is sort of the point. A 42mm “twisted-lug” case is topped with a Hesalite crystal and surrounded by an anodized aluminum bezel with tachymeter scale. The dial on this latest generation, however, is inspired by the fourth-gen Speedy that went to the Moon and thus features a stepped dial—a small detail that vintage watch collectors adore.

SPECS:
Diameter: 42mm
Movement: Omega cal. 3861 hand-wound
Water Resistance: 50m
Price: $7,000

GMT Watches Under $7,500

Bell & Ross BR V2-93 GMT

While French brand Bell & Ross became famed for its square-cased watches based on airplane instrument panel clusters, its more conventional, round-cased timepieces are just as compelling. The BR V2-93 may take certain visual cues—the bi-color bezel, for example, and the orange-tipped GMT hand—from other watches, but its overall aesthetic nevertheless feels cohesive, and its 41mm size is comfortable on wrist due to the matching steel multi-link bracelet on which it ships. A “caller” GMT, its automatic Swiss-made movement provides jumping GMT-hand functionality, allowing the wearer to easily follow along, say, with a traveling family member or a colleague on a business trip.

SPECS:
Diameter: 41mm
Movement: Bell & Ross cal. BR-CAL .303 automatic
Water Resistance: 100m
Price: $3,800

Breitling Navitimer Automatic GMT 41

The Breitling Navitimer may have been born as a dedicated tool for pilots back in 1952, but its modern incarnations are just as appealing for the non-flyboy. This contemporary Navitimer Automatic GMT 41 does away with the chronograph function of the original watch and instead offers a convenient GMT function paired to a date window above six o’clock. (The slide bezel’s multiple scales—for calculating distance, speed, fuel consumption, and more—are still present and accounted for on the dial.) With its stainless-steel construction and iconic beaded bezel, the Automatic GMT 41 is still every bit a Navitimer, albeit one well suited to the modern traveler’s needs.

SPECS:
Diameter: 41mm
Movement: Breitling cal. 32 automatic
Water Resistance: 30m
Price: $5,850

Bremont Supermarine Chrono

Bremont’s Supermarine Chrono is a fairly rare offering: Though its screw-down pushers, crown, and caseback ensure the water resistance of a dive watch, its bi-directional, rotating 24-hour bezel and special GMT hand mean you can use it to track a second time zone. Furthermore, its triple-register chronograph display with 12-hour, running seconds, and 30-minute totalizers gives the wearer the ability to time discrete events, rendering the Supermarine Chrono a supremely useful piece of kit for the adventurous wearer. Water resistant to 200m and measuring 43mm in diameter, this automatic timepiece comes paired to a matching stainless-steel bracelet with brushed and polished surfaces.

SPECS:
Diameter: 43mm
Movement: Bremont cal. BE-54AE auto
Water Resistance: 200m
Price: $6,950

Everyday Watches Under $7,500

Longines Conquest 38mm

The latest in a collection born in 1954, the Longines Conquest is a simple time-and-date piece in steel with a matching bracelet available in multiple colorways and sizes that looks elegant in a variety of settings. While its smooth bezel conveys an element of dressiness, its matching steel multi-link bracelet, screw-down crown, and 100m of water resistance mark it as a no-nonsense piece. Powered by the Longines cal. L888 automatic movement with a silicon balance spring and a 72-hour power reserve, the Conquest is the type of one-and-done purchase that could conceivably carry a man through his entire horological journey. (Though what fun would that be?)

SPECS:
Diameter: 38mm
Movement: Longines cal. L888 automatic
Water Resistance: 100m
Price: $2,075

IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36

We know what you’re thinking: This piece has “Pilot’s Watch” right in the title, so why would we classify it as an everyday watch? First of all, because such distinctions are at least partially semantic. Second of all, because the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36 is indeed an excellent option for everyday wear: Its excellent sizing is comfortable on a variety of wrists; its matching steel multi-link bracelet looks great with a T-shirt and just as appropriate dressed up a bit; its black dial with plenty of lume and a convenient date wheel is visible all day (and night) long; and its automatic movement will keep on ticking all weekend—even if you put it down on Friday night and don’t pick it up until Monday.

SPECS:
Diameter: 36mm
Movement: IWC cal. 35111 automatic
Water Resistance: 60m
Price: $5,400

Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 “Celebration”

When this watch came out at Watches and Wonders a couple years back, it blew peoples’ minds. Here was a version of the typically-staid Oyster Perpetual with a gloriously colorful dial—yet despite the difficult production process that goes into making one, Rolex gave it a retail price equal to that of solid-dial color examples in blue, black, etc. A bulletproof everyday watch in Oystersteel with a matching Oyster bracelet and an Oysterclasp closure, this lovely automatic watch performs at COSC spec via the in-house cal. 3230 automatic movement. And the turquoise-blue celebration dial with colored “bubbles” in candy pink, sunflower yellow, coral red, and bottle green? It can’t help but bring a smile to your face.

SPECS:
Diameter: 36mm
Movement: Rolex cal. 3230 automatic
Water Resistance: 100m
Price: $6,100