Watch buffs are as guilty as anybody of fetishizing the ultra-expensive, ultra-beautiful, ultra-limited, and ultra-hyped. We can’t help it—we love a limited-edition, white gold Rolex Daytona with an exotic dial as much (okay, a little bit more) than the next guy. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned covering this beat, it’s that price isn't the be-all and end-all of collecting. At least it shouldn’t be: look at how much cool stuff is out there for a mere few-hundred bucks—and sometimes quite less.
We'd never discourage you from saving up for the grail ticker of your dreams, but we get equally as excited about the prospect of a cool new MoonSwatch, or even a knockabout Casio for $50. Luckily for all of us, this year provided an insane mix of cool and compelling timepieces that don't demand a second mortgage. From a limited-edition, hand-wound Timex to a modular quartz banger from a slept-on Scottish watch company, the best affordable watches of 2024 are proof positive that, rarefied world of haute horlogerie aside, watch collecting isn't all about astronomical price tags.
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