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The Best Men's Watches Under £2,000

A great watch doesn't have to come at a giant price

By Charlie Teasdale, Johnny Davis and Tom Banham
best watches under 2000
Esquire

The world's most stylish watches tend to be the ones with the highest price tags. That's not to say that you can't pick up something great for a little less than you might have thought – you just need to shop around a bit. Oh wait, we've done that for you.

Here are the very best men's watches you can buy for under £2000, from the likes of Longines, Tag Heuer and Oris.

1

Tudor 1926

1926
1

Tudor 1926

£1,840 at goldsmiths.co.uk

Back when Tudor first re-launched, a decent chunk of its line came in under the £2,000 mark. Now that it's shifted manufacturing in-house – and been showered with endless industry awards – price points have ticked up towards big brother Rolex's entry level models, albeit without the waiting lists. Happily the 1926 – named for the year Tudor was founded – means it's still possible to buy into the brand even if you're on a first-proper-watch budget. And what a first-proper-watch it is, a dress watch with a sporty edge, which wears as happily under a dinner jacket as a coach jacket. The cost-savings come under the hood – rather than an in-house movement, you get a tweaked ETA – but it's still super-accurate and basically bombproof, plus a lot easier to have serviced. The gold-toned 1926s give off Datejust vibes, but we much prefer the version in cobalt, which doesn't feel like it's trying to borrow any Rolex cool. It definitely doesn't need it.

2

Longines Heritage Flagship 38.5mm

Heritage Flagship 38.5mm
2

Longines Heritage Flagship 38.5mm

About as classic as it gets, and another bargain at the price. We're big fans of smaller cases (as you can probably tell by the entries on this list) and this 38.5mm timepieces carries a Mad Men-appropriate mid-century vibe.

3

Bamford GMT Black Predator

GMT Black Predator
3

Bamford GMT Black Predator

London's mod-master is best known for rebellious (well, for the watch industry) reworkings of classic timepieces – think neonised Tag Heuer Monacos, or a Rolex with Popeye hands – but its affordable own-line brand has become almost as iconic among watch-heads. Murdered-out is a bit of a Bamford signature, originally a reaction to the industry's propensity for bling, and the GMT Black Predator borrows style cues – and its name – from a Rolex Deepsea the brand tweaked in 2014. Only this one comes without the one-of-one price tag. As befits a brand built by a watch-obsessive, you get a lot of bang for your buck, not least a Swiss Made Sellita movement with 56-hour power reserve. It might have stealth styling, but those who know will know.

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4

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 40mm

Aquaracer Professional 200 40mm
4

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 40mm

Credit: Tag Heuer

Tag Heuer’s all-round sports line combines solid water resistance with the accuracy of a Swiss-made movement. Its name sits at the top table of watch brands, with good reason. The entry level model, from a brand everyone respects.

5

Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope 40mm

Max Bill Chronoscope 40mm
5

Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope 40mm

Not all great watch companies are Swiss. Junghans has been flying the flag for Germany since 1861, producing super-accurate models with a design flourish. This model pays tribute to the mid-century minimalist architect, typeface don and graphic designer who was, of course, um, Swiss.

6

NOMOS Glashütte Tangente 38

Tangente 38
6

NOMOS Glashütte Tangente 38

Offering watches that stand out from the crowd without shouting, Nomos combines style with substance. This watch subtly plays with design expectations, mixing Arabic and baton numeral hour markers and adding a small seconds dial and blue hands. Slim, modern and cool.

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7

Doxa Automatic Sub 300T Professional

Automatic Sub 300T Professional
7

Doxa Automatic Sub 300T Professional

A statement watch, but a good one. Doxa watches tend to be colourful and have fun names but they’re made to be serious too – designed as tool watches to be used in tough situations. This robust 42mm diver is water resistant to 300m. Looks great on this “beads of rice” steel bracelet, and looks equally great on a rubber strap – a matching orange option is available, if you really want to go for it.

8

Tissot PRX Automatic Blue Chronograph 42mm

PRX Automatic Blue Chronograph 42mm
8

Tissot PRX Automatic Blue Chronograph 42mm

Now 20% Off

TikTok's favourite watch won that accolade by being one of the pound-for-pound most impressive releases of the last few years. First up, there's the styling. Originally designed in the '70s, there's more than a dash of those other disco-era icons, the Royal Oak and Nautilus, but because it's a proper archive piece you get proper authenticity. The Chronograph, which dropped last year, is bigger and busier than the original PRX, but it works here (which might surprise those familiar with Tissot's plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to design). The only problem is its popularity. Expect people to assume you bought it straight off your 'For You' feed.

9

MeisterSinger Vintago Opaline-Silver

Vintago Opaline-Silver
9

MeisterSinger Vintago Opaline-Silver

Meistersinger's one-handers, which the brand has been crafting in Münster since 2001, have a real love-or-loathe energy. Inspired in equal parts by sundials and austere '60s design, its watches sub-divide each hour marker into five-minute intervals, so you can tell (fairly) precise time even without the second hand (let alone a second-hand). To make its less-is-more design as accurate as possible, the remaining hand is slimmed down and stretches almost to the barely-there bezel, another design signature that gives Meistersinger's watches a midcentury feel that never quite slips into pastiche.

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10

Rado Captain Cook Blue Automatic Mens Watch

Captain Cook Blue Automatic Mens Watch
10

Rado Captain Cook Blue Automatic Mens Watch

Rado has carved out a niche for itself by combing solid design with use of interesting materials, most notably ceramic. The Captain Cook line is the warhorse of its line-up, introduced in 1962 to capitalise on the emerging diving craze and still going strong over sixty years later.

11

Certina Heritage DS Chronograph Automatic 42mm

Heritage DS Chronograph Automatic 42mm
11

Certina Heritage DS Chronograph Automatic 42mm

A reworking of a 1940s watch from the brand’s back catalogue, this is a nicely done and handsome reinterpretation. The old-school crown and pushers set off the elegant, information-packed watch face, which features both a tachymeter scale (in blue) and a telemeter scale (in black). The first lets you measure average speed between two markers. The second measures your distance from something that is both visible and audible (eg: a thunderstorm).

12

Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date

Big Crown ProPilot Big Date
12

Oris Big Crown ProPilot Big Date

As the name suggests, almost everything about this watch is outsized and built for functionality. Produced in collaboration with actual pilots, it is a faithful interpretation of their needs – big crown (for easy adjustment), big date window (so they can tell what day it is at a glance) and a big power reserve (38 hours without winding). The only thing that isn’t big is – ta da! – the price.

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