Nail Fathers Day: Five Affordable Watches Dad Will Love

There’s nothing like a fine wristwatch to make a man look and feel great. Next to their birthdays, Father’s day is the one day per year all about our Dad’s.

This year, if you’re down to make your dad feel like the champion he is, you’ll be happy to know that you can do so with a timepiece that doesn’t have to cost you a kidney to afford.

I’ve hand-picked five pieces – some reviewed on WYCA already, and others that I’d love to see in my own collection – that are sure to light up your dad’s wrist. Let’s check ‘em out.

First Up: the Venerable Seiko SARB017 Alpinist

• Price: ~$400 (Amazon)
• Automatic movement
• Rare in the USA
• Read the full review

The Alpinist is the BMW M135i of the watch world: sure it’s made by one of the biggest watch brands in the world, but absolutely nobody outside of the few looking realize what it’s packing.

Under the hood is Seiko’s 6R15 automatic, a hacking and hand-wind capable auto with a 50 hour power reserve and accuracy that’s good to a few seconds per day. It’s light on complications, featuring only a date display, but big on performance.

Up top is a sleek case (with screw-down crown), good for 200m of water resistance, and a green-gold sunburst dial that I’m simply smitten over.

Dad will love it.

The Quartz Factor: the Bulova Accutron ii Alpha 96A155

• Price : ~$290 (Amazon)
• Precisionist quartz movement
• Unique skeleton dial showcases the gorgeous quartz movement
• Read our Accutron ii Alpha review

The one I’m recommending here is an alternate version of the Accutron ii that I reviewed last July, and boy-howdy is it a looker.

A throwback to the legendary Bulova Spaceview, these modern Accutron ii’s feature a quartz movement that sacrifices accuracy somewhat in exchange for a smaller case diameter. Be advised: this Bulova is only accurate to somewhere around 5-10 seconds per month (I know, I know, but we can deal with it, right?).

You won’t find another quartz as good looking as this one, I promise you that. For the Dad that deserves something extraordinary (but doesn’t want to have to worry about resetting the time), the Accutron ii Alpha is the my pick.

The Classic: Timex Weekender 40

• Price: ~$35 (Amazon)
• Quartz movement
• Ubiquitous, and for good reason
• Read the full review

I have a lot of love for the Weekender (I have two and my wife has one), and so will your dad when you strap one of these affordable beauties around his wrist.

The Weekender is to affordable watches what the Honda Civic is to affordable transportation: common, found everywhere, and nearly impossible to break. Like the engine in the Civic, the movement in the Weekender will take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.

Stylish, ultra-affordable, and more valuable than its meagre pricetag suggests, the Weekender is an excellent choice if you’re looking for something that can be called out as both a frugal favourite and a smart selection.

I mean, we have three in our house. What’s that tell you?

Swiss Style: The Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic

• Price: ~$250 (Amazon)
• ETA 2824-2 automatic movement
• Sapphire crystal
• Read our full review

The first Swiss auto to ever adorn my wrist, the Khaki remains as special to me today as it did in 2013 when I first reviewed it.

In addition to sporting a Swiss-made automatic, the Khaki also shows off its green textured dial behind the protection of a sapphire crystal. This beauty has longevity baked in, and assuming proper care, is sure to last for decades to come.

Hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and dad will past this one back down to you!

The Tough Contender: Casio G-Shock GA-110

• Price: ~ $100 (Amazon)
• Nearly indestructible
• 200m water resistance

We don’t have a proper G-Shock review here on WYCA, but that’s not because it doesn’t deserve top marks.

The G-Shock is legendary. Life-proof, and built to follow you as you venture into the hypothetical post-apocalyptic wasteland, the G-Shock is the toughest contender of the five watches listed here.

This model features a snazzy analog/digital hybrid dial, chronograph, and backlight. Not only is it immensely useful, but it’s sure to outlast just about any other sub-$250 watch you’ll find.