Watches Under $1,000 For Your Collection With Teddy Baldassarre (10+ Watches Featured)

Th000. M yes, stop them! Madness! Steady 400 bucks; you can't go wrong. This is crazy good, I'm telling you right now, this is going to be one of my top three. Hi, Mr. Wonderful here in Cleveland, Ohio, for the first time at Teddy's new retail store. Very few new retail stores being built in the watch industry; they're very complex in terms of getting the lights and the licenses to sell watches, but Teddy's done it. So here we are.

But you know, with Teddy, I always like to stay in tune with the new entry-level watches because he introduced me to entry-level. I never used to look at them, and years ago, when we started working together five years ago now, Teddy—more, more crazy to think about! Yes, I've always said never borrow money to buy a watch. So what do you do when you're just starting out? You want a nice piece on your wrist. Teddy's great at that; he finds the entry-level pieces.

So the new challenge I gave him today, and I said, “Look, show me everything that's cool under $1,000.” Now, that is a tough challenge, but he came up—he really dug down deep, and he's got a whole bunch of new watches to show me that are under a thousand. So we're going to learn a lot today—entry-level pieces. And by the way, in past years, I've bought some of these. CU. I love the dials! I'm a dial guy! It doesn't matter if it costs $100,000, $300,000, half a million dollars; it sucks if the dial sucks.

It's crazy to spend that kind of money if you don't like the dial, and sometimes you find a watch under a thousand is amazing. You should buy that. So let's go through it. Teddy, what do you got for me now?

“All right, Kevin. So again, I'm a big believer that everybody should be able to afford a nice watch. So under 1 th000 dollars, now where I would kick it off here—so this is actually a newer piece, and we've done previous installments where we've looked at a lot of different things in the past. So this is all new blood here and new brands, right? I mean some repeat brands, some new brands; it's a good mix. So this is a brand that definitely we've talked about before; yeah, this is Seiko. So this is a new—not Grand Seiko, Seiko, Seiko correct. This is a new piece. Now, this is a GMT watch. They released these by color GMT watches around two years ago. Now this year they released this. This is more of this stainless steel fixed bezel GMT—just over $400. It's the SSK 023 mechanical watch, mechanical watch 4R34. So when that movement came out a couple years ago, incredible! Teddy changed the game of mechanical GMTs. Now you can get these things under $500 consistently. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Seiko is such fantastic value for the money! Unbelievable value! And this is a great example. But that's beautiful. What's the price again?”

“It's right above $400. I think that is right around 43—400 bucks. You can't go wrong. This is crazy good! Great entry-level piece! 100 meters of water resistance—amazing! So you're pretty much covered. And you look at the history of Seiko. I mean, many people think about their dive watches from the mid-20th century, but you can also look back to 1913, which was their first watch—was more of a field inspiration. This kind of follows that field DNA with what they were going for from beautiful. And of course, we've both been to the factory in Tokyo.”

“That's a 39 mm!”

“Yes, that's just under 40, so it's around 392. Okay, this is known as their speed timer. So when you think of chronographs, way more parts, more complicated. Typically, an entry-level Swiss mechanical chronograph starts around $2,000 at least.”

“At least, yeah I mean that's the entry-level point. You're not going to find it unless you get something modular, but even then, you're spending over $1,000. This is known as a speed timer. So the speed timer name goes back to 1969. Seiko was one of the first brands to produce an automatic chronograph. This is a 42 or something—that's a 41, so it's in that range. So, but put it on your—if you want to put it on your wrist, you could take the RM off and you could put the—the RM off. This is not an entry-level watch, steady!”

“That is not! That is not!”

“All right, but we shows you can have some fun—button release, throw it on 41 mm. But it wears smaller.”

“It does actually! It's a very nice light look, beautiful! So it is quartz, however, you're getting sweeping second-hand function, chronograph, and starting price around $700. Fantastic! Great value, yes! And history to back up! Seiko was one of the brands that pioneered chronographs in this area. Beautiful, beautiful! And really nice clasp! Mhm, that's a great piece! I mean they really got it covered on entry level. They've done such a spectacular job!”

“Beautiful! There you are—fixed bezel! Fixed bezel, exactly! You got it! All right, now another Japanese created movement and approach. This is originally American Roots—this is Bulla. Oh, so Bulla is a great brand when they nail in their Heritage. I mean, I think that's when they're at their best. They've sold the company, right? So it's owned by the Citizen Watch Corporation now?”

“So that is Japanese?”

“Exactly! You got it! That is called their Jet Star. So this is a watch that was inspired from mid-20th century, you know, brought back. I mean, that is a great brand for under $1,000. Well that's around $500—unreal quartz watch! That's a quartz, but it's not just any quartz—that's a high precision quartz movement. So that operates multiples of the standard oscillation with the date. So it's also high accuracy! You're probably plus or minus a few seconds a month in that. I think they quote five!”

“Beautiful piece! Beautiful polish, beautiful—everything's beautiful! That's a fantastic listen! So far, this could be a big winner. I mean, my goodness! That's great!”

“What I'm going to have you do at the end is pick your top three. I'd love to hear your top three!”

“Definitely! But I'm telling you right now, this is going to be one of my top three!”

“You just like the red?”

“You like the red on that?”

“Well, I just like the—the look is. You see what I'm looking for is if it's going to be your first watch or an entry-level watch, how much versatility does it have? T-shirts, jeans, suit for work, right? If you wear a lot of red and black, which I know you do, that's—that's going to be this—this kind of maroon vibe with the red highlights. That's a beautiful piece! But let's not give it away! I haven't seen them all, so I can't guarantee top three!”

“Another thing I'll call attention to—take a look at the sweep of that second—the second hand on that—how smooth that is! That's beautiful! For what's the price again? It's right around $500! It's ridiculous! That's gorgeous! Precision quartz movement. I mean, that is—I mean, that's a beautiful piece again! Versatility on wrist!”

“Okay, nice! So a watch that changed the game when this came out—it took the industry by storm for affordable watch making! It's a watch known as the PRX. So this was a watch that was based on a TSO reference from the late 1970s. It has this integrated style design, and they made a one-to-one recreation in many ways outside of the case size. Really first came out with a 40 millimeter. We looked at this in the past, but recently in the past year they've now come out with the size of the original, which was 35 mm, which is getting popular on men's wrists these days.”

“I agree! These smaller dials have really rocketed up the feeding chain lately. So we have two different dial colors. This is what we call our glacier blue—a nice ice blue dial. Yeah, then we have a full gold as well—not gold though, not gold! Yes, it's gold PVD. Yeah, but these are watches that are right around $700! And brand, I like TSO! You know I have a history with TSO from Switzerland years ago. One of the first watches I ever bought in Geneva when I was a young buckaroo there! It's a TSO! Brand's been around forever—Powermatic movement, 80 hour power reserve, mechanical—yeah! Very classy!”

“That’s nice! But I think I prefer a little, little, little steel on blue!”

“What do you think of that shade of blue?”

“You know, I love it, and it's also got a texture to it.”

“It does; let's get the—yeah, please take a look!”

“Yeah, very nice! Kind of like this. You know 35, you said, eh?”

“Yeah, that's a 35! They also have a 40—1853 reference—that's when they were founded!”

“No kidding! See, that gives you an idea of how long some of these watch companies have been around, and they're producing as many Swiss watches as anybody in the industry. I mean, they produce a ton of watches!”

“Yeah! That's a very—you know what's interesting about this? It could also fit on a woman's wrist!”

“It could, yeah! Mhm, very nice, very nice! That’s quite nice! Mechanical—mechanical, correct! 80 hour power reserve—automatic! Member of the watch group, so they get a lot of—again, one more time—just over $700 for that!”

“Crazy! And that watch has just gone crazy people!”

“Which are you selling more of—the blue or the gold?”

“I think the blue is going to—that's—I'd say this is probably their most popular dial. I would say just because it's a bit more understated. I think you also have interest both with men and women for that size, too, which is cool!”

“And then one other watch from TSO—this is their known as the Gentleman. So this came out before the PRX, and it's just a do-anything type of watch—100 meters of water. As I call it, a full frame! It's a—it's a big dial—you can see it! It's 40 mm, so it's not too large. But yes, you have a thinner bezel; I mean for what it is, you know, very large dial surface! You know, people have to realize, you know, when you buy vintage Rolex from, and you're paying 150,000, they're 35s and 38—they're tiny!”

“Yeah, they're tiny watches, including PEX by the way!”

“Oh, of course! I mean they're tiny little watches! People paying quarter of a million dollar—$300,000 for—it's a subtle look! Mhm, but this is more modern and, you know, very, very attractive!”

“You're right! Price point—$800 to $900 for that one! And in addition, I mean look at the fading; you know, the thing is a black dial—you can't go wrong with! It's sporty; it's also very elegant—works with a suit of any color—very clean look! 8R power reserve—mechanical movement on the inside that has a silicon balance spring, so it's an enhanced movement for that price point! Yeah! If you want to take a closer look…”

“Yeah, I'm sure this is doing very well! Yeah, gorgeous! Wow! Just simple! I mean, imagine, you know, you're looking for your first proper watch, you know, nice Swiss-made watch!”

“Yeah! Powermatic 80 MH silicon! So what they're doing is taking an ETA base caliber and modifying it to extend the power reserve to 80 hours versus typically it's 38 hours for that base!”

“That's—that's a great piece! Again, falling under $1,000—fantastic!”

“Yes! Now let's get into something a little more eclectic! I see some new dials here that look very interesting. So the next one is a dial that it's actually looking back to World War II. So this is a brand known as Loo. So there's type A style dials and there's type B style dials. So type B is going to have a different orientation of the hours and minutes. So the hours in this case are on the inside; the minutes are on the outside! That was done with intention.”

“So you can see right away by the inside what the hour is and the minute on the outside—exactly! So they want to make the minutes the most important aspect! Very interesting! I mean that's actually a very interesting dial and the price point that one is under $500, so it's in the $400 range. I mean, it's insane! And they're also—it's an automatic watch!”

“It's an automatic watch! Now how they're able to do this, they have two different tiers; you have first Miota calibers on the inside, but then you also have a little bit higher up—they do do Swiss-made movements as well that will get over $1,000. But in that case, you're getting a Miota Japanese movement. But if you're looking for an authentic navigator Fleager style watch—very interesting entry-level point! Beautiful! Love it! That's a big find, Teddy! That's a big F—they're a cool brand!”

“Loo's—sweet! Yeah, very great! Okay, next on the hit parade! So you're familiar with Hamilton; you own a Hamilton?”

“I do own a Hamilton! Actually, you brought me in Hamilton—I wear it all the time in cities like San Francisco, London, England, Los Angeles, where it's just not safe to wear a watch! You have the bronze case, Khaki Field mechanical! I remember we bought it together in the downstairs at Booker!”

“I do remember that! Yeah! Killer watch! And it has a red band on it because, of course, it is you! By the way, yes! So this is their Murf! This is going to be a watch inspired by—I believe it was the 2014 film Interstellar! So if you ever seen that film, this actually had an important part to the plot! The first that came out was a few years ago; it was at 42 mm that was based on the prop watch! Now this is a 38 mm case, which is more their style these days. That is what the standard Khaki Field Mechanical usually is positioned as—like your watch! This 38 mm is just under $900, and they don't do a brown and anything else to steel, right?”

“Steel for that one—for just the Murf! Now there are other different, you know, titanium, bronze, as you know, for different Khaki Field options. For this one though, stainless steel. This is based off of that Christopher Nolan film. People love it! They were getting so many requests! 42 mm! You sell Hamilton here in the—”

“We do! This is a beautiful piece! Also very interesting dial color—has cathedral handset black dial! Yeah, it's also has this—and yours is more of traditional military roots. This has kind of this dressed up appearance with the—it's a fieldy vibe with a more of a dressed element to it! $900! Beautiful! Very nice! And you know, I'm a big Hamilton fan now, 'cause I wear my piece so much!”

“That’s great! Like it a lot! Moving along to a dive watch! So this is also from Switzerland. This is a brand you may not be as familiar with; it is a Swatch group brand, but this brand is, I would say, very much positioned around utility and being able to take a beating!”

“It’s got a bit of a flare on the dial though!”

“Yes! So this is called CA! So CA, it's a member of the Swatch group. They've been around since the 1800s! Amazing value for money! So these are under $1,000! This is their PH 1000M, so it's around a 43mm case. They also are known for— in the mid-20th century they came up with this system called the DS concept, which is a double security system! So it houses the movement inside of a screw down crown!”

“Screw down crown! I mean, that's 1,000 M of water resistance! I mean, that's no joke! Th000 M! Yes, stop the madness! Teddy! Yes! Watch under $1,000! That is correct, and this, I'm down at 1,000 M all the time!”

“Yeah, I'm sure you are! Your head is in the clouds though—that’s where it's at! But so this too with the bezel, it's pretty cool! So when you were using this back in the day, and this is your laps time bezel, this was a life or death type of instrument you needed to use. You needed to time up this indicator with your minute to time your dives! Right? Because that is directly going to tell you how long you've been underwater! So you know this would— to ensure that it doesn't get knocked, you have to actually press the bezel down to rotate 'cause it's life or death!”

“Yes! I've never seen that before! Now we have diving computers! Doesn't really look at that, see? Push it down! So that you know, imagine you're underwater and—only one direction, only one direction! So that's very important! If you knocked it, you'd kill yourself!”

“Yeah! Mhm! Fantastic! So they have their inside, they still use that DS system on the inside, so it's housing the movement! Beau resisting! Very, very interesting! And a kind of a fashiony, stylist—kind of a bubbly, Bubblicious look to it! I love the hands! You have the minute hand also because you're talking about that time lapse bezel! You need to see that EAS—it’s a really interesting dial—very kind of unique and under, under $1,000—in the 900 range! 900! Fantastic! All right, one more! One more!”

“So this is from Citizen! We've been talking about Citizen quite a bit! We talked about Miota—which is the movement production! Some very eclectic colors on their dials these days—they are! Now this is a watch known as the Tioso! So this is their integrated steel sports design—comes in around $500 starting price! You typically can sometimes—little—an automatic piece! You have the cyclops! That's a cool new kind of grent! Crazy! Crazy color! It's beautiful—kind of a bluish Aqua kind of tails off at the edge of the watch—you know! Beautiful! Beautiful!”

“Yeah, that's fantastic! Price? That is just under $500! They start around $450! And then you can typically find—I notice the crown is off-centered—yes, what's the deal on that?”

“So what you'll find with a lot of dive watches, and also Citizen is one of the brands that pioneered this along with SEO, is when you were underwater or you're wearing a watch, you don't want to—when you turn back your wrist to have it be digging in. So part of it is just a design, but it's also a way to just make it on—it's very clean. I mean, it gives it a kind of a—you know—unique look to it, no question about it! I like it!”

“So these are one of your best ever in terms of bringing forth watches and dials under $1,000! I mean, really!”

“So I have a question for you now! I want you to pick your top three! You can only pick three! Rank them 3, 2, 1!”

“Yeah, yeah! I mean this is going to be tough, because there are some great ideas here—really great ideas! The RM doesn’t count; it's on the table, but it doesn't count! I know you like that one. This was interesting! This is really—so three! Mhm—you know, I want diversity of dial! Obviously, I'm not going to tell you which is number one! I'm just going to pull three out of the basket! Okay, so to say, you know, if I was just choosing three pieces, what would really catch my eye here? It's going to be tough, because I feel like you were committing early that you already have—I saw some! I mean it’s still up there! It's still up there, but I got to tell you, it's really—I'm going to have to choose between these two 'cause I love them both! So you have a Seiko and then you have a Bulla over there!”

“Oh, that's tough! Okay, you know I love this—it’s a great value! But I'm going to go with the Bulla 'cause I just love what they've done with the dial! So that's one of them! That's one! Um, this blew me away—”

“You like Loo!”

“I loved it! I loved it from the beginning because it's so interesting and unique! And last—and this is tough! It's really tough because I like a lot of these, but I just thought this was so unique—ah! CA! Yeah, so that's new! That's new appearance on your channel too! Cool! I'm going to tell you right now, Teddy—that's number one! That's number one! Yeah, CA! Well, I tell you, again, as being a dial guy, I have nothing like it! The story is great, the dial is great, conversation piece! Th000 meters—all—the whole, whole thing, price is amazing! So that's number one! This is number two: Loo's number two; number three is this Bulla with this fantastic value and a great, great-looking dial!”

“So, you know, I would say right away you've got your sporty, fieldy vibe here! Both of these could go with the tux! You'd wear the CA with a tux?”

“I would! I would! I think that dial is absolutely nuts! It’s sport, but it's got a really interesting look to it!”

“That is, again, a conversation starter! Mhm! This bulbous kind of thing is unique! You don't see that very often! So yeah, I would wear that with a tux! It's almost a James Bond! There's someone off camera that that's their personal watch; you're making them very happy with all this! I mean it’s pulling in that whole O7 Omega vibe and—but it's doing something more because it’s got some very interesting style to it! Again, being a dial guy, I've seen everything a thousand times—I haven’t seen this! So anytime you show me something under a th000 I've never seen before at any price, of course, it's going to make it in the top three! And it deserves to be! This is just a great idea for the whole different stick! Love that! You know, with the hours inside and the minutes on the outside—very cool! And a great look—um, conversation starter! But you know, I've just have this emotional tie to Bula—a brand! And here they are coming back out under Citizen with some really good-looking stuff! This is when they're at their best saying stuff like this $500! I mean, this is a resurgence! I mean, you know, Bulla! If you think about the 60s around New York City—all the signs up! They were associated with sports events! I mean, they were a big, big, big, big brand, and I'm glad to see it's coming back! Beautiful work on the look of this! Um, and of course, you can't say I can't wear that with a tux! I'll let that one slide! It looks good with the whole ensemble you've got going on!”

“I always look good! I mean, come on!”

“All right! A way to take a compliment and really take it! And then, of course, everything has to go to red band! That's going to be complicated on this one 'cause this—is a great! But they'd all look good with red bands! Teddy! Spectacular! Keep up the good work! Keep doing the research for me! I'll come back after you get another set! We'll come back and go through it again! They're all fantastic deals! Great entry-level pieces! Remember, do not borrow money to buy a watch—buy one of these! You're going to look great and you're sub $1,000! Some of these are 500 bucks! Teddy, thank you so much! Always a pleasure, Kevin! Yep! Take care, my friends!”