# Help me buy a watch **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613 "2026-07-11T23:54:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/1 "2026-07-11T23:54:11Z")
TLDR: I want it cheap, analog, easy to read and does not require a battery. going on Amazon or Walmart and searching is just too annoying, for example no matter how hard I try, the results bring up watches that require batteries. And using Alexa brings up watches that are much more than I want to spend. I’m also more than a little cranky at how most are divided up by gender and those for a woman are smaller or otherwise harder to read. 🤨 In fact, shopping online in general makes me cranky since it is so clearly not designed to be helpful, despite the fact that I’m willing to spend money. Just not a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/2 "2026-07-12T00:03:58Z")
What is your price range? Watches can go from inexpensive to the cost of a home. I see that you said you are seeing things that are too much money. So what is the maximum range you’d feel comfortable with? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/3 "2026-07-12T00:26:50Z")
including shipping? probably $20 I realize this is a problem, since I do not like digital watches. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/4 "2026-07-12T00:46:43Z")
Thrift stores, garage/estate sales, pawn shops. Might find a nice Old-School wind-it-up watch from yesteryear. But you gonna have to do leg-work. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/5 "2026-07-12T01:09:37Z")
I am a total watch nerd, and I’m not aware of any new mechanical watches in that price range. Most analog watches sold in the US for under 100 bucks are gonna be quartz and thus need a battery. [If you’re willing to buy direct from China,](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256812002475967.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.18.171eb842ZUwT9Y&algo_pvid=ff277ffd-6cd8-4150-8a4e-59bd122b1768&algo_exp_id=ff277ffd-6cd8-4150-8a4e-59bd122b1768-17&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2297%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21USD%2160.68%2121.70%21%21%21409.47%21146.43%21%402103128817838184267077154e0d54%2112000057710269691%21sea%21US%210%21ABX%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29910%3Bd%3A5cabca39%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895%3BpisId%3A5000000210913316&curPageLogUid=AXMPGUhP0BRy&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005012188790719%7C_p_origin_prod%3A#nav-description) you can get in that range. Roll the dice and you may be getting a nice watch or something that blows up in a month. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Thrift stores, garage/estate sales, pawn shops. Might find a nice Old-School wind-it-up watch from yesteryear. That’s not a bad idea, but just be aware that most thrift store mechanical watches are there for a reason. And that reason is usually because mechanical watches run best when they’re serviced every 5 to 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/6 "2026-07-12T01:27:38Z")
What you want is an “analog solar powered watch”, Amazon Canada have them so they should be available from Amazon in the US also. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/7 "2026-07-12T01:34:21Z")
A solar-powered watch is _one_ option. Others are watches that need to be manually wound or self-winding ones that are powered by the motion of your wrist. Does anyone sell new ones for under twenty bucks? I doubt it, because battery-powered quartz watches will satisfy most consumers. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/8 "2026-07-12T01:52:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Others are watches that need to be manually wound or self-winding ones that are powered by the motion of your wrist. so, what would be the price range for one of these? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/9 "2026-07-12T02:13:53Z")
Sold in the US by a brand anyone’s ever heard of? Couple hundred bucks at the bottom end for something like this Timex Marlin. > **[Amazon.com: Timex Marlin 34mm Hand Wind 1960s Reissue : Clothing, Shoes &...](https://www.amazon.com/Timex-Marlin-34mm-1960s-Reissue/dp/B08K2GT7GB)** > > Vintage-inspired appeal that has stood the test of time ! The Gentleman’s standard – then and now. This reissue of a 1960s timepiece pairs the purity and pleasure of a hand-wound mechanical movement with the timeless sophistication of a sleek design. Solar powered watches still have a battery and while the replacement interval is longer, there’s still is a time limit on how long the battery lasts. If you’re willing to buy a knock off from AliExpress, then you can probably get something mechanical in that $30-$50 range. I posted an example above. The somewhat sad reality is that the inexpensive mechanical watch market died in the 70s when quartz came along. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/10 "2026-07-12T02:20:26Z")
> [@J-P\_L](#): > > What you want is an “analog solar powered watch”, Amazon Canada have them so they should be available from Amazon in the US also. Amazon does have watches of this description, the cheapest I could find there were by Casio and Timex and were in the $50-$60 range. If you’re shopping on Amazon, be sure to look under Features and Specs and look at Power Source. Some watches are apparently partially solar powered but still require a battery; some might say solar in the main description but are just battery powered. The Movement Type will say Quartz, but that’s okay if the power says Solar. I found a couple of mechanical hand-wind watches for about $20. As above, be very careful to check the specs, but any I found that said “mechanical” in the description actually were mechanical. There is also a very robust used watch market online, although I don’t know how much they deal in low-end watches. If you have a watch repair shop anywhere around you, you might pop in there and pick their brains. > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Solar powered watches still have a battery and while the replacement interval is longer, there’s still is a time limit on how long the battery lasts. The solar watches I found on Amazon do not mention batteries in the specs, for what that’s worth. I have two solar watches that I’ve had for over 20 years and they have never needed a battery (Citizen Eco-Drive). ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/11 "2026-07-12T02:31:46Z")
Yeah, the Eco Drive is the only solar watch I’m familiar with that doesn’t use that power to charge a battery like the Casios and etc do. But also well outside the price range. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/12 "2026-07-12T02:47:12Z")
> **[Cell (Battery) Replacement | CITIZEN WATCH Global Network](https://www.citizenwatch-global.com/support/maintenance/battery.html)** > > Cell (Battery) ReplacementCITIZEN WATCH Global portal site. > The batteries used in solar-powered watches such as Eco-Drive watches are rechargeable cells. Rechargeable cells can be recharged repeatedly and, unlike conventional batteries, they do not need to be regularly replaced. Just an FYI. ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/13 "2026-07-12T02:47:54Z")
The watch that I bought about 5 years ago, not from Amazon but a local jewelry store in Ottawa does not use a battery, it has a capacitor instead. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/14 "2026-07-12T02:53:09Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I found a couple of mechanical hand-wind watches for about $20. As above, be very careful to check the specs, but any I found that said “mechanical” in the description actually were mechanical. OK, thank you. does anyone else think this shouldn’t be so complicated? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/15 "2026-07-12T03:05:09Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Solar powered watches still have a battery and while the replacement interval is longer, there’s still is a time limit on how long the battery lasts. I have a solar powered Citizens watch that’s been running for 20 years, now. I suppose it may fail before i die, but it has been an excellent value. It keeps time accurately, too. There’s been inflation since i bought mine, but there are still a bunch for under $300 > **[Eco-Drive Watches | CITIZEN](https://www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/collection/eco-drive-watches?limit=48&refine=price%3D%280..299%29&sort=best-matches)** > > | CITIZEN ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/16 "2026-07-12T03:18:30Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > There’s been inflation since i bought mine, but there are still a bunch for under $300 Oh for sure! But the working budget from upthread is $30. > [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > does anyone else think this shouldn’t be so complicated? Maybe? But in the 70s when the quartz changeover happened, all, but a tiny fraction of the mechanical watch manufacturing world just died. Hundreds, maybe thousands of manufacturers basically folded up overnight. For the most the mechanical watch market now is relegated to nerds, enthusiasts, and collectors. The only company left that really produces significant numbers of mechanical watches is Rolex. We all know what those cost. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/17 "2026-07-12T03:22:53Z")
$30? Analog watches are somewhat complex. I doubt you can find one that keeps time reliably for less than $50, whether it’s purely mechanical or has an electronic mechanism. Maybe check out second hand shops? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/18 "2026-07-12T03:25:26Z")
Agree. All the ones on Amazon that cheap are basically just Aliexpress watches someone’s drop shipping from China. At that point, just go to the source. But yeah, they’ll run a few minutes fast a day and break in a couple months. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/19 "2026-07-12T04:03:22Z")
I have a couple Invicta watches- self winding, analog, and some are Swiss movement. $60- $95+ on Amazon. Likely get a slightly used on for half that. $20? 🙀 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613/20 "2026-07-12T04:26:24Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > $30? Analog watches are somewhat complex. I doubt you can find one that keeps time reliably for less than $50, whether it’s purely mechanical or has an electronic mechanism. Maybe check out second hand shops? Good post. My current watch is analogue (as in, it has a dial and numbers), though it requires a battery. Cost me $90 at Sears, just before Sears went out of business, and everything was one-third off. Oh well. But for an analogue wind-up, your best bet might be second-hand stores, garage sales, estate sales, even pawn shops. You never know what you might find in such places. I did require a new battery for my watch the other day, and while she was replacing it, I took a look at the watches on offer. There was a beautiful wind-up pocket watch for less than $200. But that’s pretty much the only brand-new wind-up I’ve seen in decades. Hence the recommendation for used watches from second-hand stores, and so on. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-watch/1031613.md?page=2)