Top 5 Best Hand-Wind Watches with Hacking Under $500

This article is bringing you the top five best self-winding watches with a hacking feature that you can purchase for below $500.

There are three different types of mechanical watches: automatic, hand-winding and hacking, you can have variations of all three. A hand-winding watch is self-explanatory; a watch that is wound up by hand. However, there are two types of hand-winding watches – hand-wind and automatic with hand-winding.

Finally, a hacking watch is when you are able to set it to one specific time by the wearer and then stop the watch before restarting it the second that the time matches up with the time displayed. The hacking feature is controlled by the crown, located on the side of the casing.

This article will show 5 of the best watches that feature all of these attributes while being affordable.

Bulova Accu Swiss 65A106

This innovative Bulova Accu Swiss automatic watch has been designed to have a double-rim accumulator dial that measures elapsed time in hours and minutes. The hacking function allows for exact synchronization for precision. This is the only chronograph that combines both stopwatch timing to 1/1,000 seconds and torsional resonator movement, making it extraordinarily accurate. This brilliant model further offers a resistance to any gravitational error that makes it the clear winner in the market for far superior performance.

This stunning watch has been designed by gentlemen who have a taste for vintage inspired watches. This model has been designed taking inspiration from Army Forces which offers a vintage appearance that is great for every day wear. The modest 40mm stainless steel case has been paired beautifully with a brown genuine leather strap which adds to the sleek style to appeal to men who are wanting that polished look.

This Army Forces inspired collection has been given a breath-taking precisionist accuracy that has been proven to be three times more accurate than a standard quartz. The collection has been designed with an advanced chronograph that offers 1/1,000 second precision over a twelve-hour time period. Additionally, it is accurate to within seconds a year.

The round stainless steel casing has been given a curved anti-reflective sapphire crystal with a multi-layered black carbon fibre, silver, blue and black dial. It also has a measurement of hours, minutes and seconds, 1/10 seconds, 1/100 seconds and 1/1,000 seconds as well as a yellow sweeping second hand with luminous hour and minute hands and markers. To finish off the casing, it has also been given a screw down crown to allow for a self-wind movement. Lastly, the casing has been sealed to be water resistant for up to 300 meters.

The brown leather strap has been given a double press fold over clasp along with a safety lock to ensure its security. The strap comes in a men’s standard size and a width of 18mm, perfect for most size wrists.

ORIENT Pepsi “MAKO II” FAA02009D

Orient prides itself on offering watch enthusiasts this mechanical watch that is no frills and robust. It features a ball bearing system which makes sure that the watch continues running smoothly with little effort. One of the notable advantages of purchasing this mechanical watch is that it captures energy through movement of daily activities, to keep it ticking.

This Orient Pepsi watch has been given an automatic movement with manual winding, which features a second-hand halt mechanism, known as hacking. This action can be completed by simply pulling out the screw crown.

The watches round casing is 41.5mm in diameter and 13mm in thickness. The unidirectional bezel is multi-colored featuring blue, black and red colors. The blue dial matches perfectly with the colors of the bezel and has been given a glass protection.

On the multi-colored bezel are various markers. The silver number markers, mark every 10 minutes alongside silver markers, marking out every 10 minutes in between. To complement this, on the blue dial there are silver number markers, marking 12 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock. There are also silver markers, marking out every 5 minutes except 3pm and smaller silver dots marking every minute. Instead of the 3pm marker, there is a day date calendar window. Directly below the 12 o’clock marker is the Orient brand logo and directly above the 6 o’clock marker is the 200mm water resistance mark.

Moving on to the bracelet, it features a fold-over clasp with double push button safety and has been completely made out of stainless steel which gives it it’s smart finish. The band width is 22mm with the color being silver.

An added extra feature for this particular model is its water resistance enables the watch to be submerged under water in depths of up to 200m.

Bertucci A-3T Navigator Ti-Matic

This Bertucci A-3T Navigator Ti-Matic perfectly blends authentic US Military Air Force issued WW2 pilot watch specifications with features that enhance the performance without compromising on quality. These features are: a US Patented solid titanium case with screw case back and crown, super luminous numbers and hands, scratch resistant sapphire crystal and a 24 jewel Japanese automatic movement with hacking feature.

The round dial of this model has been protected with hardened anti-glare sapphire crystal. The 42mm titanium casing has been brush finished and features a screw that actions the hacking feature. The black dial features number markers, marking every 5 minutes around the clock face, as well as silver markers for every one minute. In place of the missing 3 o’clock marker is the date calendar window. Additionally, there are smaller number markers to mark out every 10 minutes around the outer rim. Directly below the 12 o’clock marker is the Bertucci branding with the titanium automatic detailing above the 6 o’clock marker.

The strap for this model further blends the tradition and performance of this watch. The strap is green in color, to complement the military style with a buckle clasp. The strap has been made out of nylon and is 22mm in width.

SEIKO PRESAGE SRPB41J1

This brilliant Seiko model has been designed with a 23 jewel movement that has been made in Japan. The movement has 21,600 vibrations per hour with a magnetic resistance of 4,800 A/m. not only does this Seiko model feature a hacking mechanism, actioned by the screw crown, the watch also has a large power reserve of around 41 hours when it is in a place unable to charge fully.

The stunning blue gradient sunburst dial has to be the most eye catching detail of this Seiko Presage watch and offers an air of elegance. The round dial has been protected with a domed Hardlex crystal glass and features a date function in place of the 3 o’clock marker. To make the manual winding and time setting far easier for the wearer, this Presage model’s crown has been designed to be much bigger at 4mm. While the crown has been made bigger, it does not overwhelm the final appearance.

The stainless steel casing is 40.5mm in diameter and 14.5mm in thickness, perfect for most sized wrists. It would not overwhelm the smaller wrist while looking at home on a much larger wrist. Instead of number markers, this model has every 5 minutes marks with elegant silver markings. In addition, there are also tiny dots that mark every minute and second around the inner dial. Underneath the 12 o’clock marker is the Seiko branding stamp.

Moving onto the band, it has been fitted with a deployment clasp with push button and made completely out of stainless steel. The length of the band comes in a men’s standard and is 20mm in width – making it suit most sized wrists.

The final feature of this watch is that it is able to remain water resistant in depths of up to 50 meters, without any damaging occurring to the watch.

Hamilton HML-H70455533 Khaki

This classic in appearance men’s watch offers an automatic movement with a highly durable sapphire crystal that works at protecting the watch casing from scratches to preserve the polished appearance for longer, making it perfect for every day wear.

This Hamilton watch has been given a stainless steel case of 38mm in diameter and 11mm in thickness, making it a modest size. The casing has been sealed to perfectly offer a water resistance feature of up to 100mm, which makes it suitable to wear while snorkelling and swimming. The black round dial features luminous hands as well as Arabic number hour and minute markers, which have been designed to match the stainless steel fixed bezel. Along the inner ring of the watch is a GMT scale and in place of the 3 o’clock marker is located a date display for readability.

The stainless steel case is complemented well by the brown calfskin leather bracelet that features contrast stitching. The bracelet comes in men’s standard size with a width of 20mm, making it suitable for most sized wrists. The bracelet has been given a clasp buckle to finish.