The best watches can add just the right amount of class and style to any wardrobe while also being fully functional.
Whether you’re a watch enthusiast, or just love having some of the finer things in life, finding the perfect watch is essential.
Even if you have the budget for ultra-expensive watches, it is easy to find a great watch for under $500. Then you can spend the extra money on something else, like new shoes, a new suit, or perhaps a hat to finish the look you want.
In this article we have reviewed five of the best ultra-thin quartz watches, all of which are easily under $500. You should have no trouble finding what you need from the list below.
While most people these days are going for digital watches, smartwatches, or super heavy designs, you can class up anything you wear with these traditional looking analog pieces and feel like you’re wearing nothing at all.
The best part about having an ultra-thin, analog watch is that you don’t have to worry about an app or operating system upgrades, or ever being outdated. The simple designs render each watch timeless, meaning that you can wear them for decades and never be out of style.
Titan Edge
The Titan Edge for Men comes in various styles, all of them ultra-thin and elegant, perfect for any man, occasion, or time of day.
The particular design we are looking at today is this silver/black version, made with a tonneau (barrel-shaped) dial, set nicely in a stainless steel case. The case thickness is only about 3.7mm, which makes it one of the thinnest watches we’ve ever come across, and the slimmest option in this article.
The strap is a just a simple, black leather strap. Nothing too fancy, yet still simple and elegant. The watch itself sports a gorgeous minimalistic design, so if being flashy isn’t what you want, this watch is perfect for you.
The movement, as with all the watches on our list, is made of quartz, and the glass covering the watch face is made from Sapphire Crystal.
The Titan Edge Silver Dial Black Leather Strap watch is the cheapest of the watches in this article.
If the silver look of the case and watch face isn’t to your liking, you can get this same watch in all black, with or without hour markings. The all black versions cost a little more, but are still under $500.
The Titan official website offers a 2 year warranty on the movement, and a 12 month warranty on the battery.
Rotary GS08300-01
This gorgeous Rotary Ultra Slim White Stainless Steel Watch is made in a traditional circular shape, featuring a guilloche inner pattern equipped with a date window. Just one glance at this stunning and elegant watch will tell you both the current date and time.
The clock face uses royal numeral hour marks and is protected by a scratch resistant Sapphire glass. You can buy this with a 7 link bracelet or a brown leather strap.
Rotary watches, even the ultra-slim ones, have been using a unique technology since the 1940s that powers the watch with the movement of the wearer’s wrist. Just by wearing your watch and moving your wrist now and then, your watch will remain powered up and will never need a battery change.
The watch is water resistant up to 30m. It automatically comes with a 2-year warranty, but if you register on the official website, you can easily extend it to 3 years.
At a 5.7mm case thickness, it’s not quite as thin as the Titan Edge above, but still much slimmer than many of the watches on the market.
You can get this swiss-made Rotary Ultra Slim watch for around the same price as the Titan Edge.
Citizen Stiletto
For something even more simple and elegant, consider the Citizen Men’s AR3015-53E Eco-Drive Stiletto Black Dress Watch.
If you’re at all concerned about whether or not this watch is easy to read due to the all-black design, you don’t have to worry. Plenty of reviews on this watch have stated that they had no issues reading the watch, and even if they were in a dark room or at night, they just had to catch the light at the right angle to get a quick read on it.
This watch is entirely black, which makes it perfect for those black tie events that you find yourself at frequently. It’s considered the thinnest of all the eco-drive watches. The band and case material are made from black stainless steel, while the clock face is protected by sapphire crystal.
What sets this watch apart from the others is the Eco-Drive. If you’re not familiar, this is a feature found in all Citizen watches.
This unique feature makes it so that each watch is run by light. Sunlight, the light in your house, any light will keep your watch powered. The technology of the Eco-Drive draws any light in and uses that to charge up the watch’s batteries.
If you buy this watch, not only is it super thin and will match nearly every suit or tuxedo you won, but you will never have to change the battery.
Priced at just under $500, you can buy this great watch from the official website, the watch also comes with an incredible 5-year warranty.
Mondaine 30350
The SBB watch design family, which the 30350 is a part of, was fashioned after the railway clocks that can be found all over Switzerland. There are even over 3,000 of such clocks still in existence.
The clock face features black hour and minute markers, black hour and minute hands, and a third red hand that counts the seconds. The markings are also thick enough to be easy to read. No squinting needed, and you won’t need to put on your reading glasses just to know what time it is.
The ultra-thin case is 6.2mm thick and will sit comfortably flat on any size wrist. This stunning and timeless design will look great with any outfit you have planned, or any event you attend. Its unique look might even spark a conversation or two and be the best conversation starter you’ve ever had.
The strap features genuine leather, but if you prefer something else you can easily change it out for a different watch strap.
The glass cover is made from extremely durable and scratch free Sapphire Glass. This is labeled as a unisex watch, so male or female, you won’t regret adding this watch to your ensemble.
Designed and made by the swiss, this quality watch will last you for years. Mondaine offers a 2 year warranty, so should it malfunction in anyway during that time, they will repair the watch for you free of charge. Just be sure you show the guarantee certificate that will arrive with the watch.
Skagen SKW6007
Last but most certainly not least is the Skagen Men’s Titanium Watch in gray, featuring lovely orange accents. The stainless steel mesh band is adjustable, won’t pinch your arm hair, and sports a gorgeous gunmetal gray color.
The glass cover on this watch is super hardened Sapphire Glass and is much thicker than the glass on many other Skagen watches, making this one of the most durable watches they’ve made.
This watch is also called the Melbye Titanium and Gray Steel-Mesh Day-Date Watch. The elegant gray face features a three hand design and a window that shows each day of the week and the date, so you can easily keep track of the day as well as the seconds, minutes, and hours of the day.
Note: The picture where you see the day and date shows the word “Mar”. That is not the month March, but rather a day of the week in another language. Just switch the watch to English and it’ll show you the proper days.
This watch will go great whether you’re going somewhere formal or casual and should get you many compliments. The face glows slightly in the dark, so you shouldn’t have any trouble knowing what time it is at night or if you’re in a dark room.
Final Thoughts
Wearing an ultra-thin watch not only gives you the chance to tell time in style so you can be fashionable and practical but allows you to show off some of the best watchmaking skills around.
Thin watches are aesthetically pleasing to the wearer and those around them but are also a sign that the watchmakers are extremely good at what they do. It’s a form of art to be able to pack all that quality clock-making into something 7mm thick or less.
Choose for yourself from our list of the best, ultra-thin watches on the market, all of which are easy on the budget without sacrificing skill, elegance, or design.
While some people will prefer having digital or smartwatches, having a watch with too many gadgets can be tiresome. And they get outdated far too easily, like computers and smartphones.
Many people, like yourself, still prefer the simplicity of a watch made with quality materials, that just tells time. At the end of a day, that’s all you need in a watch. Something that tells time.
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