Best watches under £300: time is (not very much) money

Good watches don't have to cost a fortune. While you can spend an incredible amount of money on a luxury Swiss timepiece, there are dozens – hundreds, even – of models that cost significantly less, yet use quality components and will look fantastic on your wrist.

To prove this, we've assembled some of our favourite watches that cost under £300.

And we're not just talking about fashion watches either. Some of these watches benefit from sapphire crystal instead of glass to protect their dials, and automatic mechanical movements. It's even possible to pick up an self-winding watch that shows off its movement through an exhibition case back.

These watches come from big names, including Rotary, Swatch, Citizen, Mondaine and Tissot, as well as smaller boutique brands like Mr Jones Watches. There's even an Apple Watch in here too.

Below you'll find our top picks for watches priced under £300. If you're looking for slightly more expensive wrist wear, you can read our best watches under £1000 and best watches for men guides. If you're really looking to spend big bucks, you can read our guide to the 5 best watches to invest in right now.

Best watches under £300

Carrying a racing retro aesthetic, the Rotary Avenger Sport features a stunning analogue silver face, bubble mineral glass and a useful date window. There are applied indices and Arabic numerals at 12, and a strong black leather strap pulls the entire timepiece together. It's clear that Rotary has drawn on its rich heritage with this watch, and for the price, you're certainly getting a lot for your buck. The curved side of the case might not be to everyone's liking, but nevertheless, we're a fan.

A masterpiece of timeless style, this Bulova Surveyor Stainless Steel Automatic Men's Watch is right on trend with its stunning green dial. On a practical level, its 39mm stainless steel case comes with 30m water resistance and it's powered by an automatic movement. Now this is what we call luxury on a budget.

This Casio G-Shock really is the ultimate beater watch. It sets the standard when it comes to toughness, and we love this understated ‘Black Out’ colourway. It comes with a Cordura nylon fabric band that is stronger than nylon, whist also providing extremely high resistance to stretching, wear and tearing. It's not the smartest watch on this list, so if you're looking for something to complement a suit, keep scrolling.

If you're just getting into horology (or you're trying to get someone into horology), this could be the ideal watch. It's a stylish quartz piece from legendary Swiss brand, Tissot. It features a timeless design, with a sleep, clean, classic face. We adore the interesting 'beads of rice' bracelet it comes on.

Another one from Rotary? Oh yes. This Oxford timepiece is ideal if you're looking for a classic, everyday dress watch. The perfectly balanced black dial is complemented by a soft calf leather strap, and you'll be matching with Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes.

Nothing says classic better than a vintage throwback, and the redesigned Citizen Vintage Sport timepiece is just that. Not only does it feature a beautiful green dial (one of 2024's current watch trends), but its stainless steel case and date display will allow it to stand out on your wrist. Its Eco-Drive technology is powered by light, meaning it'll never need a battery.

We love Mr Jones Watches, and from its collection of unique, handmade pieces this might just be our favourite. It tells the time by pointing at the hours with the outstretched foot of a man lazing in a swimming pool, while a rubber duck swims in circles to act as the minute hand. It’s brilliantly daft, and with every glance it’ll remind you of that upcoming summer holiday.

Read our week on the wrist with the Mr Jones Watches A Perfectly Useless Afternoon if you're interested.

You surely know all about the MoonWatch by now. A collaboration between Swatch and Omega saw the former’s price point blended with the latter’s design. It was a match made in heaven (or, more specifically, an office at parent company Swatch Group) that saw every model sold out for months.

The strap could be better, but we think it’s still fantastic value, and there are plenty of third-party brands that elevate the MoonWatch’s aesthetics even further. Pricey for a Swatch and lacking water resistance, but a fun must-have for any collection.

Yes, we know, it’s a smartwatch. However, since Apple’s wearable is one of the most popular on the planet, we thought the cut-price Watch SE is worth including in this buying guide. It lacks some of the flagship Apple Watch features, but still packs health and fitness tracking, sleep tracking, music streaming, interchangeable straps and a nice range of watch faces to pick from that are both smart and stylish.

This Mens Casio timepiece from the Edifice collection epitomises true Casio inspired aesthetics. It's an outstanding analogue watch for its price, and it features a sporty stainless steel case and bracelet. It's also combined with a black carbon fibre effect dial and reliable Quartz movement. It's on the chunkier side, but if that's what you're going for, you've found a good one.

If you’re looking for a budget timepiece, there really is nothing more affordable than the Casio digital watch. Sure, it’s not the last word in sophistication, but the design is iconic and perfect if you're going for a retro/hipster vibe. As well as telling the time, the Casio features an alarm, calendar and stopwatch.

There’s a backlight, for telling time in the dark, and the acrylic window is shatter-resistant, so it’ll probably last longer than you will. All for under £20? That’s a steal, and everyone should have one, quite frankly.

There's no denying that the Orient Bambino 38 Small Seconds looks a lot more expensive than it actually is. With a delicate 38.4mm case that’s even thinner than previous models, this stunning dress watch is extremely comfortable to wear. Its elegant sunray-finished silver dial is further enhanced by a small seconds subdial, which adds to the balance and harmony of its design. Powered by the F6222 advanced automatic 24-jewel movement (with hand-winding), it's a reliably accurate timepiece that anyone would love.

Despite being priced at just over £300, we still had to include this one. The BOSS Bossmatic is one of the newest additions to this list, and it features a sleek 42mm stainless steel case that provides a refined, modern look. Powered by automatic movement, this timepiece comes with a stainless steel bracelet and is water-resistant up to 100 meters, making it a versatile choice for both everyday wear and special occasions. Available in a burgundy or blue dial.

At just £190 (or £200 for the gold and turquoise versions), we think this Timex represents fantastic value for money. Launched in late-2024, the watch pays homage to the bustling energy of New York City in the 1980s. It has a compact, 34mm stainless steel case and what's known as a TV dial, owing to its rounded-rectangular shape.

Despite the affordable price, the watch is powered by an automatic mechanical movement – a Miyota calibre 8215 Japanese movement with 21 jewels and 60 hours of power reserve, to be precise – and there's a date window, too.

Timex's clever 'Perfect Fit' bracelet is made of stainless steel links, but they are attached in a way that gives the band some elasticity. Therefore, the watch can be put on and taken off by stretching it over your hand instead of undoing the bracelet – and links can be removed or added without the use of any tools.

Water resistant to 50 metres, we think this is a brilliant watch for the price – and that 'Tiffany Blue' is surely hard to resist.

Sneaking into our £300 budget by a single pound – although we've occasionally seen this watch fall below the £200 barrier – this Citizen packs a hefty dose of luxury Swiss style. It has a 40 mm stainless steel case with an exhibition case back that provides a view of the automatic movement within.

Turn the watch around, and the simple dial with baton-style hour markers and magnified date window will certainly remind you of a certain Swiss watch. Dial colour options include green, black and yellow, as well as dark blue and a light blue/green that's pretty close to Tiffany's house colour.

Other premium features include a sapphire crystal, a triple-link stainless steel bracelet with fold-over clasp, and 50 metres of water resistance.

This watch looks pretty similar to another skeletal Swatch number made for James Bond's gadget man, Q. But unlike that model, which is now pretty hard to find on the used market, the Quartzicle is available right now for £170.

The watch has a 42 mm stainless steel case with a matte taupe strap, but all attention here is on the semi-skeletal design. This affords a fantastic view of the quartz movement within, while also making the time highly legible – something that can't always be said for watches that go for a fully-skeletal dial.

Water resistance is 30 metres, so it'll survive a shower and a swim, but don't take it diving or wear it while doing any water sports, and the case is just 6.7 mm thick.

Mondaine produces clocks for the Swiss railway network. It also makes and sells a huge range of timepieces that share a similar dial design, but with some seriously classy splashes of colour – such as the forest green and gold of this model.

Part of Mondaine's Classic range, the watch is available with a case diameter of either 36 mm (as seen here) or 40 mm, priced at an entirely reasonable £249 and £259, respectively. We love the colour way, and also how Mondaine watches are always punctuated by a bright red second hand with a circular tip, just like those railway clocks.

This watch uses a quartz movement with 24 hours of battery life, the dial is protected by mineral glass, and the gold-plated stainless steel case is attached with quick-release lug bars to a textile strap made from recycled plastic bottles and with a cork lining.