Spinnaker’s Cahill dive watch costs just US$245.
Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/2096232/bargain-three-watches-wont-break-bank Fashion
Bargain! Three watches that won’t break the bank
Three classy yet affordable watches that show that high price tags don’t necessarily mean better quality
James McCabe’s Heritage Retrograde II is priced at a bargain £189.
Guy Ritchie must really hate being Guy Ritchie right about now.
Following on from the box-office bomb that was The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015), the mockney director has served up another stinker with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
I’m probably one of the few people in the world who has seen the film. I didn’t hate it – it was a mix of Game of Thrones and Snatch, Game of Snatch, if you will – but it wasn’t very good, either.
So unsurprisingly, it’s bombing hard, which is particularly galling for all concerned with the production, as it cost – wait for it – US$175 million to make and tens of millions more on marketing. A rags-to-Ritchie-to-rags story.
The point I’m rather inelegantly trying to make is that throwing a tonne of money at something isn’t necessarily going to make it better, that price tags aren’t always indicative of quality and, finally, that Ritchie shouldn’t be given that much money to make a film ever again; no such luck, though – he’s already directing a live-action version of Aladdin, everyone’s childhood be damned.
Price tags are a big thing when it comes to watches, the tired assumption being that the more you pay, the better the timepiece, which is nonsense.
The past few weeks this column has been all about watches that cost a pretty penny, so for a change of pace, here are three great watches that won’t cost a Ritchie.
We start proceedings with James McCabe’s Heritage Retrograde II, which will set you back only £189 (US$240, HK$1,885).
If you’re in the market for a dress watch and want something different but still with some history, then this is the one for you. The design is firmly bedded in classic watchmaking while the gold-coloured dial, case and brown-leather combo are quite contemporary.
McCabe was a famed Belfast-based clockmaker who made pocket watches for the likes of George Washington and British admiral Lord Nelson, but the brand was dormant for a long time until being recently revived.
Its designs veer towards the classic (note the Breguet hands and curvature of the dial) and on this watch it’s packed in the features, with a retrograde day indicator at the six o’clock position as well as a date and 24-hour subdials.
The steel case measures 39.5mm and inside is a Japanese quartz movement – the chief reason the price is so reasonable.
The watch has a pleasingly retro 38mm steel case, a lovely, textured, dark-green dial and an old-school stitched green leather strap. It’s a dive watch, so has features such as a unidirectional bezel and 100 metres of water resistance. Best of all, it’s an automatic.
Inside is a warhorse Seiko movement, so it’s robust and reliable.
Tissot’s the Tradition Small Second from Tissotwill set you back HK$5,500.
The design is clean and simple, leaning on classic aesthetics, although one small gripe is that the logo is a bit big. The steel case is sized at 40mm and inside is an ETA automatic movement with 38 hours of power reserve.
And that’s about it – a simple, nicely priced classic watch proving you don’t need bells and whistles to grab attention.