TGIF: Are George Watches Any Good?

I have lots of cheap watches. They are like potato chips. If you happen to be shopping at Walmart or another discount store, it's very easy to throw one into the cart. 

A George Watch from Walmart

If you happen to be shopping at Walmart, chances are good that you'll throw a George watch into your cart. Of course, before you do, you may want to ask yourself one question: 

Are George Watches Any Good?

As the owner of many George watches, I can definitely tell you that George watches are actually very good.  In fact, they are better than you would think a watch that costs less than $20 can possibly be. I like them.

Why Are George Watches Good?

There are many reasons that George watches are actually pretty good. Here are three of the top reasons that I like them:

1. Style. George watch designs are on-point. The features and looks of the most popular iconic watches are well known now. Lots of these features make their way into George watch designs. You can find decorative subdials, tachymeter markings, and diver-style markings on many George watches.

2. Build Quality. George watches are made by pretty solid suppliers like EGC (E. Gluck Corporation - the parent of Armitron) and FMD ( a division of Fossil). These companies make millions of watches at many price points. The Walmart buyers have also obviously insisted on some quality standards in order to minimize product returns. 

Now, you can see where George has cut corners in design and materials. For example, this retro watch with baton markers looks phenomenal, but the crystal is made of some kind of plastic and the bracelet is integrated so it might be hard to replace.

A George watch with integrated bracelet and plastic crystal

While you won't escape all the things I identify in my post on the drawbacks of cheap watches, the quality is much higher than you would expect for $12.

3. Price. George watches are quite inexpensive. Most of them cost about $12 and even the most sophisticated usually cost less than $20. This makes them fun indulgences to pick up while you are at Walmart. For bang around watches, they are great. You don't really have to worry about damaging them. However, you won't gain any personal prestige if you wear one to the office.

 

Watch Wearing Wednesday: George Quartz Chronometer-Style Watch with Faux Subdials

Today's watch is another inexpensive pickup from Walmart. It cost all of $11.96 or so. It's a silver-on-silver quartz watch sold under the big box retailer's George brand. I was drawn to the bright blue subdials that remind me of several more expensive watches.

George Watch with Faux Subdials

George has many attractively styled watches for really inexpensive price tags.  For example, this post highlights Six Watches Under $70. Next time you are in a Walmart, check out their watch section. Knowing what low priced watches offers lets you be a better judge of what high priced watches offer.

TGIF: More Sophisticated George Watches at Walmart

Something wild is happening in the watch department at Walmart! Walmart's George brand is bringing more polished and more sophisticated watch designs onto store shelves and raising prices for some watch to fit more solidly in the $15 to $25 range. One example is this George watch with a larger date track window, tiny gem diamond, and guilloché pattern on the dial.  Quite frankly, that's a lot of watch value for only $25.

A George watch with sophisticated features

While George watches don't bring much to the table in terms of prestige, at $10 to $25 per watch, they do allow everyone to enjoy collecting watches. Plus, whenever the brand adds something new to their inventory, they put pressure on brands like Armitron, Casio, and Timex to up their game and bring something new to their own lines of value-priced watches.