The Hundred Dollar Grail: A Good Skeleton Watch

It seems like every watch collector needs at least one skeleton watch. There is just something cool about having a watch that lets you see through the dial and caseback and observe the mechanism at work. I was fortunate to find a great skeleton watch at Walmart (read about it in this post) early in my watch collecting efforts and then receive an ornate skeleton pocket watch as well. But, the question is - can watch collectors on a budget still find affordable skeleton watches today? I've found one that fits our $100 budget.

Relic Men's Skeleton Watch

The Fossil brand Relic has a skeleton watch for 49% off. It's has a 42mm diameter case that is 14mm thick. It's quite practical for a skeleton watch with readable hands and markers that should make this one a very practical choice.  It has an automatic movement that can be hand-wound if the watch stops.

The discounts bring the price of this timepiece in under $90. To see it, click here on my Amazon affiliate link.

  

Wristwatch Review: My 1970s Vintage Orient Tri Star 21-Jewel Watch

Over the summer, I picked up this 1970s vintage Orient watch from an Etsy Seller that sold me a refurbished Oris. It looks identical to the Orient Tri-Star but it doesn't have 3 stars on the dial. I've read that it is common for some Tri Star watches from the early 70s to not have three stars on the dial. No matter. I love the cool vintage look of this automatic watch, but it does have a few idiosyncrasies.

Orient Watch Movement

First idiosyncrasy:  this watch is an automatic--powered by the wearers body movement. You cannot wind the watch with the crown. If you want to power it up for the day, you have to whip it around and pump it up and down about 25 times or so to get it wound up and running. I joke that it's like a vintage fitness watch. If you want it to run overnight, you have to repeat the process when you go to bed. Honestly, it's a good excuse for a watch winder. At this age, this lightly serviced vintage watch simply doesn't have much of a power reserve. The watch does seem to keep good time for a couple of days of wear.

Watch Size

My second idiosyncrasy: this watch has a 36mm diameter dial.  While that is a common vintage size, it's a little small for modern wearers in western counties. The original bracelet was also a bit short for my large wrists so I replaced it with an expansion band from Walmart.  The end result was excellent.

Overall

I really like this watch for its character and its mysterious origin. For about $40, it was a pretty good deal for a used mechanical watch. There are certainly better performing watches from Orient today. This one is a neat collectible novelty.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Walmart Automatic

My Walmart Automatic is still going strong since I first posted about it way back in 2011. It was only $50 when I first bought it. At the time, I was new to watch collecting and it was a cool way to get a glimpse at the inner workings of an automatic watch.

Walmart Automatic Watch

The watch has a Chinese movement with a few internal wheels highlighted in a golden bronze. As a Walmart exclusive, it was probably built to a strict price specification. I can only imagine the arm twisting that Walmart buyers applied to bring this watch to market with a $50 price tag. Needless to say, the attractive diver-style bezel does not rotate. However, the watch has a stainless steel case and caseback.

I've been informally testing this watch for accuracy and so far--in 12 hours--it has gained about 25 seconds versus time.gov. That's not bad for the casual uses I have for this watch. You just may have to adjust the time once a week or so.

Affordable Automatic Watches: Reef Tiger Men's Tourbillon with Convex Lens

Reef Tiger Men's Tourbillon Automatic with Convex Lens

Reef Tiger has a very special looking men's watch with mechanical movement.  They call it a casual watch, but it's a beauty.  Built around the Seiko NH39 automatic movement with windows revealing the movement and a transparent caseback, the Reef Tiger has what they bill as a convex lens, but which looks a domed crystal to me.

 Check out the profile pictures on Amazon to see the side view.  The watch is a sensible 40 millimeters in diameter and has a steel case, a sapphire crystal, and calfskin leather strap.  It offers water resistance of 50 meters.  A subdial shows the 24 hour time.  You can find this Reef Tiger watch with a blue dial on Amazon. 

As luxurious as this watch looks, the price point seems quite reasonable for a quality automatic watch.  Reef Tiger is a brand I've been following for awhile.  They have some great looking watches.  This one looks like a great Christmas gift for any man who appreciates a fine watch.

[Amazingly, as of August 2025, the Reef Tiger Tourbillon is still available on Amazon in three different color combinations. Reviews are mixed with some good and one quite bad. If you're intrigued, this Reef Tiger is swimming here on Amazon.]

 

Wristwatch Review: Tissot Carson Powermatic 80 Dress Watch

I don't venture into the world of automatic dress watches from Switzerland very often on this blog.  Quite simply, many of the prestige brands have price tags that make them unattainable to me or at least very reckless purchases.  However, that doesn't mean that all Swiss watches are off limits.  One brand that still offers watches that middle class people can aspire to own is Tissot.  I received a Tissot Carson Powermatic 80 automatic dress watch as a gift about a year and a half ago. 

Tissot Classic Carson Powermatic 80 Automatic Dress Watch

Tissot Carson Powermatic 80 Specifications

This Tissot is a classic Swiss-made dress watch with a 40 millimeter diameter case that is 9.6 millimeters thick.  The watch is protected by a sapphire crystal for scratch resistance.  The case is made from 316L stainless steel and the watch is water resistant to 30 meters or 100 feet.

Tissot Powermatic 80 Movement

The watch features a transparent caseback that reveals the innovative Tissot Powermatic 80 movement.  This 23 jewel movement has a generous 80 hour power reserve.  That lets this watch sit out on the dresser for a few nights rather than in a watch winder.  Both the rotor and caseback of this Tissot watch are nicely etched.

Tissot Powermatic 80 movement

Tissot Carson Powermatic 80 Leather Strap

The Tissot Carson Powermatic 80 has a leather strap that certainly feels better than the leather straps of less expensive watches from brands like Timex and Armitron.  However, it does not feel as soft as some luxury watch buyers might like.  It's a no nonsense real leather watch strap with a simple buckle.

Overall, I highly recommend this watch as an entry into the world of Swiss automatic watches.  While this isn't the watch for exploring the deep sea or climbing Mount Everest, it simply looks great in everyday life.  It's a great watch for special occasions, more formal office environments, and for looking the part in an upscale business casual environment. 

Three Affordable Automatic Watches for Men

The automatic self-winding watch has long been regarded as the pinnacle of prestige timepieces.  When someone says automatic, you typically think of watches by Constantin Vacheron, Rolex, Tudor, Tag Heuer, or Bell & Ross.  Unfortunately, these watch brands are beyond the means of many of us mere mortals.  But, that doesn't mean we can't own automatic watches.  There are plenty of affordable automatic watches.  In fact, my first automatic watch only cost $50.  It was developed and sold by Walmart for a short time a few years ago.  I believe that they created the $50 automatic to pressure their suppliers to meet low price points.

My First Automatic - The Walmart $50 Automatic

Men's Automatic Watches for Less than $100

Some luxury watch magazines regularly run articles on inexpensive automatic watches.  Those articles make me laugh and then they make me cry.  Unfortunately, most of the "affordable" watches they cite start in the low thousands of dollars.  As an alternative to those heartbreaking articles, here are three truly affordable automatic watches from respected and well known brands that start at less than $100.  

1.  The Armitron Automatic Skeleton watch.  Today, you can find attractively priced automatic watches from Armitron at price points similar to my first automatic.  While I haven't compared the Armitron automatic to my Walmart automatic, I strongly suspect that there might be a common heritage.  The cool thing about these transparent dial skeleton watches is that you really can see a lot of the inner workings of the movement.  So, if you really like automatic watches for their intrinsic mechanical interest, you really can't go wrong with the Armitron Men's Skeleton Watch.

Armitron Men's Skeleton Watch

2. Invicta Pro-Diver Japanese Automatic Stainless Steel Watch.  Of course, if you want an automatic watch, you are going to want to a taste from the fountain of Rolex.  The company set the standard for high performance automatic dive watches and made the automatic dive watch into the prestige timepiece it is perceived to be today.  Unfortunately, Rolex ownership remains an elusive goal for most of us.  That's where Invicta comes in.  Invicta makes a nice Rolex Submariner homage dive watch with similar lines and solid construction.  If you love the Rolex look, you can typically find an Invicta Automatic Pro-Diver for less than $100.  With 200 meters of water resistance, you can even take the Invicta to a beach and get it wet.

3. Seiko 5 Automatic.  Finally, an inexpensive automatic can still be respected for its form and its function.  The venerable Seiko 5 Automatic watch has long been highly regarded by collectors as an excellent timepiece in its own right.  It works well and it is quite affordable.  The only drawback for the Seiko 5 Automatic Field Watch is the rather small 37.5 millimeter diameter case size.