Ten Dollar Tuesday: The Kakabi Roman Numeral Watch

Over the past few posts, I've provided some high faluting watches. That's because I wanted us to be able to keep up with the Joneses over at WatchTime. However, if you're living or a fixed income or you have an employer that's trying to fix your income, you always have the option of reverting to a nice looking watch with Roman numerals. In this case, this 40mm diameter Kakabi Men's Classic Quartz Watch with a leather strap looks perfect for a business casual workplace. It hits our $10 mark as well!

Kakabi Roman Numeral Watch

If you'd like to purchase a watch like this one, you can find it here using my Amazon affiliate link. If you want to see some more classy Roman numeral watches, check out these posts on my blog.

To see all the $10 watches that I've highlighted, check out my Amazon affiliate store front here.

Ten Dollar Tuesday: The Kakabi Minimalist Men's Watch

One glaringly obvious truth in the watch world is that China can produce a perfectly good wristwatch.  If you aren't trying to make a socio-economic statement or support old world craftsmen, an inexpensive watch that looks good and tells time is sufficient for most people. The Kakabi Minimalist dress watch for men may be a good choice for the basic time-telling mission and it fits within our $10 watch pricing criteria.

Kakabi Minimalist Watch (Amazon Photo)

In the looks department this watch competes well with the Timex Easy Reader and Casio Men's Standard Watches. The watch has a generously-sized 40mm diameter case, easy to read numerals, 304-grade stainless steel case, and a Japanese quartz movement. While some purchasers, aren't happy with the longevity of this watch, the Kakabi gets 4.4 stars overall out of 205 ratings. If you'd like to purchase a watch like this one, you can find it here using my Amazon affiliate link.

TGIF: Watch Brands for Collectors on a Budget

It's fun to collect watches. But, it can be demoralizing to read watch magazines and watch websites that are often focused on watches that lie far beyond comfortable middle class price points. It's no fun to read about watches that we can't afford and where our collection might be limited to just a handful of very high quality timepieces.

A used Nivada watch that is out of my price range

While the dream lingers out there on the edges of our imagination, in reality, the median household income in the United States in 2025 was just under $84,000.  The average income was a little higher at $121,000 annually. This means a Rolex watch could easily be priced at 10% of a year's annual household income. That's a significant financial commitment. When you think about the chronic underfunding of American retirement accounts, the high cost of housing, and the purchasing power than many American's have lost due to inflation, luxury and ultra-luxury watches as defined by the watch industry become an impossible dream.

A Pair of Timex Waterbury Watches

Fortunately, we don't have to give up watch collecting. There are many watchmakers that provide interesting watches at far more affordable price points.  In my years of perusing watch advertisements, Amazon listings, and collecting watches on my own, I've found 11 watch brands that provide affordable watches.  Most choices from these brands are prices at far less than $500. Many regularly offer nice watches for less than $100.  Here are the 11 watch brands that watch collectors on a budget can count on for attractive, affordable, watches:

1. Timex
2. Orient
3. Invicta
4. Mathey-Tissot
5. Peugeot
6. Harry Williams
7. MVMT
8. Skagen
9. Diesel
10. Swatch
11. Vostok

You can find plenty of great watches to build a collection without breaking your bank!

The Diesel I didn't get when I had the chance!

Now that my blog is a Timex affiliate through Commission Junction, we can send you directly to the Timex US Home Page for their most up-to-date offerings. To check out some of the very best Timex watches that I've found as an Amazon affiliate, please visit my Best Timex Watches on Amazon page. For an excellent selection of very collectible Diesel watches, check out my affiliate page Best Diesel Watches on Amazon.