Ten Dollar Tuesday: Agen Kgen Ultra Thin Minimalist Watch

You don't have to pay a maximum price for a minimal watch. There are plenty of low price offerings in the watch market place. A good example would be this $10 watch from Agen Kgen. This watch has a simple, readable, dial in a 41mm diameter case that is just 8mm thick. It's secured to the wrist by a 20mm wide leather strap. It's powered by a Japanese quartz movement.

The brand copy says they draw inspiration from Swedish design. However, the watch is made in Asia and there's no known presence in any specific country for this e-commerce brand. On Amazon, it gets an average of 4.2 out of 397 ratings. Some reviewers mention a fragile glass crystal and rather short strap as drawbacks. It looks like it is pretty easy to swap out the watch strap. For $10, it might be worth rolling the dice and taking your chances. If you'd like to check it out and potentially buy it, use my affiliate link here!

New Watch Brands: Brigada Watches

I recently ran across another interesting watch brand on Amazon.  It's a Chinese brand called Brigada.  While some of the Amazon ad text says Brigada Swiss Brand, my research shows that they come from Shenzen, China.

East Gate in Shenzen, China.

Nevertheless, Brigada watches seem to be solid, no nonsense, minimalist watches with reliable Japanese movements.  The watch brand earns consistent 4 1/2 star reviews on Amazon.  Most importantly they simply look good and they sell for reasonable prices.  This Brigada Men's Quartz Dress watch on Amazon is a real winner for the price.

Brigada Men's Classic Quartz Dress Watch

Another winner from Brigada is what I call my Brigada Minimalist Watch.  It's a simple design with roman numerals and a large watch face.  It's a well-executed, inexpensive, watch that is just perfect for business casual wear.  You can learn more about it in this Watch Wearing Wednesday post.  

A minimalist watch from Brigada

There are some pros and cons with Brigada watches.  I also recently bought the Brigada business casual watch (shown below) and you can read my review here.  There were some nice features and a few that didn't quite fit my sense of style.  

Brigada Men's Business Casual Quartz Wrist Watch

These kinds of commodity quartz watches give the basic models from companies like Timex and Casio a run for the money.  Plus, with an exotic name like Brigada, people will wonder if you are wearing an exotic foreign brand.  In truth you are, but this exotic brand isn't coming from Europe.

[As of 2025, it looks like Brigada may be gone from Amazon. But, the watches may pop up on other sites.]