Fratello’s Top 5 Favorite Quartz Watches Under €500

Another Friday, another list! This week, we’re finishing our trilogy of lists focusing on affordable watches under €500. We started the series two weeks ago with our five favorite watches from big brands. Last week, we looked at our five favorites from small brands. This week, we’ll end the series with our five favorite affordable quartz watches under €500. If you thought picking five watches for each of the previous lists was a challenge, picking five for this list was a monumental task. After much deliberation, though, we managed to do so. Let’s find out what they are.

Before we dive into our list of five picks, a quick word on what quartz watches we looked at. The short answer is “all of them.” Nothing was off limits, from solar-powered to mecha-quartz chronographs and regular quartz watches. As long as it had a quartz movement, it was eligible for this list. That said, we wanted to pick five watches that showed some stylistic diversity. Now, that’s enough talking; let’s jump into our list of five great quartz watches under €500.

Bulova Super Seville

We kick this list off with the vintage-inspired Bulova Super Seville. I first noticed this retro-style watch when Bulova unveiled three-stone-dial versions of the Super Sevile in collaboration with Complecto. The Turquoise and Tiger’s Eye versions immediately stood out.

Bulova × Complecto Super Seville Tiger’s Eye

They emphasized the vintage appeal of the Super Seville by using classic stone dials. The results were quite stunning and sold out in no time. They were also far too expensive to make to be on this list, but the regular stainless steel models are the perfect first pick at €499.

The Super Seville has a tonneau-shaped stainless steel case with a 37.5mm diameter, a 10.5mm thickness, and a 42.3mm lug-to-lug. It houses a TV-shaped bezel and dial, and the fluted bezel especially adds a ton of character. You can choose from either a blue or green dial, each with applied markers and a minute track with Roman numerals.

The Bulova Super Seville × Complecto Turquoise

Inside the case, the Bulova NM10 Precisionist caliber hums away at a 262kHz frequency and is accurate to within a few seconds per year. On top of that, the seconds hand glides smoothly over the dial, and the caliber can withstand extreme temperature changes. It makes this Bulova Super Seville more than just any old quartz watch. It combines ’70s retro charm with a modern-day caliber perfectly, making it the perfect opener for this list.

Tissot PRX

The first watch that we immediately agreed on for this list was the Tissot PRX. It is still hard to believe that the quartz version of the brand’s popular PRX is only €395. What you get for the money is almost impossible to beat. It is no secret that we are fans of the Tissot PRX, especially the mechanical Powermatic 80 versions.

But the quartz version is a perfect alternative for those with a limited budget. The watch is available in 35mm and 40mm sizes on a stainless steel bracelet or a rubber strap. Unsurprisingly, we would pick the bracelet every time, as it is an integral part of the PRX’s success.

For now, let’s focus on the 40mm version since that is what most of us would pick. The watch’s case measures 10.4mm thick and 44mm from lug to lug. It is matched with a sublime integrated bracelet that tapers beautifully. On top of that, the clever mix of brushed and polished finishes adds visual brilliance and a level of sophistication that its competitors lack.

Inside the case, Tissot uses the ETA F06.115 quartz caliber. The three-jewel quartz caliber features HeavyDrive technology and an end-of-life indicator to alert you when you need to change the battery. Overall, the Tissot PRX is still a no-brainer for this list. Four and a half years after its introduction, we haven’t seen a watch at the same price that even comes close to the quartz PRX.

Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver BN1024-01E

Do you want to know the hardest pick for this list? Anything from Citizen. As I already alluded to in the first articles of the series, the Japanese brand has so many options under €500 that it is impossible to pick one. While I picked two Citizens for the first list, this time, we have decided to stick to one. But which one?

We picked the Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver BN1024-01E that Gerard reviewed not too long ago. It is a perfect display of the Japanese brand’s competence and will set you back €499. What you get for the money blows many luxury divers out of the water.

This beast of a dive watch has a 46mm stainless steel case with a whopping 16.3mm thickness and a 300m depth rating. However, as it was designed for saturation diving, it is also equipped with a helium valve. When you read the dimensions, you’ll probably think it is too big. But as it is a lugless case, it wears smaller than its intimidating diameter might suggest. Now, as Gerard also explained, the thickness is rather substantial, making it harder to make this your daily wearer. Nevertheless, just as with the Seiko Tuna, the numbers don’t always tell the full story.

Inside the large case, you will find the Eco-Drive E365 caliber. It offers a 365-day power reserve on a full charge and is accurate to within ±15 seconds per month. I could go on for a bit about the watch’s impressive specs and capabilities, but I suggest you read Gerard’s review for those. I will say, though, that this impressive diver is just one of the many perfect displays of what makes Citizen the king of affordable watches.

G-Shock GM-2100 series

Another brand that was a no-brainer was G-Shock. As with Citizen, you could ask which of the many G-Shocks to pick for this list. However, just like with the Citizen we picked, this particular G-Shock symbolizes the incredible value for money that the brand offers rather than being the ultimate pick.

In reality, we all have our favorites, and there is no right or wrong choice, just differences in taste and functionality. Do you go with a Master of G for a brilliantly capable adventurer’s watch or maybe for one of the G-Shock Origin models? I would have picked the stainless steel GMW-5000 series from that collection if they hadn’t been €549 and ineligible for this list.

We ended up picking the G-Shock GM-2100 “CasiOak” series, which is part of the brand’s Classic line of watches. We have reviewed multiple models from this specific line of CasiOaks. The series features the instantly recognizable cases made from a combination of a resin core and a stainless steel exterior. The brand refers to them as “metal-covered” cases. Powering the 2100-series is Casio’s 5611 module. It comes with the standard set of G-Shock functionalities. These include five alarms, a stopwatch, a 24-hour countdown timer, a full calendar, and a world-time function that displays 31 time zones, 48 cities, and UTC.

A lot has changed in two years

I first reviewed a trio of GM-2100 Utility models in early 2023 and was seriously impressed by how cool and wearable they were. Each featured a 44.4mm case with an 11.8mm thickness, a 49.3mm lug-to-lug, and a 200m water resistance rating. I particularly liked the GM-2100C-5AER, which has a regular stainless steel outer case. It also features beige details on the dial and comes with a beige fabric strap, a specific feature of the Utility series.

But since that review, G-Shock has rapidly expanded the 2100 series. The brand now offers the GM-2110 models with a stainless steel bracelet, making the watch a cool daily wearer. One of those would be my choice, and with a price €299, they’re the perfect fourth pick for this list.

Nezumi Corbeau ref. CQ4.202

We’ll close this list out with a great chronograph. I recently had the pleasure of reviewing the new Nezumi Corbeau ref. CQ4.702. It features a stainless steel case with black DLC-treated components and a vintage-inspired dial with a stylish touch of color in the 30-minute counter. But while I love that model, my heart goes out to the other new Corbeau, the reverse-panda-dial ref. CQ4.202

This one offers the classic chronograph aesthetic that we love here at Fratello. It has a 40mm stainless steel case with a 12.75mm thickness and a 47mm lug-to-lug. The case features a 120-click unidirectional bezel with a black insert featuring a 12-hour scale for tracking an additional time zone or counting elapsed hours.

Within the matte black dial are three off-white sub-dials and cream-colored Super-LumiNova X1 Arabic numerals. The hour and minute hands also feature cream-colored lume to allow you to read the time in the dark. The darker yellow central chronograph hand matches the tip of the small 60-minute chronograph hand at 9 o’clock. I love this classic dial design, and it reminds me of the classic Sinn 103 and Heuer Bund chronographs.

Inside the case, you will find the Seiko VK63 meca-quartz movement. As most of you will know, this battery-powered caliber has a smooth-sweeping central chronograph hand that looks cool in motion. The caliber is accurate to within ±20 seconds per month and has a battery life of three years, making it perfect for these affordable chronographs.

The perfect affordable chronographs under €500

After reviewing the black DLC Nezumi Corbeau model, I can say it is the perfect affordable chronograph. The build quality is top-notch, and combined with the great finishing and balanced aesthetic, the wonderful €450 Corbeau is the perfect fifth and final pick. Not only is it a great choice under €500, but it is also one of the few great chronographs that we would pick for this list. It’s a style that we couldn’t leave out.

Final thoughts on our top five favorite quartz watches under €500

There you have it, our list of five favorite quartz watches under €500. As always, this is only the tiny tip of a massive iceberg. We could have easily created five more lists with worthy picks. But if you think we overlooked certain brands or releases, please let us know in the comments section. We’ll see you next week for a new list!