The 7 Best Seiko Watches You Can Buy Under $250

We've made very little attempt to hide our love for the affordable ruggedness of Seiko. But really, what's not to love? They've been worn in fourBondfilms, Martin Sheen rocked one in Apocalypse Now, Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, Robert Redford in All Is Lost, and, most recently, Novak Djokovic on the court. Celebrity endorsements are just the icing on the cake though—these watches are generally indestructible, keep ludicrously accurate time, and hit the bottom of your Amazon.com cart with righteous affordability.

How affordable? The vast majority of automatic Seikos clock in under $250 bucks, which serves as the basis of our profile here today. We've taken our favorite 7 Seikos that you can purchase today from Amazon for less than $300 and wear in 48 hours—if you have Prime—paired with some incredibly sexy straps from our pals at Hodinkee.com

Price:$179
This bombproof dive watch commands respect. Unlike most watches that boast a 200-meter depth rating, this Seiko is a "Diver's 200m," meaning it can actually handle that depth. It's a tool, and a handsome one. Weirdly, the Amazon listing says it's 46 millimeters wide, but it's really a manageable 42-millimeter case. Pictured on a Nylon Hodinkee NATO.

Price:$151
Echoing the designs of classic dive watches, this 42-millimeter Seiko has 100 meters of water resistance, a uni-directional bezel, day and date, and a face bluer than the Pacific. This one's on a leather strap we had kicking around from Crown & Buckle.

Price: $129 
Reminiscent of beefy '70s models, this retro-looking automatic Seiko has a square-shaped case and great contrast between blue dial and red second hand.

More than enough to start a pretty diverse collection, no?

Price: $75
When you look at a watch, it's important to imagine it in other configurations than the one the manufacturer chose. Tossing this Seiko onto a gorgeous leather strap nets some pretty eye-opening results. At 37-millimeters wide, it's a classic size that won't overwhelm your wrist.

Price: $195 
It's hard to believe this watch actually sells with the photo Amazon's complex algorithms chose. It looks sort of like a Datejust—think Paul Newman's wrist in The Color of Money—and looks stunning on Hodinkee leather. If you need a dress watch, this demands your consideration.

It's incredible how much swapping a strap can change a watch's entire feel and bring out a whole new side of its character.

Price: $220 
The Seiko SKX009—often marked as the SKX175, the square hour-marker version—is the Pepsi-bezeled version of the venerable SKX007. Ted wears his on the classic Jubilee bracelet, but as we've shown above and below you really can't put a strap on this bad boy that doesn't make it pop.

Pro tip: when you're rolling deep thanks to all the $$$ you've saved by moving to Seiko country, splurge a bit on a proper watch roll for traveling.

Price:$215
Can't handle the black or Pepsi Seiko divers? They have one with the Midas touch. It's a little aggressive, but that's not necessarily a bad thing to have in a watch. Also you get to say that you're rocking a watch that beat the new Rolex Yachtmaster II to the punch by at least a few years. 

Though we'll always love Switzerland's heavy hitters, all of these are high-quality automatic watches anybody should be proud to wear.

Ted Gushue and Ethan Wolff-Mann are just two guys, having a good time, whose wrist game is on point.