Best watches under $200

This is the mechanical watch to buy under $200: one of two in this data, and the cheaper by $7. San Martin lists it at $188 in two versions, an NH35 automatic at 11.3 mm thick or an ST3621 hand-wound at 9.8 mm. Case 41 mm, lug-to-lug 50 mm, 100 m, sapphire, C3 lume, on a 22 mm quick-release leather strap that tapers to 18 mm. The same money buys the Vaer S5 at $189, quartz, with a second strap. The bronze takes a patina, which is the reason to choose it over steel. The trade: 50 mm lug-to-lug is long for a 41 mm case, and the price moves with promotions, so the figure is a snapshot.

The quartz field watch to buy at $189, on the strength of a sapphire crystal and a 2-year warranty. 40 mm, 48 mm lug-to-lug, 9.4 mm thick, 100 m, flat sapphire with internal anti-reflective coating, Super-LumiNova C1 in 15 layers, two straps in the box. The movement is a Miyota 2035 battery quartz and the product page states assembly in Hong Kong; Vaer's solar C-series starts at $319. The alternative for less is the Timex Scout further down at $95: $94 saved, and you give up the sapphire, 50 m of water resistance and the second strap. The S5 Tradition dial is $179 and the Tactical $199, and all three come as a 36 mm S3 at the same prices.

The cheapest 200 m watch on any list on this site, and at $84.95 there is no serious argument against it. Casio publishes the case as 48.5 by 44.2 by 12.1 mm: read 44.2 mm across, 48.5 mm lug-to-lug and 12.1 mm thick. That lug-to-lug is short for the diameter, which is why the Duro fits wrists a 44 mm watch would normally overhang. Mineral crystal, aluminium unidirectional bezel, fluorescent lume on hands and indices, quartz. Casio claims no ISO certification and the page gives no lug width. The automatic answer to the same brief is the Islander Turtle at $195, on sapphire, which was out of stock on the check date. The trade is the mineral glass.

The automatic diver to buy under $200 if it is in stock, which on the check date it was not. Seiko NH36 with day and date, 45 mm case, 47 mm lug-to-lug, 15 mm thick, 200 m, double-domed sapphire with underside anti-reflective coating, BGW9 lume, a ceramic bezel insert with lumed numerals, on a blue FKM rubber strap, $195 with a 1-year warranty. The page says the earlier ISL-11 to ISL-13 versions were modelled on the Seiko Turtle; 47 mm lug-to-lug on a 45 mm case is that cushion geometry. The San Martin bronze pilot at $188 is the other mechanical for the money, 11.3 mm thick with 100 m; the Turtle trades 15 mm of height for 200 m.

The thinnest watch on the page at 8.7 mm, and the one Casio under $200 in this data on sapphire. Casio's copy calls it a chronograph; it is a three-hand date watch on a bracelet. Quartz, with a battery Casio rates at 3 years, 45 mm across, 47.5 mm lug-to-lug, 100 m, $150. The alternative in the same family is the Edifice EFV650D chronograph at $120, on mineral glass and 2.3 mm thicker. It was showing notify-me on casio.com on the check date and the page gives no lug width. At 45 mm across it shares the widest case on the page with the Islander Turtle, and that is the trade for the thinness.

The field watch to buy at $95 if sapphire is not a condition. 40 mm, 11 mm thick, 50 m, mineral crystal, 20 mm lugs, Indiglo backlight, $95 on timex.com on the check date, sale and regular price the same. Timex publishes no lug-to-lug for any watch, so that column is a dash, and the case is brass with a titanium finish, not titanium. The Vaer S5 above is the alternative at $189: $94 more for sapphire, 50 m more water resistance and a second strap. Street prices at discounters are usually lower, but no discounter page was fetched, so the list price stands.

The square G-Shock in its plainest form, and the only watch here where shock resistance is the reason to buy. 42.8 mm across, 48.9 mm lug-to-lug, 13.4 mm thick, 52 g, 200 m, mineral crystal in a resin case, with a CR2016 battery Casio rates at 5 years, $99.95, showing notify-me on casio.com on the check date. Apart from the Duro it is the only 200 m watch on this page under $100. The GA2100 at $110 is thinner at 11.8 mm and was also out of stock, and the AE1200WH at $39.95 has a 10-year battery and world time for 31 zones. The Duro at $84.95 is the alternative for the money with a bezel and an analogue dial.

The dress watch to buy under $200, and the only Timex on the page in a steel case. 40 mm, 11 mm thick, 50 m, mineral crystal, 20 mm lug width, leather strap, cream dial with Roman numerals and a day-date, $149. Timex publishes no lug-to-lug. The Scout and the Weekender are brass, and apart from the Islander Turtle it is the only day-date here. The Weekender 38 at $77 is the cheaper Timex analogue, 30 m on a slip-through fabric strap. A mechanical Timex in the same family costs $259: the hand-wound Marlin, on the under-$300 list. The Waterbury's trade is mineral glass and 50 m; what $149 buys over the Scout is the steel case and the day-date.

The floor, and included as such. $29.95, in stock, 35.2 mm across, 38.2 mm lug-to-lug, 8.5 mm thick, 21 g, resin case and crystal, 7-year battery. Casio lists water resistance with no metre rating, so the table shows a dash; do not swim in it on the strength of the page. The A168W-1 at $39.95 is the same idea in a chrome-plated case at 36.3 mm and 50 g. Every other watch on this page costs at least twice as much, and the spec sheets say what the money buys: a metre rating, a metal case and, from $150, sapphire.

The most watch per dollar in the bracket: $39.95 buys 100 m, a 10-year battery and world time for 31 zones. 42.1 mm across, 45 mm lug-to-lug, 12.5 mm thick, 39 g, resin case and crystal, amber LED backlight. It was showing notify-me on casio.com on the check date. The F91W at $29.95 is the alternative for $10 less, with a 7-year battery and no metre rating; the DW5600E at $99.95 is the next step up, with shock resistance and 200 m. The trade is a resin crystal, which scratches, and a case 6.9 mm wider than the F91W's.

The G-Shock to buy over the DW5600E if thickness decides it: 11.8 mm against 13.4 mm, with the same 200 m. Ana-digi quartz, 45.4 mm across, 48.5 mm lug-to-lug, 51 g, mineral crystal in a carbon-reinforced resin case, $110 on casio.com, where it was showing notify-me on the check date; Jomashop listed it at $84.99 and out of stock the same day. The DW5600E at $99.95 is the alternative for $10 less, 1.6 mm thicker and 2.6 mm narrower. The trade is stock, which on the check date neither casio.com nor the discounter had, and a mineral crystal in place of nothing better at the price.

The chronograph to buy under $200, and the one Edifice here that was in stock on casio.com on the check date. Quartz, 43.5 mm across, 48.6 mm lug-to-lug, 11 mm thick, 128 g on the steel bracelet, 100 m, mineral crystal, a 1-second chronograph and a 24-hour subdial, $120. The EFB-108D above is the Edifice with sapphire at $150, 2.3 mm thinner and without the chronograph; the EFR539D below is the larger chronograph at $155. Casio's US Edifice listing had nothing under $100 on the check date. The trade against the EFB-108D is mineral glass and 2.3 mm; what the $30 saved buys is the stopwatch.

The F91W in a metal-look case, and the one to buy of the two if 21 g reads as flimsy: 50 g in chrome-plated resin, 36.3 mm across, 38.6 mm lug-to-lug, 9.6 mm thick, with the same 7-year CR2016 battery and an EL backlight, $39.95 and in stock. Casio lists water resistance with no metre rating, as on the F91W, so the table shows a dash. The AE1200WH at the same $39.95 is the alternative: 100 m, a 10-year battery and world time, in a case 5.8 mm wider. The trade is that $10 over the F91W buys plating and 29 g and nothing else the sheet can show.

The cheapest analogue Timex in the data, and a 30 m watch, which is the reason it sits this far down. Quartz, 38 mm, mineral crystal, 20 mm lugs, a polished silver-tone brass case at 47.8 g, Indiglo backlight, on a slip-through fabric strap, $77 on timex.com. Timex publishes neither lug-to-lug nor thickness for it, so the table carries two dashes. The Scout at $95 is the alternative for $18 more: 40 mm, 50 m, 11 mm thick, on a strap with spring bars. The Weekender's trade is 20 m of water resistance and two blank columns; what it keeps is the size, 2 mm under the Scout.

The largest watch on the page by 4.1 mm: 49.5 mm across and 54.1 mm lug-to-lug is a great deal of steel for most wrists. Quartz chronograph to 1/10 second, 11.7 mm thick, 185 g on the bracelet, 100 m, mineral crystal, a blue and grey ion-plated bezel, $155 and in stock on casio.com on the check date. The EFV650D at $120 is the alternative in the family: 6 mm narrower, 5.5 mm shorter across the lugs, 57 g lighter and $35 less, with a 1-second chronograph. The trade is the tenth-second stopwatch; the return for the $35 is a watch that fits under a cuff.