Autodromo kicked off their brand in 2011. Bradley Price, the founder, was big into cars and got his inspiration from the tachymeter on his Alfa GTV6. Since then, Autodromo have gone wild, to this day they have a cult following. Car and watch nerds alike can’t get enough. 

Of all their projects, the Group B is the one that hits us the hardest. Coming out in 2015 for just shy of $1k, it was something special off the rip. Named after the famous era of rally, it had to be good. What released was a classic, 39mm of titanium with a wide open dial almost ripped straight from a Lancia’s instruments. We’d never seen anything like it, fixed spring bars? Pull through strap with a stitched on yellow patch? This slick instrument stood other brands to attention and was something fresh in a sea of musky 42mm steel.

Your grandads watch. Small, delicate looking, but that things taken a beating and never failed him. Don’t get confused when people say “tool watch”, any watch is a tool when you use it like one.

The Bambino looks just like your grandad’s old watch, elegant, slim lines, clear yet intricate dial. If that’s the look you’re after, this is the place to be. Over the years the dress watch has been neglected around the lower price points. Longines have had a few over floating around $1k, but below that? Not much else stands out. The Junghans Max Bill perhaps, but even that’s on the higher end of affordable. The Bambino though? Cheap, nice looking, all in house, with Japanese reliability. The more recent release of the 38mm version is what tips it over the edge though. Hands down one of the best dress watches out there for the price, and the start of too many collections.

This things been recommended for years, and that’s not changing any time soon.

Do I really need to write this?

It doesn’t get much more iconic than a Seiko cushion cased diver. Rolling out in 2016, the latest in the turtle range was an instant hit. Seiko fans the world over could be heard twitching with anticipation. At a price of around $400, this will forever be one of the first watches we’d recommend anyone just go and buy. It’ll last you until the end of your days and barely skip a beat in the process. Sure it takes a slightly chunkier wrist to pull it off but who cares, you’re wearing a Seiko diver.

This one might have you questioning where we summoned this list from. But the wait lists don’t lie. Helm watches have a cult following.

Releasing in 2015, this is one of the few chunky, overly built dive watches still kicking today. If you were on the forums at the time, you know just how many watches like this were rolling out on what felt like a weekly basis. Helm took the Dreadnought formula and cranked it up a notch. Some people are waiting up to 4 years for their allocation, this is unheard of outside of the brand with the crown and bespoke makers.

This spot was conflicted, as I said, there were a lot of chunky microbrand divers at this time, but this one has really come to represent that time and place as a whole. Truth be told, we’ve got a tear in our eye reminiscing about those days just writing this.

If you can get your hands on one, we’re sure it’s worth it. A nod to those in the know.

Didn’t we just have a Seiko? Yes, and we’ve got another one after this. No apologies.

The GMT hand has been around since the 50s, designed for pilots. In recent years, it’s been repurposed as the ultimate complication for watch nerds. Problem was, it’s always been expensive. Until Seiko did what Seiko do. The ‘peoples republic of watchmaking’ created a new movement calibre. Similar functionality, a third of the price. Traveller? Caller? Who cares.

The watch they stuck it in? A Seiko 5 diver. What you have here, is the closest thing you can get to an SKX 007 GMT. If you’d have told us that would happen one day back in 2014, we’d have fainted.

All 3 colourways are great, and the price? A bargain at less than $500. Truly revolutionary as a model? Probably not, but it’s the poster boy for the affordable GMT, an entry level bomb that we can all get behind.

Confused? We aren’t. The 2015-2020 run was game changing in the world of microbrands. But for years one did it best, some have called Halios the Rolex of microbrands, a reputation earned on the back of clean designs, good specs, great build and an air of exclusivity. 

Jason Lim started Halios in 2009 with the Holotype. What followed was a maturing period for the brand, slowly settling into its identity. This came to a head in 2017 with the release of the Seaforth. A super clean design at its core, with customisation on order to make it just right for you. 12 hour bezel? Smooth bezel? Baby blue dial? Yellow dial? You pick. 
Coming in under $1k and still available in periods to today, this watch and brand stands for everything that made this period so great for microbrands. The ability to have a well considered, well made, and overall just great watch for a price most people could hit.

Long live Halios and the microbrands still kicking today. Who would have known how much impact all these brands would have on a centuries old industry.

Ok this one’s a bit cheeky. Technically this came out way before 2015, but to be honest? We don’t care. This specific model was post-2015, and let’s be real, it’s the dial that does it.

Grand Seiko have always been in a tricky spot, trying to convince punters that a watch with Seiko on the dial is worth $5k+ is never gonna be easy. So they stepped up and showed everyone what they do best. Sure it’s got great tech, sure it’s reasonably priced for what it is, sure it’s titanium. But that Snowflake dial? That’s artistry. These guys know how to play the game.

In our opinion, this is the watch that set off the never ending cycle of dial trends, from green to blue to precious stones. But through it all, this watch stands supreme. Forever holding a place in the halls of watchmaking fame. Anyone who says they haven’t considered one at some point in time is probably lying, or living in serious denial. An icon of the 2015 – 2025, period. Never to be topped.

We don’t lust over many watches, but that 35mm gold PVD powermatic PRX? The Vacheron 222 may be the grandaddy, but that thing is every bit as cold. 

The first in the relaunched line hit us in 2021, at a time where lots of people had a surplus of cash with stimulus checks and furlough pay hitting. Freshly minted thousandaires out in numbers hunting for a decent watch to spice it up a bit. With the powermatic 80 releases, we’re looking at a Swiss made, automatic, stainless steel integrated bracelet sports watch, for less than $1k. Google “best first watch” and this things everywhere. It looks the part, it’s great quality, and more recently it’s been on the wrist of NBA players and celebs alike. You can’t ask for much more. On top of all of that, an integrated bracelet? That’s AP territory. But Tissot stepped out and showed the big dogs that this styles for everyone.

If you haven’t bought one yet, buy one. We’ve had 3, and that gold one we spoke about? Oh that’s on its way any day now. 

(Lets just forget about the digital version, ok?)

Being the little brother to the biggest name in the business is a blessing and a curse. The ‘poor man’s this’, the ‘value proposition that’. Tudor blocked out the noise and let loose what will forever be seen as one of the cleanest dive watches for years to come. What started off as a 42mm, off the shelf movement, slab sided, somewhat run of the mill diver, quickly evolved into a thin, in house, retro sized hit.

Like it or not, the gilt details and rivet style bracelet instantly make you think of some of the old school greats. It’s the perfect mix of every day and refined. The price on release? Less than $4k. This was a big splash, you couldn’t open insta without seeing 3 wrist shots and that’s for good reason. On paper, it’s a great price, but mix in the design? You’re serving up the closest most of us will ever get to a 60s Rolex for half the price of the modern sub.

We bought one, and it’s one of the few that have survived for more than a few years. Most that can be said about this watch have already been said by dozens of others so lets leave it there. An icon of the last 10 years.

Let’s talk big plays. Haters said this would devalue the Omega brand, how are they gonna play with Rolex when they’re making plastic watches? What followed was the biggest moment of the last decade in this industry. The hype was new and on another level, we’re talking old school Jordan release levels here. No one was camping out for watches before this.

Coming out March 2022, the two Swatch group brands knew what to do. In store releases only, 11 colours, $260. Some people thought the bioceramic case made them a toy, but Omega weren’t playing games.  To this day, the buzz is still there, it’s become one of the few watches even those with a passing interest will recognize instantly. 

It may not be the pinnacle of handcrafted watchmaking, but you won’t get a cult model from an iconic brand anywhere else for this money. The Swatch group did something here. Love them or hate them, the Moonswatch is arguably the biggest drop of the last decade.