13 Watches That Look More Expensive Than They Are

hi everyone teddy baldustar here so let's just go through a scenario that i'm sure that you've been through before because i know i have you're looking at a watch you're learning more about it you love everything about how it looks and you want to make it your own and then you inquire about a price or you look at the price tag and you're like sticker shock all hopes of owning the wash goes away today we're going to be doing the opposite looking at some watches that on the surface look fantastic and when you look at the sticker it doesn't really have the same effect and seem i think more looking more expensive than maybe the price tag would indicate of course we all want to get things for a cheaper pricing that's human nature to get a deal but i think overall looking at the pieces that we're going to be taking uh just a gander at today watches that i think do kind of fit that mold of just looking a bit more expensive than what the price tag would indicate so as we get into this video there is going to be mostly a reliance on the more affordable range i would say just because just given the nature of watches looking more expensive you're of course going to have usually a lower price tag as a byproduct of that but there are certainly some exceptions as you continue to go up market so going to stop start from the affordable end and then move our way up and to begin here i do think this is one of the one of my favorite affordable watches and there's a lot of people right now that talking about seiko going up market and there's certainly some things around that that are true but there still is a selection of seiko models that are very true to the original ethos that i think a lot of people associate with the brand and that is with the seiko 5 series with the srpe 5.3 the 5.7 and just some other colorways in this collection amazing everyday watches for the money i think this was the first watch that i've seen kind of the in the new resurgence of the seiko 5 collection that really knocked it out of the park fantastic loom dial looks way more expensive than what it lets on in terms of the price tag bracelet leave some things to be desired but you're getting a reliable movement within typically these can be found for that 200 range i know through the holiday season there were some great deals on these but all packaged together this is an amazing entry level watch from automatic watch that you can get from seiko different colorways and you're getting a lot of the upside that you'll get with some of the prospects collection in a seiko 5 package that is also very wearable so this one definitely fits the bill now when looking at seiko and what they've been doing for a very long time the entry level position i think they've almost been replaced or just seen some competition from another japanese brand that's also under the seiko epson corporation umbrella which is orient and orient further entry level divers do a fantastic job of providing some great looks for the money you could look at plenty of things here the orient mako twos you could look as well at the kamasu's but another one that i think should get mentioned and i love just the handset the layout in terms of the dial surface it looks really solid and it looks more formal despite not having some more maybe components of the sapphire crystal is going to be the oriental different colorways a little bit larger on the case size but when just looking at this watch in person it just feels more premium you put this next to a more expensive dive watch it really does hold its own at the price range which is occupying for around 200 or so bucks there's a lot to like here in terms of going for the canoe in-house caliber from orient that i have found has really just competes well with seiko counterparts as well as miota counterparts in terms of performance they have some new models out that have different dial variations including a very vivid red which probably will be the one that i'll showcase here that is a bit more playful and you can probably argue that it looks a bit more like a toy at times depending on what you want but still very fantastic dive watches for the money so this next option is going to be from tiso and these are new watches that just became available on our website teddybaldestar.com and get quite a bit of new watches coming in at any given moment on our website but these were ones that stood out for a couple reasons and one of the reasons was just this idea of just looking more expensive than what they are first the price 375 dollars for a swiss made watch there's something really nice about that but then also factoring in the design and what it's going for so these are models that are really emulating a late 1970s design from another model the prx from tiso that also edged into the early 1980s and really embody that overall architecture with the casing integrated bracelet and the finishing on it is very good for that dollar amount you're getting some beveling on the side of the case a really nice mixing of polishing and brushing very clean dial format with some nice little just reflective finishes with the dial surface applied markers and getting a reliable quartz movement within all that factored in for around 375 dollars i thought this one was a hit immediately when i saw it i think there's going to be some people that are going to want a mechanical option of this but you got to like what this thing is bringing together i think for those people that are looking for this style which is very much popular right now you look at any brand out there many of them are creating this kind of magenta style design that is just being emulated over and over and over again this is probably one of the best offerings from an affordable perspective to get that now timex is a brand of almost two stories on the more affordable end the watches do look you know relatively cheap but that's what they're going for and they actually are priced appropriately which i think is a great thing about timex but then as you get up market a little bit you know sometimes they still kind of have that playful aesthetic that doesn't really demand maybe the price tag jump that you're going to see or the price jump that you're going to see with their watches but one that i think is an exception is going to be the timex navi xl automatics these are watches that i think do a fantastic job of embodying the timex design which is kind of that affordable door into the world of just really solid looking uh watches creating just a simple no-nonsense movement within with the miota and pricing around 250 bucks with a variety of different case styles to choose from dial colors to choose from there's a lot to like also you could factor in there's quartz models available for even half of the price of the automatic versions which is going to even further this because from the most part on the outside nothing's really changing it's it's more of just the movement that's going to be powering it within so those two points really help this watch i think exceed in terms of the looks department and just appearing more premium than say your more typical timex watch out there different case treatments that you can find as well like the ip coated case i think looks really really good it looks a bit more elevated in terms of its price tag certainly an affordable watch but i think tomic did a very good job with these now fleeger pilot style watches it's a design that i think many people want to have to their collection there's certainly many tiers that do this design well some with heritage behind them and one of those is going to be locko locko though unlike other brands that are in this general range of say five hundred dollars to uh two thousand dollars which they occupy they do a very good job at that lower end towards around four hundred dollars with their entry level options with the augsburg as well as the akan and i want to mention the akin here now one thing i really like about the akin and this is a type b style dial i used for navigators back during world war ii a lot of history behind these timepieces in the making of them so you definitely recommend checking out a video that i've done in the past on this uh talking about the history and you know what was really the just initial start for looking at fleeker style designs and why they were actually used uh by many pilots and navigators i'll link to it down below but this is more from an entry level perspective which i really like they are housing miota calibers and that really is the main kind of rub with them but i don't think that is all bad so you're getting an 821a movement it does feature hacking which is i think a huge upside especially when considering just the actual function of these timepieces and how synchronization in terms of on the battlefield was so necessary having a hacking feature i think is very important but from a case standpoint in the dial finishing very much of what you're seeing in these pieces are going to be the same in some of their higher level watches that are going to be around a thousand dollars and you can get that at 400 and you're just basically getting a workhorse miota movement within you're getting some great upside when trying to get into the world and say you're maybe not ready to commit to you know say the iwc's of the world or some of the more expensive offerings for watches of this style this is a great way to kind of get a sampler or taster of this design language from a great brand and locker that's doing a great job with these timepieces here now when considering the world of just four to five hundred dollar range these some of the best watches that you're going to find in this range for looking way more elevated in terms of the price tag is going to be seiko with their cocktail time family that almost now very recognizable just kind of rib style finish that you're going to find at the center different dial variations to choose from i did a video last year looking at a couple different models one of them was the srpb77 so that's the blue handset silver dial and i think that they're just the best watches you're going to find from a finishing standpoint on a dial for around 400 bucks they look fantastic they do the job they are a little bit larger on the case sides but these just watches look way more expensive and they will really just hold as a nice competition to watches that are double the price on the market and this is still i think seiko's one of the best entry-level doors into the world of really solid well-built japanese automatics now i want to transition into the world of microbrands which sometimes could be a mixed bag these can very quickly look like watches that like wait why why are we paying so much for these watches and the other side uh can be a great way to get i think a better product at a cheaper price than compared to some of the big boys because they're really focusing on what is really going into the materials and can take a little bit more daring risk in terms of their return and investment and one of those is going to be with these zelos nova so zelos as a micro brand is very much i think connected to their dive watches but the nova was a new door into the world of dress watches and i think both on the front as well as on the back of this watch you're getting a timepiece that looks way more expensive first let's start with the dial so i want to talk about the adventurine dial this is one that is constantly sold out but you can look at some different novas but this is the one that certainly looks the most expensive if you've ever seen a longa saxonia with this style dial i'm not going to compare zealous to a longer but of that overall advent adventuring kind of style dial this is a fantastic looking timepiece for the money for around 950 dollars looking at this thing under the macro lens it is very eye-catching uh and just very well done and then flipping it over you're getting a pazu 7001 caliber it's a manual wine which you have no rotor there so you can really just see all the exposed mechanics the bridges and these are definitely one of the best looking movements that you're going to find in the price range typically housed in watches between thousand to two thousand dollars on the regular so when seeing it in a watch sub a thousand dollars there's even just more upside it's a non-hacking movement but from something that's maybe that not familiar with looking at say a manual wine movement and one that's a bit more dressed up compared to the alternatives this is a great looking watch both in the front and the back and then moving into gmts from the micro brand perspective one that really kind of inspired this was looking at the baltic aquascap gmt that i just did a review on different color options to choose from swiss caliber with enzo looking at that so prod movement that i'm starting to see quite a bit more and another option as well with laurier a great upstart here in the united states founded by a husband and wife duo i have not actually had a chance to deal with their hyperion yet but i've done a review in the past and a couple of their other models and overall from all of my hands-on experience with them they've done a very good job uh so the ball tick gonna retail above a thousand dollars and the laurier is going to retail a little bit i would say pretty cost effectively in terms of what you're getting there swiss movement within i think of course a pepsi style bezel which is going to appeal to many people out there and i think is very much a need in the marketplace as much as they desire in the marketplace but these are just two great options from a gmt perspective and very much to stand really well with the competition now as we jump up over a thousand dollars i think once you get into that thousand to fifteen hundred dollar range if you're just looking at a watch that looks more expensive i think the formax essence is the go-to watch in this range i have just continued to be just very impressed with what formax has been doing they revamped their dials they revamped a lot of their designs they just unveiled a 39 millimeter formax essence which i think is a great news for a lot of people out there that were maybe on the defense for the brand these are just fantastic looking timepieces the finishing with the applied markers you're getting a unique case suspension system which will help with flexibility on the wrist as well as assisting in shock there's certainly a little bit a little bit of a gimmicky feature but definitely showing that there's no sacrifice there in terms of just cutting corners in addition you're also getting a cost certified movement which is going to be a top grade movement as well uh it's going to be running like a top and it also looks pretty good for a more off-the-shelf style of movement and then i think the real star of the show though is the bracelet on these timepieces they just look so much more expensive and will hang with watches that are double or triple the price to be honest with you which is kind of sad uh but very true formax does have a lot of industry connections they actually the founder of the brand you know has a family that actually is producing a lot of uh doing a lot of oem work for other manufacturer with bracelets and case designs so that very much is their secret sauce and what they're able to do and using a lot of different materials but the formax essence just looks way more expensive than it actually is all right so now to move into luxury watches and this is kind of a strange thing talking about watches that look more expensive but are luxury watches but the first one here is going to be the omega seamaster diver 300 meter this is a fantastic watch for a variety of different reasons one is going to be i think looking at just the landscape and this is really feeding into the idea now underneath this watch is going to be the tudor black bay collection which are no slouches at all but in comparison to a seamaster diver 300 meter i think spec but also finishing standpoint it does look more like a premium product no question about it and then at the more luxury end you then have the rolex submariners and watches in more of that you know say seven to ten thousand dollar range which is a significant jump up compared to the omega c master diver 300 and you have to question is it actually worth it on the flip side you're going to have a very nicely finished machine finish coaxial 8800 a nice power reserve really good looking movement as well for the price tag i mean this definitely is a nice machine finish movement you're going to find here and on the front side ceramic bezel eye catching wave dial in a very nice bracelet as well i don't think it's necessary to rolex levels but still very good in the price range and it will hang with the best of them this is just the watch i think just looks more expensive from a spec point of view defense against magnetism what it's doing on paper as well as what it looks like with its material and just output it's a fantastic watch and probably is in the running for maybe the most no-brainer entry level or say somewhat entry-level luxury watch that you can find out there now jumping into the world of dress watches this is probably one of the most surprising things because when you consider a brand like jj's there's a lot of watches that get considered but the reverso is definitely that main product that the brand is offering we're celebrating 90 years this year so there's probably some cool stuff coming down the pipe but it's very much a loaded collection as well but i think many people overlook the more affordable end of the reversal collection looking at these small seconds as you can get into those watches new for six thousand bucks which yes is still a lot of money but when considering the history behind the reverser design how it's probably the best conversation starter that you're gonna have in watches in general with its chassis style case and being able to flip it the actual watch over not talking about dual faces because those start getting into the five figures as well as the higher complications but these simple small seconds are just fantastic i mean you're not going to really find a better dress watch for six thousand dollars with the history behind it the uniqueness behind it and really just personifying class with one of these on your wrist i think these are just watches that look more expensive as do you wear this around and to show people what you have and these are the type of watches that don't necessarily pull attention towards you but when somebody does maybe inspect and look a little bit deeper you can kind of continue to wow them with a watch that around 600 000 that just looks more expensive than it is and then finally close ourselves out it's almost just the embodiment of an idea that many people associate with a brand and that is grand seiko looking at the snowflake now the snowflake despite now there being a lot of other watches looking at the four season collection as well as many other limited edition releases that they've been rolling out in the past 12 months that have kind of almost maybe not taken the place but have maybe taken some of the shine away from the snowflake it all really started though with this idea of grand seiko's being this crazy level finishing that you're going to find in a price for a watch say under thousand dollars you're not going to be able to beat it and i think that was very much pushed forward by the snowflake the snowflake with this dial finishing zaratsu polishing and also getting a spring drive movement within just totally reworking the idea of a harnessing mechanical energy with no outsourced power supply and allowing that to connect with quartz oscillation with no friction that's just incredibly powerful in getting that kind of quartz accuracy there's just a lot to like about this thing from top to bottom you look at a grand seiko under the macro lens i think that's kind of the big thing with grand seiko and how they've just been able to be elevated is they just look so great on video but even when you get one in person it's almost even further i don't think you can really appreciate one of these things until you get it in person maybe look at it underneath the loop and then i think you get an idea of why so many people associate grand seiko with i know this is crazy thought but good value in a luxury watch perspective and why they're i think fastly emerging many people are saying they're underrated i don't think that's the case anymore i think they finally get their due but it's very much warranted and i think the idea that their watches look more expensive than they are is certainly still true all right guys and that is a list here today of watches that i think look more expensive than they actually are love to see comments down below what other watches would you include in this video i could have to just cut it off somewhere but those are some of the watches that come to mind for me in addition if you did enjoy it thumbs up subscribe and hit the bell icon definitely don't forget to do that because that really does help i don't just say that as just a repeat thing that really does help out the channel also definitely check out some new releases that we have on teddybolistar.com including that new tiso prx which uh really i mean was part of the inspiration for this video if i'm going to be honest with you just because i think it's going to be an absolute hit love what tiso did with this watch and i'm interested to see what they do with this collection as it continues to go forward but its price as well as the overall style i think is just a really winning formula and teddyballstar.com full authorized deal of 30 brands quick and fast fulfillment full factory warranty so you're not having to pay the bill if something goes wrong also we offer price match so if you see one of our watches we're cheaper at another authorized dealer you just let us know and we'll give you a call and finally nine out of every ten dollars that we generate goes right back in the content here allowing us to foster another generation of watch enthusiasts in addition definitely check out the instagram stay up to date with the content also see some great photos of watches as well but guys thank you again so much for watching be well and i will see you all very soon

Channel: Teddy Baldassarre

Views: 339,661

Rating: 4.9013186 out of 5

Keywords: teddy baldassarre, teddy baldassarre list, teddy baldassarre collection, watch collecting, watch collecting guide, affordable watches, best watches under 500, best watches under 1000, luxury watches, watches that look expensive, expensive watches, dive watches, hodinkee, talking watches, watch guide, omega seamaster, orient watches, seiko 5, seiko srpe53, jlc reverso, grand seiko, grand seiko snowflake, baltic aquascaphe, lorier hyperion, tissot prx, timex, laco

Id: CjqS_Wtarkw

Length: 18min 50sec (1130 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 17 2021