5 Best Watches for College Students on Every Budget

When it comes to popular watches for college students, I know that they often put much attention to the exterior instead of the interior, such as movement, complicated features, and so on. As long as the design looks good, they would wear it. Let’s say smartwatches. Most smartwatches have appealing models, plus its practical function that can be connected to smartphones. 

But, you know it is never too late to try new things. Experience everyday-wristwatches that do not need batteries or require charging. These timepieces can give you satisfaction (that your smartwatch can’t) every time you set the watch. 

Seiko Presage Automatic Zen Garden Blue Ref. SARY141 

Seiko is one of the best watches for students because they are affordable. Many great features are offered, but they don’t break your bank account. For instance, Seiko Presage Automatic Zen Garden Blue Ref. SARY141. It only costs you $440. 

What makes this Seiko Presage more special than your battery-watch is that it is run by an in-house automatic movement which means you have to move the timepiece to make it stay ‘awake’. In other words, automatic watches or self-winding watches get the power to measure time from kinetic energy. Wear this on your wrist and impress your friends. Let them see the mechanism that allows the watch to tell time and date (the date window is located at 6 o’clock) through its open caseback. 

Aristo Bauhaus Dessau Weimar Automatic 4H352 - Sapphire 

You and other college students may have never heard of Aristo. It’s a German watch brand that produces mechanical and automatic classic and military inspired watches, yet stylish enough to be on a college student’s wrist. Take a look at Bauhaus Dessau Weimar Automatic 4H352 - Sapphire.

It is an ideal time-teller if you are looking for fine design and affordability in a timepiece. With only $480 you can get a beautiful mocha leather strap that matches the color of the watch face, high quality 316L stainless steel case and sapphire crystal to protect itself from scratches.

Glycine Combat Classic 40 "MoonPhase" Blue Ref. GL0113

Back to 1914 in Bienne, Switzerland where Eugene Meylan began his first journey in watch manufacturing. It is what is known these days as Glycine. This brand successfully produces reliable timepieces, and Combat Classic 40 "MoonPhase" Blue Ref. GL0113 is one of the proofs. 

This timepiece is more than just a time teller. It shows you the date and cycle of the moon. You can track the current phase of the moon in the lunar cycle ⎯a new, full, half or quarter moon. All these features are priced at $620 only. Owning one of the best watches for college students does not always cost you a fortune.

Steinhart Ocean 1 Premium Black Ceramic - Limited

Enough with the dressier ones, let’s get you familiar with a tool watch. You may have seen similar designs several times in some brands yet this one crafted by Steinhart is different. Ocean 1 Premium Black Ceramic - Limited is a dive watch with a 300m water resistance.

You can dive with your watch on and not worry that it will be broken or rust because the case and strap are made of stainless steel that is resistant to corrosion and rust. It also uses sapphire crystal to prevent damage from accidental bumps. 

To provide legibility, Steinhart sets a date magnifier and applies BGW9 SuperLuminova on the markers and handsets that glow brightly in blue when there’s no light around. And this watch only costs you $550 for its amazing traits. Not to mention, the reliable ETA2824-2 movement that powers the watch. 

Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical - Nato Ref. H76419931

The Khaki Pilot by Hamilton is also one of the superb and affordable watches for college students. You may notice that this timepiece is a little bit different from the previous watches, especially on the curved barrel-shaped case and grained dial. 

Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical Ref. H76419931 is the reissue of W10, the British military-issued aviation watch. The case is 36mm across and 42mm lug to lug which are the typical size of tonneau cases in the 1970s. 

This timepiece has a water resistance of 100m despite the fact that it is a pilot watch. It means you can have it on your wrist whether when you are up in the sky or at the beach. As an aviation watch, the dial should keep its simplicity to provide legibility to the pilots. Thus, the Arabic markers are printed there with proper font size. Plus, Green SuperLuminova is applied on the sword hands and block markers for a no-light-room mode.