Under £500

17 watches Gethin has reviewed with a list price under £500. Worth the zlotties? The scores say.

17 of 17
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SSK059 Field GMT

An excellent, wearable white-dial field GMT that made him 'feel like a king'; only quibbles are a busy dial, weak lume and a thick glass back.
Beyond thunderdome2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SSK GMT range (several models)

A good-value family of in-house GMTs: 'they're all great' for under GBP 400, though he is 'not a GMT guy' and hates the friction-fit bezels. Sprite and Silver Cloud are his picks.
For the beeeech2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SRPD family ('5KX')

A family roundup of Seiko Steve's SKX-style Seiko 5s: tongue-in-cheek 'I hate them all' but for GBP 150-180 new 'you could do a lot worse'; he rates the SRPD55K1 and a gold-accent one highest.
It wants to be good1 video
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SRPD51K1

A good-looking blue fake-diver he does like ('it wants to be good') but the two examples' bezels are all over the place, and he signs off with 'get rid of them' in the dedicated 5KX review.
It wants to be good2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SRPD55K1

His favourite of the 5KX bunch: a plain, all-black-and-silver 'boring' 5 Sports he loves the look of, held back only by a painfully stiff bezel.
For the beeeech2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SSK001K1 GMT 'Black Grape'

A stunning black GMT whose bezel annoys him: he can't see why it is called Black Grape, and one example's bezel alignment is 'disgusting'.
For the beeeech2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SSK003K1 GMT 'Blueberry'

A lovely, wearable blue-sunburst SKX reinterpretation that he calls a 'stunner', though the friction-fit bezel and cyclops irk him and it isn't one of his two picks of the range.
For the beeeech2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SSK033K1 GMT 'Silver Cloud' (Sky Blue)

His favourite of all the SSK GMTs: a handsome silvery-sunburst piece he is 'confirming is good'.
Beyond thunderdome2 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SSK035K1 GMT 'Sprite'

One of his two picks of the SSK GMTs: a beautiful, eye-catching best seller that is 'not a Rolex, but pretending to be one'.
For the beeeech2 videos
Seiko · Prospex

Seiko SRP527J1

A smart, handsome dress watch with a lovely dial and great value, though a big 42 mm and not Gethin's kind of watch.
For the beeeech1 video
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SRPD57K1

Dedicated review is lukewarm: a pretty black-and-gold starter Seiko 5 at GBP 159, but 'best left to the newcomers' for Gethin. (He is more positive about it in later videos: see notes.)
Get rid of it4 videos
Seiko · Seiko 5 Sports

Seiko 5 Sports SRPD71K2

A smart little SKX-alike that he would never buy himself: great price at GBP 169, but bezel feel and the blue lume let it down.
It wants to be good3 videos
Vostok · Amphibia

Vostok Amphibian 090486

A brutal, ingenious, £100-ish Russian diver that Gethin thinks everyone should buy immediately.
Beyond thunderdome2 videos
Erebus · watch

Erebus Origin

Ticks every box for £271, with a great bezel and great lume, yet Gethin just doesn't want one.
It wants to be good1 video
Draken · watch

Draken Aoraki (Vector dial)

A small-batch New Zealand field watch, excellently executed, that Gethin loved enough to pay over retail for.
For the beeeech1 video
Seiko · Presage

Seiko Presage SRPB46 'Manhattan' Cocktail Time

A special-occasions watch with a 'mental' dial from Seiko, 'the kings of dials'.
For the beeeech4 videos
Orient · Diver

Orient Ray II

A lovely, high-quality in-house diver for about a hundred quid, let down by a tiny crown, a hard-to-grip bezel and a jangly bracelet; Gethin would spend a bit more on the Kamasu.
For the beeeech1 video