this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2023
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Watches

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Are there any "affordable" (under $500€) Japanese watches that have actually good, or even great bracelets? It seems (online) that most Japanese watches at that price point are praised for their dials and movements but almost always the bracelets supposedly suck.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

I believe the common practice is to buy an Orient or Seiko, then get a Strapcode bracelet for that model.

[–] flipthetube 5 points 11 months ago

I’m not too knowledgeable about this, but you can get a <500 Seiko or similar and research 3rd party bracelets and I’d think still be within your budget. There are several companies out there making nicer bracelets to fit specific models for the reason you mention.

Good luck.

[–] Synthead 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Casio S100 and T200

[–] Woodstock 3 points 11 months ago

I’ve got a few entry level seikos and it seems like they put all the focus on the watch face, dial, movement etc and use the bracelet as the main way of getting the price down. Honestly, I think it’s a great way to go considering how easy it is to change the bracelet vs the other components.

I wouldn’t let it stop you, I’m super happy with mine!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Seiko prospex have decent bracelets and can be found under 500€

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

@surfcocktailsynth @666dollarfootlong Show us what kind of… I accept some suggestions.

[–] RelativeArea0 1 points 11 months ago

Alba aefd540 or aefd556/7, not sure if these are available on eu tho, they're kinda cheap and does the job.