Our Favorite Watches Under $1,000

[MUSIC] Hello and welcome to the WarnerWound podcast. My name is Zach Kazan. I am the editorial director at WarnerWound. Thank you for tuning in once again to another all new episode of the podcast. I'm joined today by two of my colleagues. If that catch shoulders, I'm the media director at WarnerWound joining us from Nashville, the Nashville area. Nashville, Tennessee. How's it going, Cap? Good. Back in Nashville. Back in Nashville. I saw you last week. It was good to see you in person for the first time in a while. We were both in the office in New York. Glad to see you. Made it home safely. I was joined by Kate Beesmore, joining us from an undisclosed New York City location. Kate, how's it going? Hi. I'm good. Thank you for coming back to the podcast. We have a fun episode for you today. I think it'll be a fun episode. I've asked the two of you to select three watches from 2026 under $1,000. A truly affordable price point. I think that's a truly affordable price point at this stage in the watch landscape. There's been so much conversation about rising prices and price sensitivity over the years, over the last year or two specifically. I thought it would be nice to just really lean into the affordable, especially ahead of Geneva Watch days, which is not known for having the most value-oriented novelties. Although that's changing a little bit, there are brands that are very much in our value-driven wheelhouse there. Still, some high-end stuff is always fun at Geneva Watch days. We'll talk about the affordable things today. Before we do that, let's do a quick wrist check. Kate, let's start with you. What are you wearing today? So I am wearing, and it's pretty much all I've been wearing lately, is my Omega Swatch Mission To Venus, which I won in the Buying Time auction. Not no way. Yeah, you wrote about that auction for us, and you mentioned in the article that you were going to bid. And now we have an update. You won the one. OK, great. I did. Congratulations. I played the game. I got in a bid at the end. And I just think if one is going to buy a hype watch, this is the way. I feel so good about this purchase, this money, going to a good cause. And yeah, so I am, yes, very, very excited to be sporting this piece. Literally have not taken it off since it arrived here. That's great. Congratulations. It's fun to win an auction. I still-- sometimes I will-- it's been a while, but everyone's in a while. I'll find myself to an eBay auction bidding on something. Not usually a watch, but other things. And it really is fun to win in that last second when you're going for a-- Yeah, a little bit short. Yeah, a little serotonin happening there. Congratulations. Looks great. That's a great-- I'm on the record as not being a moon swatch fan, but I do enjoy some of the truly unusual color-- that's just a color way that you would never see on a speed master. I don't know about these moon swatches that are gray and black. That just seems a little too close to-- Yeah. --what on the nose. But that's a cool one. Congratulations on your auction victory. Kat, what are you wearing? I'm wearing my Aura Aurea today, my Coriolis. Congratulations. Yeah, so you picked up this watch from our colleagues Zach Weiss in Brooklyn last week. And literally a day before, you said, you said, I'm done buying watches. And I think my response was, you'll leave here with a watch. And I just want that on record. I was right. You were right. I did leave New York with a watch, as did you, because you got one, too. I did. Yeah. I bought that watch. What color did you buy? I got the black one. I knew I was going to buy one. You know, when Zach showed me the watch, because you were going at this point, I was very into it. But I've been going back and forth on which one-- which color way to go for. But seeing the black one on a black strap at Chicago wind up is what Blake did at the moment. That's when it clicked. So yeah, I went with the black one. But they're all really night. They're all night. Yeah, it's hard to sort of pick a color way. Yeah. And we're not just saying that, because-- Yeah. Zach's our co-worker in front of me. We really do. We really do. Like these watches. I'm glad he had their own stock. Yeah. It's nice to like-- You know, the heck-- It's a pick 'em up and play with them, yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure. It looks good on you, Kat. I like-- Thank you. Do you have it on a mill strap of-- I do. Yeah, like the crown and buckle. Yeah. That we sell in the wind up shop. I also picked this up while I was there. It sort of dressed it down a little bit. But it's such a fun watch. And I got it under like the macro lens the other day. And you can see all these little details that only someone likes Zach would think of. But yeah, it's pretty cool. No, it's definitely a watch that has been designed by someone who has been paying attention to those little details for well over a decade. You know, at this point, professionally. Yeah, very rewarding watch to look out under magnification, for sure. I'm wearing my Louis Arrard, Stefan Kadokic regulator collaboration. I just haven't picked it up in a while. So I decided, I'll give this a shot today. I have this watch on a leather strap, the OEM leather strap it came with. And so normally I stay away from leather in the summer. And it's kind of hot today. I mean, the air conditioning, so but whatever. But I feel like this watch-- this has a mother or a pearl dial. I feel like this is one of those watches that is like a summer watch, even without-- it kind of defies like summer watch categorization in some way. It's just like it feels summery to me, even though it's ostensibly like a dress watch, I guess, that can be worn. Like, you know, any-- I don't know. I think you can wear leather in the summer. I know a lot of people don't like to, because unless you're super active, if you're running or something, maybe you don't want to. But I think leather is fine to wear. That's my opinion. I know. I almost think the bracelet feels the most defensive in the summer. Like, if I think about the strap material that bothers me most if some perspiration happens, I feel like it's a bracelet for me. Yeah. I like a bracelet in the summer. It has to be loose, and it has to be like-- Wait, wait. Like, I don't like my-- It's a titanium or something. Yeah, like a titanium bracelet is good. Like, I don't love my-- like, I have a two-to-black bay on their like five-link bracelet. Yeah. That bracelet is like-- it's very comfortable, and I can wear it loose. But it is kind of heavy, and it's not great. And not as great as I would maybe think it would be in the summer. I, like, rubber for me is like my go-to material in the summer. And for me, that's the one I keep coming back to. But yeah, I mean, I mix it up. What can I say? Like I said, I'm in the air conditioning. Like, what am I-- I'm not-- And I'm sitting at my-- You're real air conditioning. Not the fake air conditioning. Yeah. No, this is like-- it is cold in here. Like, I think it's like-- I don't know. 69 degrees or so. It's like it's chilly, so I'm-- It's quite cold. Yeah, I like it cold. I like it. Yeah. My electric bill is not-- that's sustainable, but whatever it's fine. It's all going to be OK. Only like one month left of this, you know? We're like-- it's August. Like, summer is winding down. We're in the back. Don't you curse us now. It's just reality, you know? You're like, you're a turtace around the sun. You know what I mean? I'm like, I got a few more words. Yeah. How mean can be a heatwave? True. True. Well, the world's on fire, you know? So it's like kind of every-- you can always have a heatwave. All right, let's move on to the main topic. Three watches from 2026 under $1,000. We've been accused from time to time. I've been accused from time to time of-- I don't know. Hectoring the community about pricing a little bit, like saying that we should all just stop whining about rising prices. And I stand by everything I've said. But I will acknowledge, of course, that prices have gone up. I just think it's a little-- I don't know-- counterproductive to like complain about high-priced luxury watches. That's a little-- luxury is going to luxury. Things are expensive. And everything's expensive these days. And I think from our positions at Warner Maddow, we're maybe a little bit-- we just have more access and we see more things. So we know that there are still affordable watches out there. And I thought it would be a fun exercise to just kind of like go through our inboxes, our collections, are the covers that we've done throughout the year. And-- and discover or rediscover some watches that are truly value oriented under a thousand dollars. So that was sort of the conceit behind this podcast. So I asked you guys to do some research and find some watches under a thousand dollars. What I wanna know before we get started is, were you able to, what was this exercise like for you? Is a thousand dollars still sort of that value center? Is that still like where we should think of, you know, like an affordable watch to like sit at? Can you find like good watches at this price point? Still cattle, I'll start with you. What do you think of like a thousand dollars being that, like that threshold today in 2026? - Yeah. I will say it was harder than I thought. And I think have we recorded this podcast five years ago, it would have been much easier than it is today. But I still found some really cool watches. And yeah, I just, I think like prices have just gone up. I mean, that's just kind of where we are. And there's also the brands that really used to own this space. Don't anymore either, which is a good and bad thing. I think when it comes to the categories and the watches that we're gonna talk about. But yeah, it was a challenge. - Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. Like I had to do some searching last night for some picks. Yeah. - Yeah, me too. It's definitely, I mean, you, you, it's impossible to deny that like the cost of a truly affordable watch is higher now than it was five years ago, 10 years ago. Those like impulse buy watches that were like, you know, a couple hundred bucks or even less, you know, are really like few and far between. It's hard to think of like watch that cost a thousand dollars as a impulse buy and scare quotes. It's still like a, you know, significant sum of money. It's like, I don't want to just like, chuck a thousand dollars on something. - Yeah, but here's my thought behind that. Because I thought that like some people could take this when we're saying like affordability and we're talking about watches that are up to like a thousand dollars, which is a lot of money. But how many of, how many people buy it on iPhone once a year, you know, I know people that upgrade every single year. Like that's a, that's probably more than, I don't even know how much an iPhone costs. I just close my eyes and hand over my credit card. But like, yeah, that's just kind of like, where we got like a thousand bucks gets you like decent pair of like boots or shoes now too or a bag. I don't, I think I feel like that's like, that is like kind of the hall marker before you jump into like more, like mid-level luxury. But it also is like, I don't know, something's under a thousand bucks. I do kind of think of it as being a little bit more affordable, which is crazy to say, but like, I think that's the truth. - Yeah, no. - We've just also, we've gotten used to things being expensive. - We have. - Yeah. - Yeah. Kate, how about you? Was this exercise like for you? - Yeah, I mean, already as we are getting into this discussion, like I'm realizing how nuanced it is. Cause I think the two important words here are like, affordable luxury, you know, it is like. - Kind of an oxymoron a little bit, if you start thinking about it. - Exactly, but it was like reminding me, my mom owns a bakery and people will come in and be like, what's like the lowest calorie, and it's like, you're in a bakery, like, you know, like, you're here for some like, superfluous, since you're perfect, that's a great point. It's gonna, you know, so I think that is like an interesting like, thing to remember of like, we're talking about affordable luxury when we're saying that brushing the surface of $1,000 is considered affordable. So I think that's like really important context to keep in mind. The other thing that was important to me when I was making these selections is, you know, to me there are these brands like a swatch and don't get me wrong. Like, love in this model, have many other like swatches in my collection and like, there are brands like that that have kind of longstanding been like, that couple hundred dollar watch that you can get. But I was really trying to think about those two terms like, affordable luxury and think about watches that, you know, really kind of echo for figure, five figure pieces, but that are in this like, three figure range. So I kind of imposed that additional challenge on myself instead of just going to kind of some very big like brands that are known for those like couple hundred dollar watches. And like, I definitely agree that it's a challenge to kind of find like that specific niche that's like not a fashion launch, not like a department store like watch or not, you know, like a fancy plastic watch, but like, really kind of like embodies those luxury principles while maintaining a three figure price tag. So yeah. - Yeah, I tried to do something similar. I tried to stay away from like the, like the quote unquote usual suspects as much as possible. Like I looked at, you know, like some like true micro brands and like, you know, like independent brands that are, some have been, some have like gotten some press and like lots of media coverage and some like, have really flown under the radar and like part of my goal here is like to kind of like shine a light on some brands that have like, you know, like escaped a lot of, you know, like attention from folks like us and the larger community. Cause I think there is a lot of thing. There are a lot of things that are like kind of undiscovered sort of like beneath this larger conversation of like, rising prices and I can like feel some of these brands and like, hey, like we're here. We have a $300 watch that's great, you know, like no one's like talking about it. So like I think we can talk about, you know, hopefully some of those, some of those watches today. Cat, what was your like approach and like, and looking at watch or did you kind of look for like, classics, what, you know, watch that you've talked about in the past or you try to find some new blood or somewhere in between. Somewhere in between, but I definitely was cautious not to go for sort of like the fan favorites that always seem to sit in this category of what people talk about Hamilton a lot and say go and I tried to like really steer away from those not because they're not great values because they still are. But just because we've talked about them so much in the past. And the, you know, when you gave us the prompt of like, also releases this year, I feel like that also helps kind of narrow that window down and there have been some really interesting releases that I think are pretty important or have released it out to me. So yeah, that helped. But yeah, I didn't want to just kind of like pick the favorites that we've talked about, you know, a million times before. Yeah. And I think like we can certainly, you know, we can go through our, our list and then like I have a few, I have like a few of those favorites like on my list and like an honorable mentions sort of like, yeah, like we can mention those. I think like they're, those are always, where you already mentioned Hamilton, like that's one that's worth calling. Now they do have a new release this year, but I, I liked quite a bit. Yeah. It fits this, this category. Um, that, or in fits this conversation rather, sake was an interesting thing we can, you know, we can talk about as well. I have sake goes on my, on my list. Um, but yeah, I tried to like stick to some, you know, like I said, some like somewhat unheralded brands. And I have one here I'm looking forward to talking about, which is from a big brand, but like has really gone under the radar that I liked a lot. Um, so anyway, let's get into it. Uh, who wants to go first? Kate, you want to kick us off with your first pick? Sure. Um, my first pick, which I will have a more in depth story coming out very, uh, imminently about this watch. And I got to spend dedicated, like a few weeks with it. Um, is from brand called laps. And this model, the arch, um, is a pretty big departure for them. Like I would say this brand was kind of sitting more in like a very playful, colorful fashion type category, um, courts movements, but they have come out with their first automatic piece. And it to me is a very beautiful, classic, just kind of round, stainless steel, um, leather strap type watch. It's, it is just on the cusp, I think, uh, you know, it's priced in euro. I think with the current exchange rates, it's like nine 80s. So it's really, really sitting right there, um, as a meota movement, um, inside and, you know, like, I just, this to me is like a really great, classic. I got loads of compliments on it. I don't think anybody would like know that this is a sub $1,000 watch. I think somebody could easily assume that it was much more than that because it has just this kind of very timeless styling to it and I now can't so I had just one of the kind of like standard dial versions they do have a couple of NAML dial versions and I can't remember if those like are maybe price little higher and like maybe tip the scale over what our brief was here to chat about today but this I think is just yeah it's just like a really beautifully executed comfortable accessible for like all wrist styles and sizes and just very understated timeless piece that would be a great investment I think for under a thousand yeah I've never heard of this brand there yeah really compelling like some of these are giving like a little brand sake of vibes to like very very well done yeah I I had this watch in hand for like I don't know five minutes or so before like at one point when I was in the in the office before it went to you K and I was like I was pretty impressed with oh with like the case work on this it's like it's a really nicely designed case it's like it's pretty compact it's like 37 millimeters I think and it's like it's very nicely finished for a watch it's like under a thousand dollars interesting brand like this like this brand was not on my radar at all before getting the the press release for this watch and kind of like getting pitched to me and there this is a this is a fashion brand basically this is kind of like made a more enthusiast oriented watch you know this time around that said they're like they're fashion oriented watches are like are like also kind of interesting like I was looking through their website and like they have these watches like these rectangular watches of like interesting graphic dials and there's like some like mosaic stone dials and their ladies line which are like very like nice looking I think I haven't seen those watches in person so I can't speak to the quality they're quite inexpensive so I don't know what they actually you know like present like and in person but I was I was pretty impressed you know with sort of the like the ambition of this like it they really do seem to be trying something different I like the the date window which is kind of this like trapezoid shape or clock I think it's really nice yeah the hour markers are are kind of like angled in this like interesting way it kind of almost reminds me of like like fanning out like a deck of playing cards like that sort of what the like the markers remind me of is they sort of like you know circle the dial yeah it's a cool watch I'll be interested to see like how this brand kind of like evolves because they've gotten some you know in addition to your review which will be out as we record this will be up to on third this will come out on Wednesday your review will hit on on Thursday there's not a bunch of other you know press from you know other other other websites so like it seems like they're now kind of like in the mind of the enthusiast so we'll see like how that you know how that impacts the brand what they what they do next so I'm very curious another French brand as well so that's another thing happening here is the continued rise of French microbes and independence which I've also written about and there's a story about that you can also read yeah Warren and Wound.com and I think you bring up something really interesting like pointing out some of those details about like the case in the hands and the at the date window I remember sticking with me as well where like those to me can be the important things like in a lower price point watch that can kind of elevate it I think that's like the perfect example yeah it's really good good pick good pick yeah cat how about you what's your what's your first pick my first pick is a release that I'm pretty sure came out in January but I don't know you might have to dock me a point if I if it came out earlier but there's a grace period you know like with I'm not gonna we're not gonna be you know puritanical about you know the thousand dollars like you know little little above little it's fine if you watch him out in like the second week of December or something like I'm not gonna it's okay okay great this is the aster and banks terror scout this is a watch that is kind of you know your classic filled watch but I think like with a twist it it has this great like sandwich dial and I really like how they did the the date so the the date is sort of like in a circular window inside the dial and then you have basically like a like an aperture for each day of the month that will just kind of cycle through which is cool and I think seeing like no most do this before something very similar but these watches are just like they're really great looking the specs are awesome it's 38 and a half millimeters we have a led you parade movement inside my favorite is the what the one that has the fully-loomed white dial the stainless one so you just I'm a sucker for like a watch that has a lot of loom so I thought that one is really really cool and it looks like it doesn't look yellow in real life like when it's not like loomed up it it looks white which I I really like but just did a great job I love there's like little orange accents on all of them and yeah these were just like such a winner I think I mean honestly think they're sold out at the moment but I think there's more there's more coming because I think they have to change the name but yeah just like a really I mean it's $995 and their website also like I just had a pop up for like 10% off your first like purchase yeah sapphire crystal screw down crown over 600 feet water resistance it's just like a great filled watch and where I would have like recommended like a Hamilton in the past like I think like this is even cooler and it's way more unique for sure and just feels like a level up from something like a Hamilton to I think in some ways but I was really impressed and I got to see these in person Chicago was really impressed by yeah these are these are very nice the I was particularly fun of the of the full loomedile treatment which is a yeah you know that's like a trend it's been happening now for a couple of years and some brands do it better than others and this one's really cool like there's just like a really fun loomed effect on all the watches but you know that particularly like the full loomedile is is very very cool and yeah this is one of those brands I think that like is filling that void that is left by like you know brands like Seiko and Hamilton kind of like moving a little bit up market you know and it's just it's impressive that astronaut banks is still able to like to make a watch at this price point they've been at for a while like this is like a one of the kind of like OG microbrans we've been around for like 13 years I think and you know like they're still kind of like creating watches that are like genuinely pretty affordable any unique like I don't feel like this is like a no-mosh to anything else it doesn't really look like anything else and I think astronaut banks for a long time I felt I had a very strong DNA and how their watches sort of looked and it's cool to see Andrew like deviate and try like really something new too so yeah it's inside release yep this real ambition here they also you know their sister brand Soul Labs is you know another very affordable you know kind of like design oriented brand and so yeah cool stuff coming out of coming out of astronaut banks for sure all right my first pick I'm gonna go with the prevail onward future field watch this watch is it's a quartz watch it's $275 I own this watch full disclosure was gifted to me by the brand at Chicago wind up I asked to buy one and they said no just please please take one no strings attached but I I really I genuinely like really like it and I just I wanted to shout it out it's like it's a it's a really unique take on like the military genre of watches it does not yeah look like a military watch to me like I think that that's a very kind of like tired genre of watch there's a lot of sort of like cosplay you know happening and like a lot of these watches that are sort of like derived from like a military you know aesthetic and that's not what this watch is at all company is veteran owned and proceeds from each purchase go towards a good cause I I thought my head I can't remember the exact charity that they donate to but I'll put it in the show notes for for sure and like one of the things I like about this watch is like they're kind of like rethinking like what a military watch like is which I think is like a valuable thing to do in 2026 when there are you know a lot of wars happening frankly and you might not want to look at your wrist and think about a you know like international conflict you know every time it's really this is like this is a little bit different spin on that I think it's a little bit different a little bit more thoughtful. It's also just like a super comfortable, wearable watch. It kind of has this sort of like futuristic sort of like sci-fi kind of like like the case shape and the case lines are like really unique. Another watch that has like a really cool loom treatment. Cheating a little bit with the 2026 of this because it was introduced well over a year ago but the colorway specifically that I'm like referencing here is the new kind of like tan colorway that did come out this year. It's not even on their website yet. That's how new it is. So it'll give me some grace there. But yeah, thank you. Thank you. But yeah, this watch is $275 and it like is absolutely like. That's a great value. Yeah, that's incredible. To come under $300 like that's kind of insane. And it's like it's very like it's like it's not a it's not a cheap feeling watch like at all. Like it has like it has heft to it and it even though it's quartz and it has like a really nicely machined case. It's just it's like it's very, very good. Now I'm very, very impressed with this watch. So yeah, the prevail onward future field watch is my first. Yeah. Kate, back to you. What's your what's your second pick? Okay, so I must disclose have not seen this watch in person and fact came to discover it in a little bit of a strange way. I love following illustrators on Instagram. And there is a Ukrainian illustrator that I follow who I will absolutely completely butcher the pronunciation of her last name, but her first name is Nina. Her last name is like, disvolscar something, something of that nature. And I saw her promote that she did a collaboration with a brand called Nuncier again could also be mispronouncing now much name brand. But of course I had to go check it out and figure out what was happening here and who is this brand that I've never heard of. They are an Arabian brand. It's totally random. Like I was like, I don't think I've known of an Arabian watch brand before. Very like colorful sporty like rubber. The collaboration she did, like she has a very unique playful, also colorful like style of illustration, little like creature, non-descript creatures. So she did a dial for them on a piece that they've kind of brought out the orange accents. I think that was like the color strap and stuff that they paired it with. Again, Mio de movements price, I think is around like $420 for these watches and that feels like roughly the price point of most of the pieces on their side. And you know, there are some that like have more of like, you know, Middle Eastern type numerals on them and stuff. But yeah, so haven't seen one of these in person. So can't fully speak to the quality. Very curious, still very curious to like perhaps one day see one of these in person and learn more. But I love color. I love this illustrator. And I thought it was very cool to find a new watch brand that I'd never heard of by way of a collaborator. So that is my second pick. These are fun. Yeah. I can't have you heard of this brand. I have not this is brand new to me. So so Kate, thank you for introducing Nansir. To the to the Warren one podcast that this is this was a blind spot for me. Yeah, this is really cool. $422. It's a I yeah, it's I so I like watches that have like like it's just purely for like the art of it like and this is like taking that to like a literal level like with a, you know, collaboration with an illustrator. So but yeah, that's very cool. Very fun. I'm getting, you know, it's probably like a little reductive to say like swatch vibes or Mr. Jones vibes or something like that. But like that is kind of like, you know, what this, you know, what this is. I think that's I think that's fun. Like it, you know, everyone should have like a watch like this. I think it's a point in their collection. That's just like totally pure fun or can have a bunch. I have like, yeah, you can have several several these. Nothing wrong with that. Very cool. I do like I like the artist too. This is this is a lot of fun. Yeah, I'm going to find right Instagram and follow her. So glad you're picking up what I'm putting down. Excellent, excellent pick. Cap, what's your what's your second pick? All right. Pick number two is a watch that definitely came out this year. And this is the brew metric light. So the 30 millimeters that he released specifically the Tahitian Pearl dial and comes in at a price point of $375, which I think is like super great value. These do have an automatic movement inside. I really like the smaller. I didn't think that you needed a smaller metric until I saw these and I was like, it actually makes total sense. And I think very unisex too for both like, obviously smaller watches have been a huge hit with, you know, men in general this year, I think over the last two years, really. But these just like look so good. And I think like added a, I don't know. Another level to like the metric, they look more luxury to me. I think honestly in the smaller case size now, but there's so many different options. There's also like a really great tiger eye dial to that's sold out unfortunately at the moment. But yeah, I just like, I think brew is one of those brands that anytime I have someone that comes to me and asks me for like an affordable watch, I always direct them to Bruce website because it never fails if they can find something that they like from John's offerings. And the new metric lights, I think I'm such a huge fan of. And having owned several brews now, I can say that like, I've never had a quality issue with them. Like, you know, they're so nice in person. And I think again, coming at like less than $500, you're getting a lot of bang for your book. I know we say that all the time, but truly, you are with this brand. And yeah, I just, I love these in general and they're fun. Yeah. Yeah, these are cool. Kate, you're a fan of the. I'm an owner. I am an owner of, I mean, of a few brews, but including a metric light, the original mother of pearl. Like that, like Tahitian mother of pearl that's kind of colorful and stuff that came out this year. But that was, I mean, for a different outlet that I contribute to that does a most worn watch of the year. That was my watch last year. And it generally was my most worn watch of the year. It's so, it's so easy and it looks great with everything. And like the cliche, it can be like dressed up or down. I think especially because of some of the dial like treatments that you've chosen, kind of allow it to be like that sport watch if you want it to be, but also like, you know, look great with something a little more elevated too. So, yes, big, big fan. I think, you know, it's like, it's amazing like what brew has like, how brew has grown and what they've accomplished as they've grown and like remaining in that like very affordable realm, I think, is like, it seems like John made a commitment like to like to do that and like to remain like to keep his watches like very accessible. And it's very cool to see like what he's, what he's accomplished. I mean, I'm interested cat to like digging a little bit until like what you said about like they feel a little bit like higher end or more luxurious in the smaller size because I agree and I can't really put my finger on why like. Yeah, I was thinking about that like, I think I would say like more refined in a way. Yeah. Than the bigger ones. I don't know why. I mean, the bigger ones are also courts and like, I kind of like the smaller but chunkier version of the lights, like there's something about that that I, I don't know, feels like a higher end watch on your wrists, I think, than like a thinner profile of the bigger one. But yeah, I, they're super nice. And I was just looking like the most expensive what she has is like the manual wind copper, which I actually also think came out this year. Now it's 875 and that's like the most expensive watch. Everything is under, honestly, well under $500, but yeah, I think you just, I think there's an incredible value. And maybe it's because he made these with like, I don't know, the stone dials too and the other metrics feel a little bit more like playful and fun and these feel a little bit more like dress dressy in a way. I don't know. Yeah, to me, they feel like they're really drawing on like, so like the larger watches feel like they're drawing on like 1970s, like sports watches, like Xenath to Fies and like racing crunch to apps and things like that. These smaller ones feel like they're drawing on like Piaja cocktail watches and things like like it's it and like it's interesting like they're the same shape. And they have the same bracelet, but like the size. Also made like the dial treatments to like really kind of pull something to. So like yeah, there's something to that. Yeah, a little cleaner. Yeah, it'd be fun to have John on the podcast maybe and like talk about like. Yeah. But how the how like how that sort of like develops like those like those influences and if he sees those two. Yeah, really really really cool, really cool pick. Is it back to me? I think I've lost back to you. Okay. All right. My next pick. I'm going to go with the watch I reviewed for the website earlier this year. The Trafford Crossroads S. It comes in two sizes. There's a 36 and a 40. They're not actually 36 and 40 millimeters, but they're square cases that are meant to kind of like simulate what a 36 millimeter circular watch feels like at a 40 millimeter. I I prefer the 36. I just think in that in that square K shape, it it makes a little bit more sense in the smaller size, but the 40s nice to they're both $899. So on the higher end of things and a lot of people have kind of like said, I've heard comments. I've seen you know, sort of like price and complaints of people saying like this watch would have been $500 if it came out like five or six years ago or something like that. Yeah. And I don't know. I don't know if that's necessarily true. Like it's using like using a Swiss movement in these watches. It's completely original design. I think that like $900 is a pretty fair price to pay for something with this much kind of like designed originality and a Swiss origin movement that's just sort of like what these things cost. Now, but regardless of price like this is just like a really impressive well-conceived watch. And it's really it's very original. It's from a you know like a newer micro brand a micro brand that's kind of like rising I think and becoming more you know more popular and more in demand. These watches sell out like Trafford watches are like you know frustratingly hard hard to come by. It's a good problem. I discovered this brand that wind up Chicago and I loved these watches and would one have been there for me to purchase. I would have been purchasing one but they were sold out of most everything. Yeah. No, that's that's something he's been they've been they've been dealing with for like the last few rounds of releases at least. Like he's got a very dedicated you know like base of customers that you know are like or after these things. Really creative use of color. You know lots lots of brands are like doing interesting things with color and you know he's certainly not the not the only one but like it's like they're just like they're really fun unique watches with their own sort of like personalities is another small brand micro brand and any brand that's like carving out a like a niche for themselves and is developing like a design identity and I think when you it's it's a really nice thing when a brand can do that and like have a watch that is kind of like recognizable as they're from across the room for like under a thousand dollars I think that's good. Like usually that's something you pay a premium for and it's nice you know that you know these watches are like I guess not accessible in the sense that like you can like buy them on the website because again they sell out but like in terms of pricing they're like relatively affordable so yeah Trafford Crossroads S36. Awesome great pick. All right Kate final pick what have you got? Nice okay so my final pick Cat Cat and I should have you know cross cross reference because I know but you're right because my final pick was also a model from brew. I was going to say the manual wind in copper and the reason that this like just had to be a pick for me was again as many of you may know may have read my story about working at Bruce pop up in New York City last summer and that was the first time that he had launched these manual wind watches and by the time the popup was open like one colorway had already sold out. Wow and every person that came in that store was looking for this manual watch like it was the most like in demand thing that I you know again he's done a lot of great stuff I'm an owner of a few of his watches but like this watch really really spoke to people and even the colorway that was sold out like people just wanted to come in try it on and touch it and feel it and it was like something I wanted to add in when we were chatting before that I think was interesting as we were you guys were kind of getting to the nuances of like why does the smaller size maybe feel like a little more elevated and I think the chronograph is an interesting observation which is not true in the manual wow version even though it's the larger size but this model with the movement it's also like a little bit slimmer and like no it is still that metric case shape like the lines are just a little bit more refined and and I kind of think that these also like compared to their quartz ones of a similar proportion like do feel a little more refined and elevated as well so this one was honestly me like trying to speak for the people you know this is this is what I saw many many enthusiasts interested in these pieces I think you know it was amazing for him to release like a new dial in in this piece and you know again obviously maybe a little little bias spent have spent a lot of time with this brand but I do think like in in the price category that he's offering something very special and consistent you know if we're having the conversation of you know like price increases over time and you know or even like quality or stylistic things over time I think that this brand is like also very consistent and kind of like dedicated to this category which again like to each their own each brand I support you if you're you know want to branch up and level up and into the next category or whatever but it's nice to kind of have those that you can count on yeah well holding their ground so sorry for doubling down on that one and not I should have I should have no I think it's great a fourth option just in no no I think it's totally fine you know I I think what's special about the manual wine too is that you know I imagine John probably has a certain cusp or bass that of always liked his watches and have been a fan but like maybe courts is sort of like the barrier to entry and they didn't really want to buy a court's watch because let's face it some of us are snobs so I think that he probably opened you know his community up a little bit by giving sort of people or at least like the watch community kind of what they want it and and as far as I know these have been really successful too so yeah they're they're they're they're really cool and it's something I haven't really mess with is like yeah his manual wine watches I'll have to get hands on with them a little bit more yeah these are very nice we do like to avoid you know duplicating efforts on the in these podcasts but it's reflective of the strength of brew I think in this segment like and it's fitting that that you know brew is represented multiple times here so no worries about that at you know at all I think it's completely you know it just like it should underline the point that like they're making like big really compelling design oriented high quality watch that is like well under a thousand dollars and like they're you know they're they're filling a void you know for for sure because they're getting harder to find watches that meet that meet that criteria so yeah great great great pick fitting to have brew represented multiple times here um cat what's your final pick my final pick is not from a micro brand this is a sort of a big box brand from citizen and these are the pro masterland GMT watches that came out earlier this year so I own the non GMT version of this watch um and I think like if you're gonna spend let's say $525 which is what these cost you have a watch that truly you're gonna have forever like the EcoDrive movement is so good and honestly so nice to have because there's so many days that I open up my save to grab a watch and I don't want to set a watch so I just grab this one because it's easy um but the specs on this thing are kind of crazy you get a GMT you get the EcoDrive movement you get 200 meters of water resistance screw down crown um these are stainless steel they they have some that are also titanium um they're you there's just so much that you get in this little tiny watch for you know around 500 bucks and I think if you're like me and specifically and you like sort of sportier watches and general like this isn't one that you should overlook. There's a really cool red dial, there's a blue, there's like a black and green version too. But yeah, these just like they really impress me and the loom is really really good and so all the numerals are super bright. But yeah, I just I think this is like such a compelling watch and I think citizen in a lot of ways has taken up the space that Seiko used to hold under the sort of a thousand dollar category. We talked about this on the podcast in the past, but I think really citizen like owns sort of the affordable category now more than more than Seiko, I would say. But yeah, this is a this is a favorite of mine. Yeah, those are really good. I mean, we've said of a four on the podcast like they are kind of like eating Seiko's lunch at this like price point, you know, the Seiko used to like own not just as price point, but like that segment of like sporty enthusiast oriented watches. Yeah, but like cool. Yeah, they're like interesting and different and yeah, these have like a really cool texture to them. They're just not it's not your everyday sort of like field GMT watch like they they feel like they're really different and I feel like Seiko used to do fun stuff like this and doesn't anymore. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, no, I was I was wondering if citizen would make an appearance. I had a citizen in my like honorable mentions. So like, you know, we weren't going to like end this podcast without mentioning. I was going to say that that would have been an honorable mention for me also like their like women's piece. I think it's called like fire or something. Yeah, rectangular. Like people mistake that on me for like JLC or like a part day and stuff like all the time and it's also like a lot of cool stuff. Go drive like dress watch. Yeah, amazing. So like that would have been my big box brand honorable mention to Kat, you and I were too much on the same way. Excellent, excellent final pick. My final pick is also from a larger brand and also part of the citizen group. And this is a watch that I saw it wind up Dallas that I haven't been able to like get out of my head. This is the Boliva Stetson Bison watch. Have you guys seen this? Yeah. Yeah, this is interesting. This watch is sick. I would never get. Yeah, I like to like I remember like I saw this watch on like the last day of Dallas Yeah, wind up. And I like it's not that I was like avoiding like the Boliva tail. But yeah, you know, I just one of those brands like you had to just think you've seen everything, you know, and so like I didn't like make it a point to go over and just like pour over everything. But I did on the last day and I picked up this Boliva Stetson watch. And they have there are a few Boliva Stetson like collaborations that they came out with. I'm pretty sure these are 2026 releases. They were new to me in that 2026. So they're going on my list. Yeah. But this is a this is a watch with an engraved bison on the dial. Yeah, it's pretty simple. Like it's just like, you know, like relief engraved, you know, bison. It's like and it's just like really cool looking. And it's like it, you know, seem to be like relatively like high quality. It's it's a it's a you know, well under a thousand dollars. It's $850 retail. I'm looking at it on a website right now. It's on sale for $680. So yeah, it's just cool. We'll put links to it in the in the show notes and images of it. It's just like it's it's a lot of fun. It's an iconic, you know, Boliva's an Obstinned iconic American brand. It's host Stetson. I'm not a hat guy. But like, you know, I kind of like the idea of like having something that says Stetson on it and represents like the West. And I don't know. It's just it's very evocative. I enjoy this. I enjoy this watch quite a bit. I was like, I was genuinely a gerrympress by it. Like the quality of the engraving when I saw it at wine. I took a couple photos of it when I was there and I can, you know, put those in the in the show notes as well. But yeah, Boliva's Stetson Bison Automatic is my final. That's awesome. Yeah. Left field. I don't know. Okay, have you ever had a bison watch? Would you ever consider a bison watch? You know, it's interesting. So it's okay. It's just a flat. No, you know, that's fine. Yeah. So here, so when I was recently like on vacation in Maine, I like stumbled on like a Pendleton store and I was like, I want this to be my whole personal. I would love to just like, you know, again, like be a rich person with like multiple homes or something where you could like have your home, you know, out west or some, and like that's your whole personality. Yeah. When you go there. So like I can, I mean, even when you said you're not a half person, I was like, I think you might need to become one. Like, were you to get this what? Like, I'm like, yeah, I want you to fully commit like to the bit, you know, if you're gonna, if you're gonna go. So I understand the fantasy, like of let's make this my whole personality. Yeah. Yeah. That is, I mean, you've really, you've put a, you've nailed it right there. It really is kind of like leaning into like, like you become a different person a little bit when you, you know, put on the bison watch or wear the steps in or, you know, uh, yeah, it's like, it's like a leather jacket, you know, like you may mean like, maybe you don't even know how to ride a motorcycle, but like, you put that, you know, that jacket on and you feel like James Dean for, like, for a minute, and it's like, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a real thing. The power of stuff to transform you. Yeah. I was just thinking of like sunglasses and per soul and like the steam queens and you put those on, you're like, you instantly feel cooler when you're wearing them. Yeah. Yeah. And then you take them off and you go back to your normal, boring life. Exactly. Oh, well, are we gonna, are we gonna get to call out some of our honorable mentions? Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We, we, we got time. What have you, what have you, what have you got that didn't quite make the make? So I have, and, and both of these are just like, they're just over a thousand dollars, but they were really close. Um, one of them is the, uh, the Syracah reference 7505, which is like the smaller, like 37 millimeter that came out with this year, 1200 bucks, like just over a thousand, but I think is like a really strong contender if you have like a thousand dollar budget. And then this other one is same, like $1,200, but I'm sure you can get a discount on it. Um, and it's the Vennancianico. I'm gonna butcher the time watch name. It's like Narede, Narede. Yeah. I think it's Narede. Yeah. Yeah. The, the stone dials, they're all like $1,200, $1,300, but they have like an aventory in dial. They have, um, a, like an amicist, like purple dial, my mom actually owns that one. But I just like, I, I have seen these so many times and I'm always impressed with the quality of Fennancianico. And, um, they're just really cool. And I think like it would, it would, the time my list to recommend if you're looking for like a thousand dollar watch, especially a dot watch, yeah, to heal. Okay. Anything that you were thinking of that like didn't quite make the list or was like a little over a thousand or just anything else come, come to mind. I didn't, I, I mean, I shut myself down. Like I really did. I was really trying to stay committed to, to the three, to the three figures. Yeah. I got three assignment complete. We're, yeah. No, I hear you. Um, I, I just have a few. So we, we already, um, we already kind of talked about Hamilton a little bit, Hamilton came out with their, like an America 250 watch earlier this year, which is like, I don't know, the America 250 stuff is a little bit corny in my opinion, but like this is like a nice looking watch. And it's just, it's, you know, they're always going to make these, you know, khaki fields. They're, you know, they're rising a little bit in price, but they're still under a thousand dollars. This one is, this is seven 25. Um, I hope they remain under a thousand dollars for at least a few more years. We'll see. Yeah. You know, get, get a, get a money can, uh, folks for, for under a grand. Um, those are, those are just really solid watches. Take a rolling blazers. Um, was just released. That's a $500. I love to see those, you know, man. I mean, like, like, I hate, I hate that I love them. Actually, that's maybe the, like, I want to, at any time I see something, like, so hyped and it's like, people are freaking out. I'm like, but they are really good. Yeah. No, they're good. Like they, they, they, they hit on something. And again, this is like another one of those sort of like, you know, cosplay watches a little bit. Like it's like it kind of becomes your personality. Like, am I like the preppy rolling blazers person? Like not really, but like, you can be when you, um, you know, when you, when you put this, this watch on, um, you know, just a note, say, go five sports, you know, 500 bucks, it feels like that's an affordable watch. Check the prices. Check, check what these watches were like three or four years ago. Like, they've like doubled in prices. Yeah. Like, that's, you know, if they're just kind of like the state of things, you know, right now. And, uh, you know, I still think that, you know, just because it's like, it's gone up in price doesn't mean it's like an unfair price. So we think about these things from like, you know, let's get to touch a little bit from like the, the, you know, the financial, you know, aspect like, is this watch okay at 500? Like I still think it is. Like we haven't and got into that point where it's like, it absurd ask. So. So yeah, Sega growing Blazers worth calling out. That's about it for me. And if anything else, we've touched on. So I don't know guys, you think that like we've shown that there's like good stuff out there for under a thousand. I think we have. I think we've like got a broad. - Yeah, really? I feel like we covered a lot of the categories too with all of our picks. I'm glad that most of ours are like pretty different from each other. - Yeah. - And I learned like Keat, I learned about two watch brands. I didn't know existed, so that's pretty cool. - Yeah. - Only one watch with a bison on it. - Yeah, we've got a picture shot. (laughing) - It's true. - All right guys, thank you for participating in this exercise. And I think we've, I do think we've shown that there's like, you know, watches out there, but are like accessible, fun, genuinely affordable under a thousand dollars. If you disagree, let us know in the comments. Like you can feel free to yell at us and tell us where we're out base. That's fine. I asked you guys to prepare some, some, some cultural recommendations as we try to do on most of our podcast episodes. Keat, what have you got for a cultural wreck? - So I was thinking about this the entire time 'cause I was between a couple different picks, but I'm gonna go with a movie that I just watched two nights ago called The Drama. And I know you've seen this 'cause Ann. - Pretty cool. - This has Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in it. And well, what a wild ride that many of us. (laughing) I didn't know whether to laugh or to be shocked. My jaw was pretty much on the floor most of this movie. I don't even know what category. It feels like a comedy, but also feels like a drama. I thriller in some aspects, but it was truly a wild experience to watch this film. Keat, I don't know, have you seen this movie yet? - No, have not. - Yeah, have you heard much about it? - I mean, I can vaguely picture the front of the movie. - Yeah, so they're both this loving couple, they're engaged and we see them days and preparation of their wedding day. And I don't wanna spoil anything, but over dinner with friends, they start sharing some things that they've done in their past. And some things get uncovered that are pretty shocking. - Yeah, this is like, so I saw this movie in the theater and I had heard that there's a reveal, there's a twist early in the movie. And it truly is one of those things where you do not wanna know what's coming. So we should kind of stop talking about it. - Yeah, I won't say anymore. - I won't say anymore. - It is, yeah, it's one of my favorite movies of the year. It's really, I think it is funny. It's genuinely very funny and also a little bit unsettling, but it's a really good, dark comedy. I was a pretty big fan of it. Yeah, to drama, good pick. It's streaming now. I think a lot of people are gonna be watching it and maybe talking about that twist. So this is your signal to get in there and check it out before it gets spoiled. 'Cause it's pretty effective when you don't know what's coming. Kate, what have you got? So I also came with a film recommendation or just film thoughts that are maybe kind of weird. So I was like recently rewatching one of my favorite childhood films, My Girl. And I was like, the child acting in this is just like so amazing. So again, gonna sound kind of weird, but I like then was kind of going on a dive of trying to find like exceptional movies where like the children were kind of the main characters. Which led me this past weekend to watch the Florida project for the first time. And yeah, I mean, to kind of depressing movie, like not super uplifting, but like centers around like young girl, I don't know, she's maybe like eight years old or something like that and like her two best friends and just so much of the like nonverbal, you know, it's like there would be like colds, like scenes of them just like playing that felt like very authentic and stuff. So I've just been in touch with my child self and like marveling at the portrayals of like young actors and who also too, like knowing, you know, the two main actors in My Girl, like what they've gone on to do, like I think it's interesting to also look at like, I know the Florida project was from like a few years ago, but to think like, okay, like could that, could that young girl like turn out to be someone one day? So yeah, those are my film thoughts. - Those kid movies from like the 80s and the 90s, like they're so good. Like I can watch them today and I don't feel like they're outdated. The kids don't annoy me the way like kids do in movies now. And yeah, there were some like some pretty good actors, you know, back in the day. Which they probably tortured these kids probably, but they're really good on them. - Look how we call him getting stung by those bees over and over again. My God, that must have been like very, very painful. - Whoa, I'm very, very, very, very, very painful. - Yeah, so it's more like 30-year-old movie. - Oh yeah, I think. - My girl is like, that is a traumatizing movie. - It is. - When you see that as a kid, it is, man. Like a wonderful movie. - I wanted to be Veda Sultan. It's like she was like my, like I don't, like legitimately like I force my mom to try to go out and like buy clothes that look like hers and like, - Huh? - She was like, she was a writer, you know, she was like writing her feelings. So that was kind of more, I think, played out the second film. But, you know, I like, I mean, I like idolized her completely even though it was a very depressing and traumatic film. - So. - It's one of those, like, I kind of like iconic, like coming of age movies, you know, from our, from my childhood, like certainly. Yeah, really good, really good, really good pick. And good thought. Yeah, the childhood actor thing is like so tough. Like, it's like, the floor project's also like a very good movie directed by Sean Baker, who made Anora later and won a bunch of Oscars for it. I think the floor of the project's actually like a better movie than Anora. Yeah, so it's so tough to like get a great performance out of a kid, you know, and when they nail it, it's like, it's pretty, pretty special. So, I do not have a movie recommendation. - What? - This week, I know, I'm like, going against that. I just want to shout out, Mark Cho does an ideal watch size survey. Not quite every year, but he's done it at least like two or three times in the past. It's in progress now. It ends on, I believe, Saturday night, as we record this, he's still got like, you know, three, four days to complete. That's what we leave a link for in the show notes. Mark Cho, you know, the friend of ours, the prior tour of the Armory Notable Watch Collector, of course, and Watch Enthusiast has his own watch brand now. But he's done this survey in the past where he asks people to kind of like talk about their ideal watch size based on their own wrist size. And it always offers a lot of like really interesting insights into, you know, like trends and watch sizing on our own perceptions of what is large and what is small and what is normal. So, yeah, we're doing obviously, you know, good to have like a larger sample size for something like this. And, you know, that really benefits the community, I think, to have, you know, like, you know, results from this survey out there. It always generates a lot of conversation. And, you know, brands can access it and use it and, you know, kind of get a sense of what people are looking for in a watch size. So, anyway, yeah, we'll leave the link to that in the show notes. Yeah. Kat, Kate, thank you again for coming on the pod. I always appreciate it. Really good discussion, as always. And thank you to everyone at home for listening and for tuning into another episode of the Warm-A-Wound Podcast. We will be back next week with another episode. Until then, take care. [ Music ] [ Silence ]