The wonderful counter to rising prices at the very top end of the watch world is that, frankly, things have never looked better for those seeking proper mechanical watches on a budget. Entry-level timepieces keep getting better and cheaper—and this isn't just from newly established microbrands hoping to make a name for themselves, but from the major players, too.

Recently, I was asked to pick a couple of wallet-friendly watches for WIRED's Gear newsletter, and it sent me down a glorious rabbit hole where I was genuinely surprised by superb timepieces well below what WIRED has previously set for affordable watches (the sub-$1,000 bracket). Far from dropping three figures on a decent automatic, you can now get almost anything you desire from a watch for far less than $500.

To check my math and make sure I wasn't going slightly crazy, I reached out to WIRED's wider circle of watch experts with a devilishly tricky, unenviable challenge: Pick their favorite mechanical watch for less than $400, the sort of price where quartz watches dominate. It was a hard ask, but they delivered. Here's the list—all are exceptional value, and watches we'd be delighted to sport on our wrists.

Caravelle has no right to make a mechanical dive watch this attractive and capable for a mere $300 , but here it is. The secret to its timeless look is that Bulova's budget brand sensibly fashioned this modern Sea Hunter heavily on the diver's design from the late 1960s, while bumping the size up to a more modern 39 mm.

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