8 Great Watches under $8,000 from Watches & Wonders 2025

After replacing her heating system, Carol Besler has been considering all the other thingsshe could have had for $8,000, which naturally led to thoughts about all the nice watches she could have had for around that price. Here are a few that stand out.

Since then, I’ve been watching for them, and although it’s a challenging price point for a luxury watch, I’ve come up with a few contenders that offer real value for the money.

Why I Bought It: a Bulova like Mobster Bugsy Siegel

Watch collector Quentin R. Bufogle was determined to add a piece to his collection harking back to those dust-strewn days of early Las Vegas, a time when the occasional tumbleweed still ambled along what would one day become the famous Las Vegas Strip. And he found it in a 1946 Bulova Aviator B. Here’s how and why.

Why I Bought It: Konstantin Chaykin Joker

When GaryG encountered Konstantin Chaykin’s Joker, whose “face” is literally just that with two googly eyes showing the hours and minutes with their respective pupils and a lolling red tongue displaying the phase of the moon, he was transfixed. And moments later he placed an order.

New Sartory-Billard SB04-E: an Eye-Catching High Quality watch from an Independent is More Affordable than You Think

The Sartory-Billard SB04-E offers many of the traditional benefits of the indie buying experience, including exclusivity, a unique vision, and the pleasure of knowing your watchmaker. At well under €5,000, these editions are proof that you don’t need an F.P. Journe budget to buy independent.

Own a Piece of Watch History for Under $200: The Swatch Sistem51

The Swatch Sistem51 has been around since Baselworld 2013, and has received a lot of positive and negative coverage. However, removing the noise, the Sistem51 remains a great technical achievement and will go down as a defining historical model. It’s not perfect, but for any watch lover, it is still worth considering.

New Release: M.A.D.EDITIONS M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud with Bi-Directional Jumping Hours- Is Max Büsser creating an Affordable Opus series?

If the M.A.D.1 broke the rules, the M.A.D.2 spins a different story. Born from the mind of Eric Giroud – designer, rebel, and longtime MB&F Friend – this timepiece is a love letter to the wild, electrifying spirit of 1990s club culture.

Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch Owner Review: The Good, The Bad, The Complicated

The Omega x Swatch Speedmaster MoonWatch was one of the biggest product launches of the decade. Raman Kalra eventually managed to get his hands on one and shares his thoughts here.

Diving with the Ball Watch Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer

When Ball Watch asked Dietmar Fuchs to test dive one of the company’s newest watches, the Engineer Master II Diver Chronometer, he hesitated at first. Ball didn’t jingle a diving bell for him, but something else from its history jangled: a brand’s “history” section is always the first thing he checks before testing a watch and he discovered Ball Watch has the credentials. So he dove in and now shares his experience and thoughts on the watch here.

Grone Oldenzaal: a New More Affordable Brand by Bart and Tim Gronefeld Launches with the Manueel One ‘Sjef’s One’

Tim and Bart Gronefeld have quietly launch a new brand of more affordable watches than those in their Gronefeld collection. The new brand is called Grone Oldenzaal and the launch model is called the Manueel One ‘Sjef’s One’.

Ball Watch Roadmaster M Model A: Innovative Alarm, GMT, and Lights Up Bright at Night

Ball Watch have stepped up their game with an innovative mechanical alarm watch with second time zone and a manufacture automatic movement plus their trademark super bright tritium tubes that light up the night. This is no chirping cricket!