The 10 Toughest Watch Brands On The Planet | Great Picks For Every Budget
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Over the last six years of covering wristwatches, I’ve encountered a wide range of pretty unique timepieces. Some fantastic, and others...well, not so much.
Here’s a list of the most durable brands I’ve come across; for those of you after a hardy watch that can take a licking and keep on ticking. At the end of this post, I’ll also reveal some watches that seem to be good on paper, that you should actually avoid at all costs.
Now, some of these you may have seen before, but arguably, the best options are from little-known companies, so stay tuned!
I’ll work my way from the lower-cost brands to the more expensive ones as we go on.
Casio G-Shock
Where else to start but Casio? They’ve built up an astonishing fan base since the launch of their first digital watch back in 1974. Of course, when it comes to durability, their legendary G-Shock line is the first that comes to mind. Launched in 1983, this series utilizes a proprietary internal cushioning system, allowing the watches to survive extreme impacts by redirecting the force away from the internal module.
Credit: Casio G-Shock
While there’s a huge assortment of models to pick from, all of which boast huge water resistance, the DW-5600 is closest to the original G-Shock and has two key advantages. I think it’s one of the best-looking options, and it’s also slightly more compact than some of the newer G-Shock designs, which can get enormous. Of course, these watches are still pretty big, so while they are near-indestructible, they’re also best reserved for larger arms.
The DW-5600 is very well priced considering its performance, but consider splashing out the extra for the near-identical GW-M5610, which packs in solar charging and can receive radio waves via multi-band 6 to maintain perfect accuracy.
If you want to save some money, the DW-290 is a lower-cost non-G-Shock model that packs in many of the same functions. This one was worn by Tom Cruise in the first Mission Impossible movie, and while not designed for the same extremes as the record-breaking G-Shock watches, it’s still overkill for any day-to-day task.
If those are both too chunky for your needs, Casio does make many smaller watches, the most infamous of these being the F-91W. A timepiece known for adorning the wrists of both heroes and villains, it’s probably the most popular wristwatch of all time. Chances are your dad has worn one of these at some point. It’s compact, robust, and very, very cheap. It’s a solid choice; however, in modern times, there’s a better option, the W-86.
The W-86 looks fairly similar on the surface and is similarly sized, but it’s got enhanced water resistance, a tremendously improved night light, and a marginally nicer strap with ventilation holes. It’s the best tiny digital watch at the time of publishing, and is usually not a great deal more expensive than the F-91.
Other notable Casio watches are their dive watches. As you can probably guess, dive watches are designed to withstand extreme water pressure, making them an inherently good choice for those after a watch they can punish.
The most popular from Casio is the Duro. This piece, codenamed either MDV-106 or MDV-107, depending on which you purchase, is widely considered the best low-cost dive watch, due to it’s impressive build quality and 200m water resistance rating. It’s got a steel case, a fully ratcheting bezel, and a screw-down crown, to shield it from the elements. It also looks much more expensive, which never hurts.
The Duro is a little unwieldy for smaller arms and is more expensive outside the US, so it may also be worth watching for the comparably performing MTD-1053D. This diver matches the Duro in terms of construction and water resistance and is smaller, all while costing a chunk less. The main downside with this model is the tinny-feeling bezel and divisive visuals, which won’t be to everyone’s taste.
Armitron
A brand in a similar price bracket as Casio is Armitron. This American company has been around since 1975, and while many of their pieces are made in China, just like most Casios, some have them beaten in terms of materials. That’s definitely the case with the Rubik and Rogue, two of their digital models. While akin to some of the retro plastic Casios, these are actually made of stainless steel, despite the competitive price tag.
Left to Right: Armitron Rogue and Armitron Rubik
They’ve got good water resistance too, with the main pitfall being the stock bracelets, which suck almost as bad as the silver Casios. So long as you factor in the cost of a third-party strap, these are excellent full-metal choices that are far less likely to scratch.
Lorus
While digitals are the go-to for modern military personnel, old-school field watches are still a reliable choice for those who prefer an analog experience.
While I’ve reviewed dozens over the years, I keep returning to the same two Lorus watches. Lorus is a subsidiary of Seiko, which makes Seiko-powered watches for a lot less money. There are two incredible options here, both of which have horrendously long codenames. The first is a wafer-thin steel watch on a nylon band (RJ655AX9), which has an incredible LumiBrite dial whose low-light performance is unparalleled for the money. Alternatively, there’s a fully titanium one, which drops the LumiBrite in favor of improved looks, and a beautifully light case that you’ll forget is even there. Considering these are often purchasable for close to the same price as the plastic Casios, their 100m water resistance is even more astounding; just don’t forget to keep the crown compressed!
Bertucci
While the Lorus watches are fairly good at dodging impacts, due to their tiny proportions, American brand Bertucci has a range of watches that are essentially designed to take a beating.
These quirky-looking field watches come in a variety of case materials and feature raised bezels, to protect the edges of the glass, as well as completely solid bars in place of standard spring bars. This does limit you to pass-through only straps, but it also removes a common point of failure, ensuring that your watch doesn’t accidentally end up falling off and going through your lawn mower.
Bertucci watches come in multiple sizes and are readily available on sites like Amazon.
Kore Essentials
Now, we start to move into some of the slightly higher-end, cleverer stuff.
First up is Kore Essentials. Now, you may have heard of this brand from their ratcheting belts, which many YouTubers have covered before. Their ingenious system massively reduces the wear on your belt, as it doesn’t even require holes. What does that have to do with watches then? Well, Kore Essentials made a watch, as well as a watch strap.
Now, the watch isn’t anything out of this world. In fact, there are currently two models (Eclipse and Excursion). They’re both blacked-out Swiss quartz watches that are a little too expensive. That said, there are two reasons I had to include them here. Firstly, they both have a black PVD coating, which held up surprisingly well in my scratch-test video, and secondly, they ship with micro-adjustable bands that have a slide-rail system just like their belts. It’s very secure, and you can get the perfect fit very quickly. While it may not be a must-purchase at the moment, they are worth bearing in mind.
Citizen
Citizen is a much larger Japanese company with a huge range of pieces to pick from. While their Super Titanium watches are a frequent recommendation in online forums, I’d be cautious for reasons I’ll mention later. The Promaster range is a more consistent choice, with some fan-favorite pieces like the NY0040, which has been on sale for over 30 years thanks to its sturdy bezel and aquatic mastery. You can grab this one in a variety of colors, and while this one is powered by an automatic movement, others in the range offer the more reliable Eco-drive solar quartz instead.
In fact, some Promaster variants go all-in when it comes to functionality, with extreme pressure-resistant construction. If you want to feel like you’ve got a tough hunk of steel on your wrist, that may be the way to go.
RZE Resolute V2
Singaporean microbrand RZE also targets maximum performance but in a completely different guise. You see, like the Lorus I mentioned earlier, their Resolute V2 is constructed of titanium, meaning it’s incredibly lightweight; only, this time, it’s been treated with their in-house UltraHex coating to significantly improve its scratch resistance capabilities. Now, ‘UltraHex’ may sound like a superhero name, but the performance improvement is very much real. In our recent watch case scratch test video, this was comfortably the best performer out of all the titanium-based watches we tested, with performance that surpassed many hardened steel watches. It completely trounced Citizen’s Super Titanium and only finished behind a full ceramic watch; tying with a far more expensive Sinn.
Whatever they’ve put in that coating, it works and the great thing is, it doesn’t spoil the look of the watch either. In fact, the Resolute V2 is way better looking than its predecessor, with a beautiful textured dial and a slim case that’s extra sleek on the wrist.
I’d highly recommend giving this little-known brand a try.
Formex
Another brand advancing the watchmaking game is Swiss company Formex. I wanted to share this brand with you primarily because of the clever engineering used in their watches and straps since 1999. Some of their dress models use a suspension system that uses springs between the upper and lower parts of the case, allowing the bezel and crown to move freely up and down. The result is a more comfortable, flexible fit that’s simultaneously more impact-resistant.
In a similar manner, the Formex field watch I reviewed had a special clasp that allowed fine tinkering to an even greater degree than the Kore strap I mentioned earlier. You don’t even have to take off the watch to operate it, and this clasp will boost the longevity of your band.
Vario 1918 Trench
I couldn’t make the list of most durable watches without one particular piece from Vario. They are a small family-run brand based in Singapore, and they make what I can only describe as the most committed military watches I’ve encountered. While they do make some attractive Second World War-themed watches, their First World War-inspired 1918 Trench is next level. It’s got a tough bund strap, an incredibly legible Art Deco dial, fixed lugs rather than springbars, as well as all the top-tier materials like steel and sapphire crystal.
But, let’s be honest, many watches have a similar spec sheet, and some even have a comparable retro vibe; why is this one so special? Well, no other watch I’ve encountered is compatible with one of these. This optional extra is a WW1-era shrapnel protector, which you can attach to the top of the 1918 Trench to reinforce it even further. It certainly is quite the look, but if you love military history and want an added layer of protection, I can’t think of a more apt recommendation. That, and the watch underneath, is just gorgeous, isn’t it?!
Erebus
What do you do if you can’t find a watch that’s good enough? You make your own. That was the logic behind the ‘Erebus’ brand created by the YouTuber Just One More Watch. He’s another reviewer like me and was tired of the big brands delivering mediocre performance.
Now, I didn’t love the look of his first watch, the Origin. It’s a very safe diver design that doesn’t resonate much with me. That said, one thing I can’t deny is the build quality. Every aspect of the construction is top-tier, from the well-made super-adjustable bracelet to the highly legible dial and the perfectly precise bezel; it does punch well above its price in those departments. It also has the best luminescence I’ve seen on any watch, with a blue glow that embarrasses all of the big brands.
In the hands, it’s among the most solid-feeling watches I’ve tried, outclassing the likes of Seiko and Citizen. If you don’t mind the visuals, it’s definitely worth a punt.
Watches to Avoid
Now, some watches are definitely not worth a punt if you’re after long-term performance.
BiDen
The first are certain sub-$50 Chinese watches, including those from the brand BiDen. Yes, that is a real watch brand. In fact, it’s usually among the best sellers on Amazon, so lots of people are clearly buying them. You’ll see these same designs produced under other brand names, too, but in reality, they’re all identical and made in the same factory.
On the surface and despite the dodgy branding, these watches seem like a great deal, with high on-paper specifications that match watches at double or triple the cost. For people like you and me who care about performance, that is very alluring. Unfortunately, the listed specifications can’t be trusted, and they don’t tell the whole story. The BiDen watch I reviewed, for instance, claimed to be stainless steel, and the seller even stated it used ‘IP plating,’ however the watch was actually constructed of an inferior alloy that scratched way more easily. The movement also sucked, and the whole thing felt incredibly crude.
Fossil Group (except Zodiac)
Another poorly made watch brand is Fossil. Now Fossil may be a respected leather brand, and their Swiss sub-brand Zodiac is reportedly pretty decent. However, the mainline Fossil watches and those produced for their other subsidiaries are nothing short of junk these days. I’ve tried almost all of them, and they’ve repeatedly shocked me with how terrible they are for the money, with awful quality control, barebones materials, lazy case finishing, and most surprisingly, awful quality leather straps, which you wouldn’t expect from a leather company.
Years ago, they may have been decent, but as I discovered in their recent annual reports and investor presentations, the Fossil Group has been aggressively cost-cutting their products for several years, so this harsh dip in quality is unsurprising. I can’t speak to their smartwatches, as I haven’t tried them.
Fashion watches
In a similar vein, most aggressively marketed fashion watch companies are to be avoided at all costs. If you see the phrases ‘affordable luxury’ or ‘cutting out the middleman,’ run for the hills, as the likelihood of getting a durable timepiece is as high as my chances of making it as a hair model.
Examples I’ve reviewed include Filippo Loreti, MVMT, Valuchi, Vincero, and Daniel Wellington.
Be Careful with Casio
Surprisingly, though, it’s not just upstart brands that you need to be careful with. Indeed, if you care about quality, it’s worth exercising caution when shopping for both Casio and Citizen. While both make good watches overall, their product lineups have some quirks you should look out for.
With Casio, you probably already know that many of their cheapest silver watches are made of plastic. What you probably didn’t know is that a lot of their budget metal watches aren’t actually using the industry standard stainless steel. Instead, they often use cheaper alloys and chrome-plated brass, which look the same but will corrode much more quickly. Just because it’s Casio, it doesn’t mean durability is a given. They also made a smaller version of the Duro I mentioned earlier, which you’d think would be a sure bet, however, they butchered it with a quarter of the water resistance and massively reduced build quality.
Be Careful with Citizen
Earlier, I also mentioned Citizen’s Super Titanium. The reason I bring it up here is that the product messaging around this special coating is incredibly vague and very misleading for consumers. On the Citizen website, it says that Super Titanium is “5x harder than stainless steel” with no asterisk.
Yet, in our scratch test video, our Super Titanium branded Citizen performed worse than stainless steel and no better than an untreated titanium watch; ironically, the cheap Lorus I mentioned earlier. It turns out that there are actually various types of Super Titanium, with massively varying levels of scratch resistance between them; apparently, the highest-end Duratect Super Titanium watches are awesome in terms of scratch resistance. Nevertheless, Citizen doesn’t easily differentiate these coatings on their website, with them all listed simply as ‘Super Titanium’ and grouped into the same section. There’s no easily accessible documentation or straightforward way to tell them apart from online listings, which is silly and manipulative.