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9 of the best digital watches from $20 to $5,000

9 of the best digital watches from $20 to $5,000

Buffy Acacia

Most watch lovers romanticise analogue clocks wherever possible, as they tie our relationship with time all the way back to the ancient use of sundials. However, as soon as digital displays and jump-hour complications popped up, people recognised their ability to be exactly accurate and easily read. On almost every screen imaginable, digital clocks appear everywhere in our modern world. If you’re looking to get one on your wrist, then here are the best digital watches at a variety of price points (although this list does skew more affordable). And to be clear, we’re only talking quartz-powered LED or LCD displays here. Anyway, let’s dig into these digital darlings!

Casio F-91W

Casio F91W 1

Indisputably the best-selling wristwatch of all time with around 3 million units manufactured yearly, the Casio F-91W has remained virtually unchanged since 1989. At 35mm, the resin case is packed with as much charm as functionality. A daily alarm, calendar, backlight, chronograph, and a seven-year battery life make this a handy watch as well as a timeless classic. It more than deserves to be mentioned first on this list, and not just because it’s also one of the most affordable watches you can buy with any confidence that it will survive for many years to come. If Casio is the king of digital watchmaking, then the F-91W is the throne upon which it sits. Price: US$22.95

Timex Ironman Classic 30

Timex Ironman Classic 30 Black

Seeking to find a response to the indestructible nature and appeak of Casio’s G-Shocks, Timex hit upon its own take on a high-impact sports watch in the mid-1980s. Marketed towards endurance athletes, the Timex Ironman was the perfect companion for tracking timing during a sporting event (or beyond). It also served as a platform for the birth of Indiglo, Timex’s light-up function which made the whole dial perfectly legible in any conditions. The modern Ironman Classic 30 is one of Timex’s best overall sellers, enjoying large numerals that are easy to read at multiple angles, an ergonomic case shape, and various timing and alarm complications. Price: US$63

G-Shock DW-5600UE-1

Casio G SHOCK DW 5600UE 1

The inclusion of a G-Shock may count as a second entrant for Casio, but it’s impossible to ignore this watch in the grand scheme of the best digital watches. Cemented as a legend ever since its release in 1983, the square Casio G-Shock is the quintessential durable watch. Short of taking a hammer and nail to it, you’d have a hard time breaking one. The modern-day DW-5600UE-1 is about as close as you can get to the original, preserving the octagonal shape, the ridged shoulders, the protected pushers, and the easily legible black numeral dial. Small pops of colour around the newly-updated LED screen’s frame inject it with a bit of fun, and the full resin case and bracelet ensure lightweight practicality. Price: US$74.95

Nixon Staple

Nixon Staple

Nixon doesn’t get much appreciation from watch enthusiasts, however, the Staple is a watch filled with genuine ingenuity. The squared-off case has a slight Cartier Santos presence, but it’s made from #tide recycled ocean plastic for a lightweight and eco-conscious result. The negative LCD screen is easy on the eyes with bold numerals, but its most interesting feature is the customisable dual display. That means the time can always stay easily legible while you choose which of the varied functions you’d like to use, ready to go at any time. It’s also swimmable with 100 metres of water resistance. Price: US$125

Tissot PRX Digital

Tissot PRX digital

The Tissot PRX has played a strong part in heightening the world’s obsession with integrated bracelets ever since it laucnhed in 2021, and its popularity has shown no signs of slowing down in the following years. With plenty of vintage references ready to be reissued, retro Tissot catalogues have been a wonderful source of design inspiration. The Tissot PRX Digital was inspired by the Tissot Quartz Digital from 1977, although its tonneau case has been adapted into a circular one. If anything, the new PRX Digital is quite reminiscent of the 1974 Casiotron, Casio’s first wristwatch. It features dual time zones, a day/date display, as well as a chronograph, counting timer, and alarms. It’s available in 35mm and 40mm sizes, so it can suit all sorts of wrists. Price: US$375 (steel), US$450 (PVD gold), from the Time+Tide Shop

Bulova Computron

bulova computron on wrist

The wedge or casket style LED watch has become a retroactive archetype of 1970s watchmaking, and one that is incredibly cheesy in the best way possible. The Bulova Computron originally launched in 1976, four years after Pulsar debuted digital LED watch technology, and its radiator-like texture is so wonderfully retro alongside its bright gold plating. The gold PVD reference was technically a ‘limited’ edition, but there are still plenty available for sale, and often at a large discount. The mix of glossy gold and red LEDs makes for a compelling watch, even if you do have to press a button to bring up the time. It even has a coin slot in the battery hatch on the caseback, making it even more user-friendly. Price: US$395

Autodromo Group C

Autodromo Group C Blue Cerakote

This Autodromo may look like a watch you’d have begged your parents for in the ‘80s, but that’s the point. The Group C was made for those who drooled over posters of the Sauber C9 or Porsche 962 on their walls growing up, and is named after Group C endurance racing. Where it differs from those bright and fun plastic watches is the build quality, because the colours have been achieved through Cerakote coatings on stainless steel. Put together with simplicity and accessibility in mind, the 36mm grants it that childhood quality without disappearing on an adult wrist. The LCD module is clear and nostalgic, but the FKM rubber strap is far more comfortable than the tough resin you’d remember from the ‘80s. Price: US$475

Hamilton PSR

Hamilton PSR

Finally released to the public in 1972 after a variety of prototypes, the Pulsar was the first LED wristwatch to go on sale en masse. It was such a luxury that even James Bond flaunted one in 1973’s Live and Let Die, as did President Gerald Ford during his time in office. But LED displays rapidly became more affordable and replaced by LCD screens, so the Pulsar eventually became little more than a collectible curiosity. That was until Hamilton (the owner of the Pulsar brand between 1970 and 1978, which is now owned by Seiko) decided to reissue the watch, manufactured once more to luxury standards. It’s even 100m water resistant, and the quality of the stainless steel bracelet is phenomenal. There’s also a new PSR 74 version should you want a smaller case and a more eccentric bracelet. Price: US$795, from the Time+Tide Shop

Girard-Perregaux Casquette 2.0

Girard Perregaux Casquette 2 0

Jumping up a bit in terms of pricing here: the PSR may be a luxurious take on an affordable technology, but the Girard-Perregaux Casquette 2.0 takes it so much further. The first Casquette was only made between 1976 and 1978 and has become highly collectible within its niche. In 2022, Girard-Perregaux decided to reissue the watch as the Casquette 2.0 in collaboration with French luxury fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, with the initial reissues using black ceramic in place of the matte black Makrolon polycarbonate that some of those ‘70s references used – making the Casquette 2.0 more scratch-resistant and establishing it in a luxury category. The latest limited edition of just 840 pieces was released in October 2024 in gleaming, lightweight titanium with a yellow gold badge and pushers. What’s most impressive is the calibre GP3980, which is a true recreation of the original when a more affordable alternative could easily have been found. Supposedly, this will be the last Casquette produced for the foreseeable future. Price: US$4,960

Time+Tide Timeless Pick: Synchronar 2100

The Synchronar 2100 in a 1974 advert Image courtesy of Grail Watch
The Synchronar 2100 in a 1974 advert. Image courtesy of Grail Watch.

There are so many cool and fascinating digital watches from the ‘70s and ‘80s, all with their own stories. Seiko, while not producing any purely digital watches for the last few years, was a prolific manufacturer and I highly encourage any reader to browse some older models. However, our Timeless Pick can’t be anything other than the Synchronar 2100. Hand-assembled by its designer, the self-taught engineer Roger W. Riehl, the Synchronar 2100 came about in 1972 shortly after the release of the Pulsar. It happened to be the world’s first solar-powered wristwatch, too, using a small LED display and two large solar panels on the top of its case. It even included a perpetual calendar accurate to the year 2100. Later iterations of Riehl’s ‘Sunwatch’ were sold in partnership with American electronics company Ragen from 1974, and all versions are coveted by collectors of obscure digital watch technology. They very rarely pop up on auction sites like eBay occasionally, and typically sell for under US$1,000.