Reddit reviews SEIKO Mechanical 5 Sports Automatic Mens Watch SARG005

While you could argue that it's not technically a field watch, I love my Seiko SARG005 and at about $300 it's a hell of a deal. Somewhat different look that the Khaki Field, but thought I'd throw it out there.

You might also check out the outdoor series from Archimede.

There's always the SARG005

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00G9XRY92/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1464183789&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=seiko+sarg005&dpPl=1&dpID=51hvW9sNsAL&ref=plSrch

Overall, Rolex Milgauss with the green crystal. Between the high polish case, the near glowing edge of the crystal, and the contrast colored dial (and that second hand!) nothing beats it for me.

Under $1200, I have a few. The SARG005 that I daily is pretty hard to beat in my book, even at under $400.
In the same price category, I've been looking for a dive watch, and a few keep bouncing around in my head. I think the Christopher Ward C60 with a red bezel tops my list here overall under $1200. I think my budget is going to have me go with my runner up to that, a Tissot Seastar 1000 Powermatic 80.

Lastly, under $200, I think the Orient Ray II is as good looking as you can get for the money.

I just picked up the SARG005 Automatic from Seiko. It's rugged, yet presentable. Tanner Goods makes an awesome Natural Shell Cordovan Nato Watch Strap, and it looks incredible with the watch.

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SARG007

SARG005

SARG011

SARG001

SARG003

SNX123 if you can find one.

That Certina is powered by an ETA 2824-2. Now, this is definitely the wrong forum to go against anything Seiko-related, so I'll simply say that the Seiko movement most comparable to the 2824-2 in terms of quality and reliability is the 6R15, which is found in some very popular models.

Depending on when your birthday is (or if you're willing to wait a bit past it) the Certina DS-2 is probably the best watch you can get in that price range (once it's released). It's TC quartz, accuracy rated to within 10 seconds per year. The Chronograph DS-2 has been very well received on WUS.

The Bulova Precisionist Langford is another option, it's also rated to within 10 seconds per year, but is non TC, and sometimes runs a little out of spec (with 20 seconds). The hand beats 16 times per second, so it has the appearance of moving smoothly.

Both of these will deliver on quality timekeeping. If you get anything else in that price range except a Casio RC (which doesn't have the look you want at that price range), it won't keep time nearly as well. This will either be a regular quartz watch which keeps time to within 15 seconds per month (~1/10th as accurate), or a mechanical watch, which at that price point will keep time to within 20-40 seconds per day (~1/1400th as accurate).

When you're talking about mechanical watches, quality takes on a bit of a different meaning, because the accurate timekeeping ship has sailed since we got quartz watches. There quality would be best measured by how long it can go without servicing (both the Certina and Bulova will at a minimum need their batteries replaced every few years), and in that regard a Seiko with a 6R15 movement, such as the SARG005 (unfortunately, Seiko doesn't name their watches well at the mid range) would be one of the best options at that price point. The 6R15 is a newer movement based on the 7S26 (which has a very good track record for keeping on ticking after a long time without maintenance). You will have to set the time every few days though to keep it accurate to the minute.