How to buy a watch, part 2: How much should I pay for a wristwatch?

Only you can answer this question. I have only one guideline:

Do not pay less than $12 for a new wristwatch.

Why that amount? Because that's what a Casio F-91W costs at Walmart.

Believe it or not, Casio F-91Ws are widely counterfeited. If you pay much less than $12, you're probably buying a fake.



The F-91W is the UBW (Universal Basic Watch). It's comfortable, legible, accurate, unobtrusive, has an alarm, chronograph, and light. And right now it's actually pretty hip: the anti-Apple-Watch, the anti-status-watch.

Here's a guy who knows what time it is

Casio has a lot of decent watches for under $50. Ponder this $40 A168WG on Idris Elba. (I've seen pictures of him wearing a different watch, a gold Rolex Day-Date.)

Sure, Idris Elba is well off, but he's not as rich as, say, Bill Gates.

Next: Why pay more?