Once you buy your first watch, you are either responsible enough to make it your daily companion, or you get caught up in the spiral of collecting. However, when you start collecting, it is often difficult as a beginner to give this collection a real meaning to give it real versatility, while keeping a reasonable budget.
Indeed, you should always keep in mind that a collection is something personal, must be homogeneous and must reflect the very special connection you have with watchmaking. If you are just starting out, or you feel lost, don't worry, this article is for you. We will focus on three watch ranges that allow you to start a collection on a relatively affordable budget.
Japanese and Seiko hegemony in the entry-level market
There is a fact that can be difficult to swallow for our Swiss neighbors: when you start collecting watches, Japanese brands often serve as an unrivaled gateway due to the excellent quality-price ratio of the watches offered. Indeed, Japanese watchmakers have and still know how to offer excellent quality timepieces for a reasonable price.
The first of these and probably the best known in Europe is Seiko with its Seiko 5 range . Launched in 1963, the watchmakers from the land of the rising sun have one goal: to offer watches with a contemporary design that combine quality and style for the younger generations. The number 5 is also very meaningful, because it refers to 5 aspects that each watch in the range must have: an automatic movement, a day-date window, a certain level of water resistance, the presence of a crown at 4 o'clock, and the choice of a resistant and durable case and bracelet.
This branch which started with the Seiko sport Magic 5 range is a real success and attracted many young people looking for a quality watch with a modern aesthetic. In 2019, Seiko relaunched the machine with the release of the "5 Sport" range inspired in particular by the divers of the time which made the success of the brand and it was a great success.
A calculator maker becomes the largest seller of LCD watches: Casio.
Another Japanese brand that we think is necessary when you start a collection is the Casio brand. Founded in 1946, Kashio Seisakujo, its first name, offered components for microscopes and gearboxes. A true monster in product development, Casio made itself known throughout the world with the development of compact electric calculators in 1949.
However, it was not until 1974 that the first Casio watches appeared. As an anecdote, it is good to know that the Casio company was a pioneer in the mass production of quartz watches. Indeed, and with their experience in miniaturizing computer components, these were the first electronic watches with a micro-computer screen displaying the time and date with exceptional precision, the main quality of quartz movements.
These watches were relatively thin and aesthetic. However, even if this era seems distant, we must realize that the miniaturized computing of the time was not what it is today. Men needed solid, reliable and resistant tools to allow them to accomplish their daily tasks and watches were part of these tools. Casio having heard the demands of this segment of the population, we see the appearance in 1984 of a watch with the same technical specifications in terms of precision as the vintage Casio but in an extremely robust and perfectly waterproof case: we have just witnessed the birth of the G-Shock. A true revolution in the field of watchmaking, the Japanese brand is capable of offering extremely solid timepieces with incredible precision for the fraction of the price of a Swiss watch.
Finally, to overcome the only disadvantage of its G-Shock, which is its imposing size on the wrist, Casio offers the Baby-G in 1990. It is a more compact, lighter and as resistant version as its big sister while keeping the very particular aesthetic of the range. Thanks to this masterstroke, Casio ensures the presence of its watches on the wrists of adventurers as well as fashion aficionados.
Today, the G-Shock range is one of the most famous ranges in contemporary watchmaking. Casio also plays with an impression of reminiscence in the manner of a "madeleine de Proust" by reissuing in its Casio vintage range the models that made the success of the Japanese brand in the 70s and 80s. Today it is not uncommon to come across on the wrists of people who were not born at that time, the small Casio watches on steel or gold bracelets with this LCD screen so characteristic of the brand.
Orient and its Bambino: 50 years of heritage and know-how.
The last brand is less known in Europe than the two previous ones and yet the quality of the watches offered is quite equal. This house is Orient and the undisputed star of the brand is the Bambino. The Japanese group, which will celebrate its 73rd anniversary this year, has a vertical production line ensuring that each watch sold by the group is of excellent quality. Indeed, everything is made, produced and assembled by the group, something rare enough to be highlighted. This Bambino is available in 5 variants and it has a movement made by the Japanese group. As you will have understood, the quality-price ratio is almost unbeatable. Regarding the aesthetics, the 5 variants allow everyone to find what they are looking for because they recall quite different eras. Produced for over 50 years, this reliable and robust watch has a reputation that is well established.
We hope that this article has made you want to start a collection with the brands that we have presented. As you have seen throughout the reading of this article, Japan is a real fertile ground on the one hand to start a collection of watches with a small budget but also to obtain timepieces whose quality-price ratio has nothing to envy to Swiss watchmaking. All the ranges proposed in this article are of course available in the catalog and do not hesitate to contact us on social networks or by email if you have different questions about the products that we recommend.
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