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Let’s be very practical from the start: not everyone on the surface of the Earth goes grocery shopping with a Patek Philippe strapped around their wrist. Nor do they wear a Rolex Daytona to ride their bike and keep track of their performances.
The world is full of situations where understatement is a virtue, even if you have the “big guns” stored in a wall safe back home. If you don’t, that isn’t an excuse not to look cool all the same, wearing a very precise, nice-looking and well-made watch which won’t cost you a fortune ($1000 was our rough budget limit).
Perhaps you might be a sporty individual, or perhaps you need a watch to accompany you through your trips in the wilderness. Whatever your needs, there’s no reason to worry. The team at Groom+Style have prepared a list of the 14 best digital watches you can find.
| Image | Product | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Best Classical Looking Analog-Digital WatchSkagen Hagen Hybrid |
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 | Best Value Analog-Digital WatchFossil Q Hybrid Mod. Machine |
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 | Best Rugged Analog-Digital WatchCasio G-Shock GA 100 |
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 | Best Analog-Digital Watch for TrekkingCasio Pro-Trek Monte Cevedale |
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 | Best Analog-Digital Watch for Tech-Savvy PeopleCitizen Eco-Drive Hybrid Smartwatch |
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 | Best Analog-Digital Watch with High-End MaterialsLuminox - XCOR Aerospace Titanium |
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 | Best Premium Analog-Digital WatchTissot T-Race Touch Aluminum |
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 | Best Outdoor Sports Digital WatchGarmin Fenix 5 Plus |
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 | Best Stainless Steel Digital WatchSeiko Pulsar PQ2001 |
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 | Best Innovative Outdoor Sports Digital WatchSuunto Core All Black Military |
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 | Best Digital Watch for RunnersTimex Ironman Classic 30 |
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 | Best Stylish Digital WatchBraun BN0106 |
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 | Best Value Outdoor Sports Digital WatchCasio H5PRG-240-1ER |
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 | Best Retro Style Digital WatchAdidas by Nixon Archive_M1 Gold/Black |
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The list contains a variety of different timepieces from the quite simple, to the more esoteric devices for sports and trekking, as well as smartwatches – but the common denominator here is that they will all be quartz-powered and offer you a lot for your money.
Also, they are all very good-looking. A nice shape is as important as a slew of features, and our 14 selections will be up to this task.
Regarding the display, if you are more traditionally-minded, you will get your cherished analog display with the hands sliding across the dial to show the time. Yet there will also be options for the all-digital crowd.
This is the reason why we have selected such a peculiar number: we will be presenting you seven analogic (or anadigital) watches as well as the top seven strictly digital ones.
Let us not wait any longer and get right into the selections:
The Best Digital Watches (Analogic and Anadigital)
1) Skagen Hagen Hybrid SKT1104
No products found.The brand name is a bit hard to pronounce and does not convey truly the beauty of this understated and very classy smartwatch. It’s best feature is that it does not look like one at all!
The Hagen smartwatch is a sort of a middle ground between a “dumb” watch and a true smartwatch – meaning that you could personalize its functions at will through its three pushers. It offers a wide range of smart features, including activity and sleep tracking, a phone finder, and music control.
When you connect it to your favorite mobile it can receive discreet notifications that you can setup and decide by yourself – if you receive a text, email or call. The Hagen automatically updates to the correct time and date, and runs on a standard replaceable button battery.
It sports a sexy, understated look, some quality materials as the titanium case and a standard 20mm wide leather strap that can be easily interchanged with any other to personalize it fully.
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2) Fossil Q Hybrid Mod. Machine
No products found.This new battery-powered hybrid Fossil Q Hybrid Machine takes its place in the developing Fossil lineup of great-looking smartwatches. This peculiar model has a sporty, understated look which is enhanced by its sleek ion-coated black stainless steel case, uses smart technology to send you discreet notifications, show you a second time zone, and offers many more features.
The three buttons allow you to customize your favorite functions, such as controlling your music or tracking your phone by ringing it down – or taking the perfect photo without anyone noticing.
Through the Fossil App technology and a Bluetooth connection, you can pair your Fossil hybrid smartwatch with phones running modern Android and iOS systems.
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3) Casio G-Shock GA 100
A very good take on the quintessential G-Shock, this Casio model offers the usual characteristics of the sports watch with lots of quality and a very compact price.
With its rugged design, the G-Shock GA 100 is part of the Casio military series. Its dual display – analog and digital – is very clear and stylish, offering support for 29 time zones, a pre-programmed calendar until 2099 and a highly accurate stopwatch with speed indicator.
Of course, it comes with the typical G-Shock features: a resin covered body with a shell that ensures shock resistance and up to 200m water resistance, something which pretty much classifies it as a heavy duty outdoor gear. It’s made from an anti-magnetic structure and has a built-in auto LED light with afterglow.
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4) Casio Pro-Trek Monte Cevedale PRW-600YB-3ER
The Casio Pro-Trek Monte Cevedale is an outdoor professional watch suitable for the most demanding situations. It features a system called Tough Solar technology for charging the watch in poor lighting conditions, and offers an automatic LED backlight mode that is activated by a simple rotation of the wrist.
Inside it mounts three very precise sensors which measure pressure, temperature and direction – a feature that has been the signature trait of the Pro-Trek series since 2013. And it looks extremely pleasant on the wrist, with a very legible dial showing all the analogic and digital counters.
It also offers 100 meters of water resistance – so it is also suitable for diving.
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5) Citizen Eco-Drive Hybrid Smartwatch Z1020-14L
No products found.The Citizen brand is synonymous with Japanese quality, and this hybrid smartwatch is a typical example of this legacy.
The sporty design combines a black rubber strap with a heavy-duty stainless steel case and a striking dial with blue details.
In addition to the time and date, the intelligent functions are displayed on the analog dial. Through an app installed on your smartphone, the watch can be configured to alert you to incoming calls and messages: you can easily set alerts, answer messages, answer calls and even locate your smartphone at the touch of a button.
Thanks to the Eco-Drive technology, once fully charged by the rays of the sun, the watch can continue to run for up to six months. It offers also a handy 100 mt water resistance.
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6) Luminox – XCOR Aerospace Titanium 5240
No products found.The Luminox Watch Company is an American brand founded in 1989 which most important claim to fame is its patented technology featuring tritium gas tubes which insures an always visible glow-in-the-dark effect for at least 25 years.
The company has a distinctively military-influenced vibe, and its watches are heavy-duty timepieces made to weather the most taxing conditions.
This XCOR Aerospace 5240 analogic/digital model, developed together with the private aerospace XCOR company, represents the high-end of its offerings: it features a titanium case covered with an anti-glare sapphire crystal, and a slew of different functions between which you may find day, date, month, year, 2nd time zone, chronograph, and alarm function, as well as a water resistance of 100 mt.
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7) Tissot T-Race Touch Aluminum
No products found.Coming from the venerable Swiss brand, the T-Race Touch is a very sturdy and surprisingly affordable timepiece that is going to find a lot of of exposure on your wrist.
The most striking feature of it is the T-Touch technology, allowing you to control several functions of the watch by simply touching the glass, which is a sapphire crystal.
The timepiece features a lightweight anodized aluminum case – available in different colors – which is both very pleasant to the touch and tough, housing an industry-grade Swiss ETA-made quartz caliber E49.303 movement.
The silicone watch band is heavy-duty.
Although the T-Race Touch does not have the altimeter and barometer functions, available on more expensive models, it does have the compass function, as well as a series of timing and calendar data, a tide chart included. It also offers a water resistance capacity up to 100 meters in water.
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Digital Watches
8) Garmin Fenix 5 Plus
Everyone who has a passing interest in the outdoors is aware that Garmin is a major player of the GPS position tracking field – and it has issued a lineup of smartwatches which incorporate this feature into their assortment of features.
While not cheap by any means, the Fenix 5 Plus does about everything, and very well. For those who love the outdoors and sports, the Fenix 5 offers a GPS multispot system with maps, as well as support for the Galileo system, for the best location in the most inaccessible places, as well as more conventional tools like a three-axis compass, a gyroscope and a barometric altimeter.
As you would suspect, you would also get the usual set of functions to monitor music, physical analysis and much more.
But it also shines in the city, as it is compatible with Garmin Pay, a way to make contactless payments on your wrist from your smartwatch, without cash or credit cards.
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9) Seiko Pulsar PQ2001 Silver-Tone
No products found.The brand guarantees quality, and this digital watch, belonging to the Pulsar line, offers many features and quality – and a decidedly robust construction.
The watch feels heavy, with a stainless steel bracelet and case except for the bezel that has a black PVD coating with labels for the five buttons which command its functions.
The LCD screen looks very sharp, and offers several choices for backlighting, from a bright blue to a soothing amber.
It features time, date, day, month, and year display with an automatically updating calendar, with support for different timezones around the world. It is also water resistant to 100 meters, so you won’t have to worry about taking a dip while wearing it.
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10) Suunto Core All Black Military
Suunto was born in Finland in 1936, when Tuomas Vohlonen, an enthusiastic outdoor orienteering champion, developed an affordable liquid compass. Since then, Suunto has been at the forefront of innovation in sports-related devices, entering the digital market and manufacturing “watches” which goal is to become the best travel companion for the more rugged expeditions on the wilderness.
The Core is one of the entry-level devices in the Suunto lineup, and it plays up to its name featuring a built-in series of sensors to offer a compass, barometer and altimeter, as well as a weather trend analyzer to predict impending storms, with preset sunrise and sunset times for over 400 individual locations.
It also displays a 24-hour clock, and functions to gauge altitude and depth while snorkeling, as it is water resistant up to 30 meters.
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11) Timex Ironman Classic 30
The Ironman is a kind of legacy model for Timex, and is manufactured since the end of the last century – so you will get, as per traditions of the brand, a very sturdy watch at a very affordable price. This model is basically a sports watch, at its core, with a 30-lap memory stopwatch, a countdown timer and alarm, and a bold, black water-resistant polymer case for up to 100 meters featuring a very legible display. The timepiece feels very light at the wrist – something that runners would certainly appreciate.
It is equipped with three alarms, two countdown timers, a stopwatch and “Indiglo” backlighting for night vision of the time.
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12) Braun BN0106
No products found.This watch, which was presented in 2012 and won several design awards, is a minimalistic, Bauhaus-inspired timepiece which offers some quirky – but lovely – retro-styled design inspirations.
The movement inside of the watch is known as the Ven_10.1 digital quartz movement, featuring time, full calendar, chronograph, countdown timer, alarm, and a second timezone. The watch is made in Germany, and features a solid steel case in either this black tone, or in natural brushed metal.
The fit and finish of this watch is great, and its operation, through the use of a single roller, after a little adjustment becomes a breeze. From what we see, people tend to be very vocal about the Braun – and this is a good thing, meaning that even through its understated looks, its character is quite strong.
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13) Casio H5PRG-240-1ER
No products found.Even if it does not belong to the Professional G-Shock line, this watch offers a surprisingly wide set of features at a very affordable price. This model in particular is directed to the trekking and hiking buffs in general.
The construction of the case and the attention to detail is impeccable, as in all Casio releases.
It is equipped with the three classic functions: Altimeter, Compass, Barometer, and relies on the Tough Solar technology for recharge, which should allow for a battery life of up to 15 years.
The different functions of the watch are quite reliable, once properly calibrated, and perform quite well outdoor.
The LCD display is crisp, but a bit difficult to read under direct daylight – but its wide size makes it very easy to access all the different features. As an added bonus, it offers a water resistance of 100 mt.
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14) Adidas by Nixon Archive_M1 Gold/Black
Born from a partnership between Adidas and Nixon, this watch delightfully mixes a style which reminds one of the beginning of the digital era with modern-day contents. It is a 36mm digital wristwatch (there are larger, 40mm versions available) with a classic, clean, simple, retro-inspired design which makes it a stunner.
It offers a square stainless steel case and bracelet as well as a hardened mineral crystal sheltering a negative LCD screen.
You will find all the usual suspects in the Archive_M1 – functions like date, day, chronometer, alarm, and whatever you need in a “regular” watch which has no esoteric goals. But the style with which you will use them is pretty unique and distinctive.
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About the Author: Franz Rivoira is a Chartered Journalist and Marcomm Professional operating internationally in the world of high-end and luxury products, mainly watches and design objects.
He lives in Italy, but frequently travels the world, especially to Asia. He is a regular contributor to www.ddnblog.it, a reference for everything design-oriented. He is also very active on Quora, the most read Q&A portal in the world, where he has been nominated as one of the Top Writers for 2018.
