Affordable Alternatives to the Patek Philippe Nautilus

The Patek Philippe Nautilus is a watch with a value in the stratosphere. It was originally introduced in 1976 as a response to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and marketed as the costliest steel watch in the world. The model shown (below) is the Reference 5711-1A and was produced from 2006 to 2021 is the most coveted in the collectors market. On Chrono24, a used Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711-1A is being sold for $124,999. It's a staggering price for most of us, but that blue dial is very popular.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus, Ref 5711-1A (Patek Philippe SA, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Reference 5711 is a 40mm diameter case, a date complication, and it also has an exhibition caseback that allows you to see the movement including its 21-carat gold rotor. As listed on Chrono24, the one I saw also has its original box and papers. It is definitely an amazing investment grade watch that may see its value rise and fall over the years. However, as a resident of a crime-plagued American big city, I'll definitely have to keep mine in a vault and look for an affordable alternative that I can present to muggers and home invaders.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Homage Watches

Fortunately, there is no shortage of Patek Philippe Nautilus homage watches. This iconic watch has inspired many watch designers.

Nibosi Nautilus Homage

Let's start with Nibosi. This brand makes some nice homage watches and some independent designs of their own. They make a nice looking quartz homage to the famed Patek Philippe. It even comes in 9 different dial and bracelet color combinations.

Nibosi Men's Quartz Analog Stainless Steel Watch (Amazon Photo)

You can check this watch out here on our Amazon affiliate link. It won't be nearly as comfortable as a real Patek, but you can wear it to Walmart or Waffle House without fear. It costs about $35.

Specht & Söhne Nautilus Homage

If you are looking for a slightly more upscale experience, Specht & Söhne offers a 5711 homage with a reliable Japanese Miyota 8215 automatic movement,  a screw-down crown, a stainless steel case and bracelet, and 50-meters of water resistance.

Specht & Söhne Nautilus Homage (Amazon Photo)

This watch movement allows hand-winding but can also be wound through the natural movement of your wrist. It might also be more analogous to wearing an actual Nautilus 5711. It also has an exhibition caseback. However, you'll miss that rotor of gold. You can check this watch out here with our Amazon affiliate link. If you like the Patek Philippe Nautilus design, this may be your best bet. It comes in 6 different case and color combinations. The brand also has homage watches that are similar to the Patek Philippe Aquanaut and Cubitus timepieces.

If you don't want a copycat homage to this famed watch, keep your eyes open. You may find similar design language with aspects of the porthole design theme or integrated bracelet in other watches from brands that might evoke the Nautilus in more subtle ways.

Watch Deal Alert: Timex Expedition Scout in Blue

Timex has a great Amazon deal on its Timex Expedition Scout watch with a blue dial and blue fabric strap.  This Timex Men's 40mm Expedition Scout has a blue dial and a denim-like blue fabric strap mixed with leather in all the right paces.  I reviewed the leather strap version of this watch back in 2018, you can read my Timex Expedition Scout review here. If you are allowed to wear jeans to your office, this watch is just perfect for that kind of casual look!

Timex 40mm Expedition Scout Watch (Amazon photo)

This Timex Expedition watch has Indiglo Backlighting, 50 meters of water resistance, and perfect blue watch dial and strap combination. It gets 4.4 stars among Amazon purchasers and they sell over 600 of these watches every month. It's a great beater watch that can stand up to everyday wear and outdoor activity. Plus, it's easy, breezy, and casual. No one will suspect you are part of an invasion force or anything.

The Timex Expedition Scout Amazon Deal

As of January 11, 2026, this watch is 35% off to come in under $30. If you'd like to jump on this deal, you can find this Timex Expedition Scout here via my Amazon affiliate link.

The Best Timex Offerings on Amazon

I've collected some of the best Timex watches being offered on Amazon in one convenient page - Best Timex Watches on Amazon.

Watches A to Z: Torgoen

If you are a watch enthusiast interested in affordable watches. One brand may deserve a second look: Torgoen. The Torgoen watch brand was founded in 2009 by watchmakers and aviation enthusiasts who were inspired by aircraft instrument panels. Led by Israeli-born pilot and entrepreneur, Benzi Rozenski, the brand focuses on practical, readable, aviation-themed, timepieces. The brand was acquired by E. Gluck Corporation in 2019. However, the focus on quality, design, and affordability continues unabated.

Torgoen T10 Carbon Pilot Watch for Men (Amazon photo)

One of the Torgoen watches that caught my eye is the Torgoen T10 Carbon Pilot Watch (above) for men. It has a 44mm diameter case, very readable hands and markers, 100-meter water resistance, and a Swiss Quartz Ronda movement. The Torgoen T10 watch is available here on Amazon via my affiliate link. 

Torgoen watches use quality Swiss movements, comfortable silicone or Italian leather straps, and high grade materials like 316L Stainless Steel for watch cases and K1 or sapphire for watch crystals. For affordability, final assembly of the watches may be done in Asian manufacturing centers. While a handful of Torgoen watches are offered on Amazon at very attractive prices, the brand primarily sells direct to consumer from their own website. 

Torgoen XP-51 (Torgoen Photo)

Some of the brand's most interesting timepieces are created in collaboration with the award-winning historic aircraft preservation firm, Pacific Fighters. As of this writing, all of the Torgoen x Pacific Fighters watches sell at price points between $350 and $500. Unfortunately, most of these limited production timepieces have sold out except for the current offering. The amazing Torgoen XP-51 Mustang Quartz GMT watch. It is made from wing flap skin metal from an actual P-51 Mustang that is undergoing restoration. You'll definitely want to check their website out for this watch, current offerings, clearance deals and more.  You can find them all here at Torgoen.com.

How to Buy A Lorus Watch in the United States

Lorus is a Seiko brand that was launched in 1982 to bring reliable, affordable, timepieces to younger markets. At the time, Lorus supplemented the Pulsar and Seiko line-ups and was launched internationally. I've owned a few Lorus watches over the years that I bought in the 1990s in various American department stores.

An Older Lorus watch from my collection

However, the brand is not officially sold in the United States. Apparently, the official markets for Lorus watches are Europe, Canada, South Africa, Fiji, and Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand. It's a shame that the brand isn't more widespread in the United States since the timepieces generally offer great value.

What if you want to buy a Lorus watch in the United States?

Lorus watches are available in the United States from a variety of gray market sources including foreign watch shops online. In a quick search, two Dutch watch companies (links provided), Masters In Time and Mightywatches, both offer Lorus watches.

Lorus Men's Quartz Watch RG245XX9 (Amazon photo)

Lorus watches can be conveniently ordered online from dealers on Amazon.com and Walmart.com. The Amazon.com offering seem to have a wide variety, but cost more to ship. Walmart has just a couple of Lorus watches, but shipping is free. The Lorus Model RG245XX9 (shown above) is offered on Amazon here at my affiliate link. As a gray market watch, shipping is $24.99 and may take a month or so.

Lorus Sports Watch with Blue Dial (Amazon Photo)

The Lorus brand offers good value and, for American collectors, the opportunity for an unusual watch choice. For example, this Lorus sports model looks pretty solid.  You can check it out easily via my affiliate link on Amazon. Ultimately, there are most likely equally solid choices for similar watches from other Seiko brands like Citizen or Orient. Still, it is fun to live in a world full of watch choices.

TGIF: Stepping Up Your Watch Collection

Long, long, ago when real stereos with speakers, tape decks, and turntables and, maybe, CD players, there was a magical place called Circuit City. If you bought stereo speakers there, you could trade them in for full store credit towards better stereo speakers during the next year. Ultimately, you could step right up to a mondo pair of stereo speakers that would rock your whole block. I know a few people who did. Sometimes, I wish we could do that with watches. 

This Van Heusen has the look of more famous chronograph watches

I suspect that some savvy sellers on ebay, Etsy, or Poshmark might be able to do just that and work their way up through the ranks of watches. I could see a progression of stepping up from fashion watches to Timex to Nautica to Bulova to Tissot to Movado to Tudor and beyond. Alas, more pressing economic concerns hold me back from that pursuit for now. That's a whole lot of buying and selling. Plus, there are many accessories that surround a watch like a Rolex. The accessories might include a rental property empire, a successful restaurant or two, or an actual executive position. It's not enough to just afford the watch. It's to build the economic success needed that the watch just comes naturally. In a world of global competition, that can be quite a challenge.

This Timex Waterbury Traditional 41mm Chronograph watch (Amazon photo)

However, you can step up your watch collecting one watch at a time. If you are interested in stepping up from a false subdial watch with a chronograph look to a bona fide chronograph, the step up from the Van Heusen with non-functioning subdials at the top of this article is about $100 to this Timex Waterbury Traditional 41mm chronograph. You can check out this Timex using my Amazon affiliate link here!

Watch Spotlight: The Caravelle Tradition Quartz Day-Date Watch

There are many broader social and economic forces at play in our world. We can't do much about that big picture. Sometimes it seems like little personal luxuries become more and more difficult to attain. Sometimes it seems like an elite European timepiece might be attainable. Sometimes economic instability threatens and you need to play it safe. When it comes to the world of watch collecting, we get to make our own rules. The look, the aesthetics, the functionality of a good timepiece can be presented in a number of different ways and at a number of different price points. Good design and good taste isn't exclusive to Europe. For an example, let's a take a took at an  affordable watch from Caravelle.

Caravelle Traditional 3-Hand Watch

This Caravelle Tradition 3-Hand Watch with Day, Date, and Backlighting is a great example of a nice looking 40mm watch that would be right at home in any business casual environment. It's a practical, readable watch, with backlighting at the push of a button (located at 2 o'clock). You can see the elements of a basic field watch in the design. The black case, black strap, and blue dial are all strong traditionally masculine design elements.

Caravelle Tradition Watch for Men (Amazon Photo)

You can take a look at this watch here via my Amazon Affiliate link. As of January 2026, this Caravelle is being offered at a nice sale price on Amazon. As an offshoot brand of Bulova, the Caravelle name carries a bit of the parent brand's prestige and history. It has class without a crazy price tag.

Watch Spotlight: Bulova Marc Anthony Sport Classic Watch

Ordinarily, a celebrity collaboration watch is more exciting for a celebrity's fans than for watch collectors. What can a celebrity bring to the table? Well, when it comes to the Bulova Marc Anthony collaboration watch, a celebrity can bring some quite refined design sensibilities.

The Bulova Marc Anthony Sports Strap Quartz watch has a stylish WW2 aviation watch look and the strap inserts into a leather attachment to convert it into a nice bundt strap. You can see the squiggle of Marc's signature on the watch strap just below the 6 o'clock position.

Bulova Marc Anthony Collaboration

The numbers 1, 3, and 5 on the dial are a bit of a mystery as the Bulova site notes that they are numbers of personal significance to the singer. I think the numbers may have to do with the dates of some significant musical awards. On 11/3/2005, Marc won two Latin Grammy Awards. One for Best Latin Pop Album and one for Best Tropical Album. But, that is just my personal theory.

Bulova Marc Anthony Collaboration with Bundt Strap

Even if you aren't a big fan of Marc Anthony as a music star and celebrity, the Marc Anthony Sport Classic watch certainly is easy to love! For a classic look, check this one out here via our Amazon Affiliate Link.