The 2025 Starter Watch All-Stars

When you’re the watch editor of GQ, you tend to field a lot of questions about which watch to buy a husband, boyfriend, or son to mark a birthday, anniversary, or graduation. Considering I don’t keep the company of many multimillionaires, these requests are most often made by folks with regular-people budgets. Thankfully, I’ve had plenty to recommend lately: In recent years, the watch market has exploded with new entry-level models that never make you feel like you’re settling. If you’re able to spend even close to $1,000, there are treasures out there to be found—and if you’re willing to go a hair over $5,000, well, the world’s your oyster. While there are longtime icons in this category—shout-out to the TAG Heuer Carrera—we’d like to introduce you to a new class of (relatively) affordable staples.

Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto