The best beater watches are cheap enough that a scratch does not hurt, quartz so they keep running when you forget about them, and water resistant enough that you never take them off to wash your hands. This guide is for anyone who needs a watch for yard work, site work, camping, the school run or just a rough week. All six picks are under $80 and in stock at One Good Watch right now, and four of them are SKMEI, which is not an accident: they make cheap watches that keep working.
What to look for
A beater has three jobs: survive, tell the time, and not cost enough to matter. Quartz covers the second and third. For the first, resin and polycarbonate cases shrug off knocks that would chip a plated alloy case, and they weigh almost nothing. Steel is the other good answer if you can accept the weight. Straps should be silicone, resin or nylon, because they wash and dry and do not rot.
Water resistance is the spec to check. A manufacturer-rated 50m (5 ATM) covers rain, washing up and a surface swim. 30m covers rain and hand washing only. Crystals at this price are mineral glass or resin. Resin scuffs but does not shatter, which is the right trade for a watch that hits door frames. Skip anything with a leather strap for real abuse, or buy it knowing the strap is the first thing you will replace.
Our picks
SKMEI 1717 Minimalist Quartz Watch, 43mm
The best beater under forty dollars we sell. 43mm resin case, resin crystal, silicone strap, a big high-contrast dial and a manufacturer-rated 50m (5 ATM). Three black-case styles. Forty-eight in stock, which tells you how often people buy a second. $32.99.
SKMEI 1426 Large-Display Digital Sport Watch, 46mm
The digital beater. A 46mm resin case that weighs 50g, with a large display, alarm, stopwatch, chronograph, day-and-date and a backlight. Manufacturer-rated 5 ATM, so showering in it is fine. Green or black strap. $29.99.
SKMEI World Time Ana-Digi Watch, 44mm
Built for knockabout daily wear. Analogue hands over a digital window in a 44.3mm polycarbonate case at 50.2g, with world time, countdown timer, five alarms, day, date and an LED backlight. Silicone strap, manufacturer-rated 50m. Eight colourways from bright orange to all black. $39.99.
Quartz Chronograph Watch, 41.9mm
The analog beater on nylon. A 41.9mm zinc alloy case with a quartz chronograph, three registers, a printed tachymeter scale, luminous hands and a date tucked between four and five so the dial stays tidy. The nylon strap washes and cinches to any wrist. Five colours: black, white, gray, blue and pink. Twenty in stock. $39.99.
PLADEN Orange Silicone Sport Calendar Watch
The bright one, for anyone who keeps losing a black watch in a black bag. Quartz, an alloy case, a textured black dial with a calendar window and luminous hands, a mineral crystal and a flexible orange silicone strap with a buckle. Manufacturer-rated 30m, so rain and sinks, not swimming. One in stock. $39.99.
Casio MTP-1370L-7A Day-Date Analog Watch, Black Leather
The grown-up beater. A stainless steel case with Japanese quartz, a silver sunburst dial, the day spelled out in full at twelve and the date at six. Manufacturer-rated 50m, which covers a surface swim. The black crocodile-grain leather strap is the one thing here to keep out of the water. One in stock. $79.00.
How to choose between them
If you want one watch to wear everywhere and forget, the SKMEI 1717 is it. If you need a stopwatch and an alarm, take the 1426 or the 2100, and pick the 2100 if you want hands as well as digits. The SKMEI 9392 is for people who want hands, a stopwatch and a nylon strap, and the PLADEN is the one you buy so you can find it. Neither is rated past 30m, so keep them out of the pool. The Casio is for anyone whose beater still has to look right in a meeting, as long as you swap the leather for something that dries. Whatever you pick, the point of a beater is that you wear it and stop thinking about it, so do not overthink this list either.