Four Edgy Yet Elegant Watches for Under $4,000

Call them unisex or call them men’s watches, it really doesn’t matter because these days people wear what they like. Still, we took a look around to find some edgily elegant watches that are easy on the budget and decidedly rad in some way. After all, it’s nice to stand out in a crowd and show a sense of style and savoir-faire, while also showing off your funky side.

When it comes to thinking outside of the proverbial box, Accutron has been a leader for years. Making its debut in 1960 with the world’s first fully electronic watch regulated by a tuning fork, the Accutron was visionary as well as revolutionary. Two years ago, in 2020, the brand released the Spaceview 2020, inspired by the electronic watch. The newest Accutron Spaceview 2020 watches now include a bold stainless steel version with integrated bracelet and domed sapphire crystal – a full package in and of itself. But what sets this 43.5mm watch way out of the league of other brands in comparable prices is the proprietary electrostatic movement on full display on the dial side.
 

Recently reimagined, the highly engineered motor features a twin turbine system that rotates with the movement of the wrist and generates power to two electrodes. The energy powers two motors, with the electrostatic motor powering the seconds hand and a step motor running the hour and minute hands. This in and of itself is cool, but even more dope is that the seconds hand automatically stops after five minutes of no activity in order to save power.
 

The wearer need only swing the arm up and down for a few seconds for the hand to jump back to life. On the dial side, one can witness the turbines, outlined in bold green and set against a tungsten-colored backdrop – making for a dramatic statement about time. The domed sapphire crystal features pale green luminous circular markers and minute track, as well as luminous hands. It is priced at $3,850.
 

Color is all the rage right now, especially in watches, with greens of all shades, along with coral and orange, making a huge statement in time. Swiss independent watch brand Oris has color covered – on so many levels – but it also has mastered the art of function as well as form. Its Aquis collection of superb, high-precision dive watches is a prime example. Why do all dive watches need black or ocean blue dials? Because most brands didn’t think outside of the traditional color box. However, Oris did – across several of its coveted collections.
 

This Oris Aquis Date watch is crafted in stainless steel and measures 36.5mm in diameter – a perfect unisex size. The light seafoam-colored green dial is made of mother of pearl, endowing it with a shimmer much like sunlight on water’s surface. The white-by-day, luminous-by-dark (or underwater) hands and indices are coated with Super-LumiNova BG W9. The outer bezel boasts a notched, raised-number bezel with luminous triangle at 12:00 to help with underwater orientation.
 

It is powered by an automatic movement with date at 6:00 and an instantaneous date/date corrector. It even boasts hacking seconds for exact time setting. More importantly for a dive watch, it is water resistant to 300 meters. While this watch will attract the attention of like-colored underwater creatures while diving, it will also attract attention from land lovers. It is priced at $2,400.