Really no basis for comparison. Casio G Shock watches and watches with mechanical movements are at different ends of the reliability and ruggedness spectrum. The balance and escapement of a mechanical watch is inherently vulnerable to damage no matter the brand or price. A shock mounted digital movement with no moving parts is almost impervious to damage.

 

john is correct! The whole premise of this discussion is off! It is like saying find me a apple that peels and tastes like an orange, but still looks and feels like an apple! Both are fruit but different. Casio G Shock watches are a digital movement, completely different from a mechanical or automatic watch. Vance.

 

For mechanicals there’s nothing that comes even remotely close to the G Shock when it comes to toughness but the Orient M Force has a valiant try.

 

For mechanicals there's nothing that comes even remotely close to the G Shock when it comes to toughness but the Orient M Force has a valiant try.

As does the SKX but ultimately not as rugged and robust as a G.

This version looks ok while trying

 

TIMEX: Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!

 

As a kid, my mechanical Timex succumbed to fogging in the rain, rusted up and froze permanently.

 

Wyler watches are pretty good:

"Worldwide attention was attracted by a spectacular Wyler marketing campaign in 1956, when two watches were allowed to fall from the top of the Eiffel Tower and still functioned unchanged after the fall."

https://www.watch-wiki.net/index.php?title=Wyler

Another favorite sales technique was to take a Wyler off one's wrist and throw it against the wall. Still worked.

 

Wyler watches are pretty good . . . . .

Hardly.

At the heart of Wyler's most ambitious shock intervention was the floppy balance arm which is actually pretty rigid.

The Elgin serpentine balance arm absorbed as much energy and it's design was only incidental to its variable inertia execution.

Three legged end jewel spring designs like those of the 2416b are generally pivot killers as well.

 

Nothing Mechanical comes close. But an honorable mention goes to Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical.

 

Seriously?the watch famous for fogging up after getting splashed by rain?puh-lease

 

If quartz options were on the table, the INOX would be in play. For a mechanical, not for $300 -- you'd be looking at $800 for an Archimede Outdoor Protect, or twice that for a Mühle SAR Rescue Timer.

 

I don't own a SKX 007 but somebody on this forum will tell you so...

 

As others have mentioned before, I would have to agree on the SKX. Made like a tank and absolutely no need to worry about knocking it around.

 

+1 for Vostok! Love my Timex vintage mechanicals, but they are a wee delicate now. My Seiko SNZG is a nice sub-$130 beater, but lacks the personality of a sub-$80 Amphibia.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My old Invicta - tough as old boots. It's been in a draw for the last 3 or 4 years but when I looked at it (whilst cleaning out the draw) I realised that it must use the atomic clock to sync the time every 12 hours - presumably by some sort of receiver built in to the movement (though I've no idea how as have never heard of this with a mechanical watch before) - so every 12 hours the old Invicta syncs and is spot one, giving the exact time down to one millionth of a second! Can't beat that!

Can one of you techies explain how the syncing works with a mech watch please as it's baffling me.

Thanks

 

I'm gonna say a Citizen Autozilla. There are others but I think the Autozilla represents the the most durable Asian automatic watch that's the best value.

 

Oops, missed the price requirement.

 

View attachment 12772701

Wrong on SO many levels. Apparently, someone didn't understand the requirements to qualify. Please READ the original post in it's entirety. :roll:

 

The Victorinox INOX.

Though quartz, it is designed to withstand a 3 story drop into concrete, and it is, if I remember rightly, up to about 8 ton of pressure resistant.

 

If strictly automatic then the CX Swiss Military Dive Watch.

CX Swiss Military dive watch

 

If strictly automatic then the CX Swiss Military Dive Watch.

CX Swiss Military dive watch

Not that tough. Maybe underwater, but not on dry land. My Seiko 007 kicked my CX20's big caseback butt all the way back to the service department in Switzerland.

 

I should imagine those Raphael Nadal Richard Mille watches are pretty tough. They're designed to survive the huge shocks, and g-forces from serving and returning, in tennis. ( Obviously not 'affordable').

Otherwise Seiko incablock. Or realistically those 7S26, SKX movements which don't hack or wind. They're built for simplicity, reliability, and not needing servicing for ages. There's a lot less to go wrong. But I'm probably just saying that as I'm biased towards Seiko's. (Like half the people on this forum).

 

Isn’t this where someone is,supposed,to say the Marathon GSAR? But like the OP I like the Vostok and plan to have one in the not,too,distant future

 

Isn't this where someone is,supposed,to say the Marathon GSAR? But like the OP I like the Vostok and plan to have one in the not,too,distant future

No, because, just like the Richard Mille, it significantly exceeds the OP's price requirements.

I would recommend a Seiko Monster (SKX or SRP).

No mechanical watch may be as tough as a G-shock, but they won't be internally destroyed by a dead battery, either. I think it would be difficult to destroy one while actually wearing it, at least without incurring injury.

Rick "and it meets ISO 6425" Denney

 

Victorinox Swiss Army Dive Master 500 Automatic is worth to be mention here. from overall quality and price.
Seiko Emperor Tuna, only if the price is more accessible to general public.

 

There are none.

 

For a tough watch it's hard to go past the Muhle Glashutte SAR Rescue Timer.

While it is more expensive than a g-shock, cheap mechanical watches as tough as a g-shock are nearly impossible to find.

 

Also...what price range is consider accessible?

I think it is hard to have an answer apply to everyone's affordablility. Take G-Shock brand itself as an example. G-Shock has wide range of classic digital with resin that is selling for few hundred. The newer G-Shock popular analog quartz such as MR-G, MT-G, G-Steel, the new Atomic Frogman that are selling near or over 1K. Very close to compare with Seiko Emperor Tuna.

 

The OP specified $300.

Rick "sticking with the Seiko Monster, which is actually ISO6425-compliant" Denney

 

If we are talking analog quartz then probably the Seiko Tuna. Its movement was designed with durability in mind, plus the shroud protecting the case and bezel. If we are talking mechanical, something from Bremont where the movement is mounted on an anti-shock mount, movement surrounded by an iron cage, and then the case hardened.

 

We are not talking about ANY kind of quartz. We are talking about mechanical watches, i.e. watches which are driven by a spring and NOT by electricity.

I've edited the original post to clarify what we are discussing.

 

From ancient times, a Timex pin lever based watch was quite tough and was dirt cheap. Conversely, they're loud enough to keep you up at night and well, their use as a timekeeping mechanism is debatable.
I think the modern tractor would be something like a 7S26.

It's too expensive for your query, but I'd also throw in the Rolex 3135-based watches. To the degree we'd count spring drives, I'd be willing to bet they're unusually shock resistant as well.

But as others have pointed out, there's simply no mechanical watch that could hope to compete with a G-Shock in terms of shock resistance.

 

My Monster has been through it all, however, I strap a G on for my most arduous tasks...

 

Bremont. But even those aren't designed to take the hits like a G-Shock is. No moving parts makes a big difference.

 

Yeah, but Bremont is famous for their " what were these two brothers are smoking, I want some of that" prices

 

Just me, but when I see a cheap automatic on a dive boat, by a guy changing my tires, or just about anything that would fall into the "beater" category, it's an Invicta.