Disclaimer: Some prices may have updated since publishing the post and maybe over the mentioned price limit.
Without a doubt, the majority of the timepieces available are for men. It can be frustrating to find a good women’s watch, especially if you’re on a budget. Thankfully, our list will help you find the best womens watches under $100.
Before diving right in, we summarized our most notable picks in the following table.
Our Pick
As it’s a women’s watch, it isn’t surprising that it’s on the smaller side. Its case stretches 1.45 inches (37 mm) across. It looks exquisite – it comes with a shiny gold body. It looks like there’s an additional metallic effect to it – that’s because the gold wasn’t painted, it was ion-plated.
Along with the gold body, there are crystals on its hour markers. We don’t know if they’re real but considering the timepiece’s price, we’d guess pieces of glass. The crystals catch a lot of light – the 14397 turns into a disco ball when it’s bright out.
It is very water-resistant. You wouldn’t expect this from a watch that looks as good as it. It can handle 330 feet (100 meters) of water. If you’re thinking about diving with it, we have some bad news for you – you can snorkel at most. As its body is gold plated stainless steel, it’s waterproof. It can also handle scratches.
There is a calendar. It’s in the 3 o'clock position, so you won’t be straining your neck reading it. That being said, it only reads the day’s date. At least it’s magnified. Its dial is really small, so if it wasn’t, it would be impossible to read.
Something interesting about it is that it comes with a rotating bezel. As it turns, it ticks. You usually see the feature in diving watches. We think the ticks it makes are quite loud.
Women’s watches usually aren’t on the heavier side – this makes them harder to wear, even though they feel more quality. The timepiece weighs 4.37 ounces (123.6 grams). It doesn’t have a thick strap. This is good as having a lot of stainless steel on your wrist makes you sweat.
A deployant clasp with an extra safety mechanism is present. Deployant clasps are secure, so the presence of extra security means that the 14397 will not fall off your wrist.
You should be careful with its window. It’s made from a mineral that can handle a beating, but it’s not as resistant as other types of glass.
Did we mention that it’s Swiss quartz? Swiss mechanisms have a lot of craftsmanship to them, making them perfect for a lady. Some of the best watches under 100 come with the movement, regardless of gender. Unfortunately, we don’t know the name of the specific quartz movement inside of it.
What makes it special:
It’s a Swiss quartz timepiece.
The Most Functional
The Weekender isn’t a watch exclusively for women – Timex markets it as unisex. It’s one of our favourite entries, as although it isn’t the flashiest, it’s very functional and meant for the outdoors.
You’re looking at a field watch. It’s a timepiece that was created for the armed forces. They come with wide dials and accurate timekeeping. The TW2R6 has a 1.49 inch (38 mm) case, but its dial is wide. You’ll see Arabic numerals on it. Towards the center there’s a ring with military time – you can imagine how useful this would be for the military.
It rocks a leather strap. It’s great for a lady as it makes it look more regal. The leather on it is NATO. This means it’s easier to put on – you just loop it through openings. It’ll also stick to your wrist better. We have to say, the leather feels great. Timex says that it’s genuine.
In dark settings, you’ll be able to read it. It has an indigo backlight. It’s not the strongest, but it does a decent job.
The TW2R63100 can handle a bit of water. It’s water-resistant up to 100 feet (30 meters). If you’re tempted to swim with it, know that it can only handle a couple of splashes. As its strap is made from leather, getting it wet it is not a good move – it’ll take forever to dry.
You’re getting mineral on its window. As you know, the glass type isn’t the most durable. However, the one on the Weekender is extra scratch-resistant. This makes it great for the outdoors.
It’s probably the lightest watch on our list. It comes in at 1.26 ounces (35.7 grams). When you’re out and about, you can’t have your wrist weighing you down.
The device is quartz. Unfortunately, it isn’t Swiss like the entry above. It’s Japanese – Timex says that its battery is super durable. It can last up to 10 years.
What makes it special:
It’s a field watch
Tommy Hilfiger is known for its clothing line. No surprise, their watches are fabulous too. The 1781307 comes with a blue and gold colourway. It just screams luxury, even though it isn’t that expensive.
Its strap is navy blue. It’s not made from stainless steel or leather. Instead, it’s silicone. The material is very waterproof. This not only means it resists water but other types of muck too.
Although it’s quite waterproof, it can’t handle too much water. It’s only resistant up to 100 feet (30 meters). Its case is quality stainless steel so it can also handle the elements.
The bezel is thick. It uses a giant chunk of space which we’re not mad about – it makes the watch more unique. Overall, its case isn’t that big. It is only 1.41 inches (36 mm).
Did we mention that the gold on it was plated? We, unfortunately, don’t know how many karats it is.
You’ll be using a tang buckle to strap it into place. To be honest, we’re not fans of it. It takes quite an effort to work. If you have larger wrists, finding the right hole to pin into is hard.
So far, it’s the heaviest device we’ve talked about. It comes in at 5.6 ounces (158.7 grams). But it’s not a brick.
You might have to be careful with its window, it’s mineral. However, Tommy Hilfiger says that it’s extra scratch-resistant.
Although its face is small, we’re happy to see large Arabic numerals on it. This makes it a breeze to read.
What makes it special:
Its chunky bezel.
The Best For Small Wrists
Along with the Invicta timepiece, the Eco-drive is one of the most water-resistant watches we reviewed. It can handle 330 feet (100 meters) underwater. It rocks a high-quality stainless steel body, so it’s very waterproof. Citizen says that it can handle snorkeling and other serious surface marine activity.
Hopefully, you’re familiar with eco-drives. They’re Citizen’s premier solar powered watches. They are widely regarded as one of the best in the world. What’s great about them is that all kinds of light sources charge them. They also last for a long time –about 6-8 months with a full battery.
Its body is made from stainless steel with gold and silver plated on. If you’ve seen the Rolex Daytona before, you’d know how familiar the EW1544 looks – they both have gold lines running through their bracelets.
As it’s a women’s watch, it isn’t the largest. Its case stretches 1.02 inches (26 mm) across. It’s the smallest on our list. That being said, it might be too small for you. As it’s an eco-drive, it isn’t surprising that it comes with a Japanese quartz movement.
You might not be able to read its markers – its face is tiny. Citizen tried their best to make the markers readable – they are large and bolded. There is a calendar on it. It only reads the date. We’re not mad about this as having the day as well would take too much space.
The timepiece has a metallic effect on its dial. It’s pearl-like and makes it look more regal. Something we’re fans of is the fact that you get lume on such a dainty watch. But it’s only on its hands. Is it bright? Yes.
Even though it’s the smallest watch on our list, it’s not the lightest. It comes in at 3.03 ounces (85.8 grams).
There is a deployant clasp attached. It’s the push-button variant and it works exactly as you’d think. Many push-button clasps come with extra safety mechanisms, but this isn’t the case for the EW1544-53A.
What makes it special:
It’s the smallest watch we’ve reviewed.
The Most Luxurious
The Armitron timepiece gives Citizen’s eco-drive a run for its money – its case is 1.04 inches (26.5 mm). We love the shape of it. It’s square, which will catch your eye from across the room.
When Armitron made the GPBK, it was clear that they were going for a fashion piece. It comes with a minimalistic dial. It’s black with 4-hour markers. Being minimalistic, the watch looks more expensive.
The glass around its dial is a nice touch. The watchmaker says they’re Swarovski crystals, so you’re being spoilt. They seem to have been shaved down, preventing the 76/GPBK from turning into a disco ball when sunlight hits.
It also looks expensive as its strap is leather. It matches the deepness of its dial, and it feels genuine. Thankfully, it isn’t that thick as too much leather on your wrist collects sweat.
What about its window? There is a regular mineral. You already know how tough it is.
Like most of the other watches discussed, it can’t handle much water. This isn’t a surprise as it looks so good. The manufacturer says that it can handle 100 feet (30 meters). Brief splashes are all it can handle.
As it’s a fashion watch, its mechanism isn’t the most thorough. We do know that it’s Japanese quartz, though.
It weighs 4.8 ounces (136 grams). For women’s pieces, daintiness is quite important.
As it comes with a leather strap, having a tang-buckle attached doesn’t blow our mind. If you’re not a fan, you can swap it out. We’d go for a push-button deployant anytime.
What makes it special:
It has 64 Swarovski’s on its face.
We found some of the best affordable women’s watches. Many people think it’s hard to find inexpensive ladies watches, but this is far from the truth. It’s clear that the Invicta piece deserved our number 1 spot – it looks exquisite and comes with a Swiss quartz movement even though it doesn’t cost much.
What exactly makes a woman’s watch different from a man’s? The size.
