Wristwatch Review: The Walmart Automatic Men's Watch

A few months ago, I found a brochure on the watch counter at Walmart. They were introducing an attractively styled men's watch with a 21 jewel automatic mechanical movement for the earth shattering price of $50. I folded up the brochure, put it in my wallet, and vowed to get one when I had the opportunity. Automatic watches have traditionally been made in the fine watch factories of Europe and are masterpieces of miniature engineering. Unfortunately, the high cost of fine Swiss Watches has long placed automatic watches out of the price range of most middle class buyers. Recently brands like Sauer, Invicta, and Swiss Legend started making watches in Asia and brought prices for automatic watches down to less than $300. Now Walmart is selling an unbranded automatic watch for $50. Even more exciting for me, when I bought my Walmart automatic watch, Walmart had it on sale for even less than the regular $50 price.

What kind of automatic wristwatch do you get for less than $50? My Walmart Automatic is a classic divers-style watch with a stainless steel back and an apparently non-rotating base metal bezel with numbers at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 minutes and hashes for the first 15 minutes of the hour and at 5 minute intervals thereafter. The bezel is 37mm in diameter. The watch face crystal is 27mm in diameter and has 1 millimeter (mm) luminous dots at 5 minute intervals and the word "Automatic" at the 12 o'clock position. The Walmart Automatic has a full-skeleton dial which is a 20mm diameter transparent window on the face that reveals the internals of the self-winding movement. The case is bumped out to protect the crown from being inadvertently pulled or irritating the back of the wrist. The watch case measures 41mm across from the edge of the bezel to the tip of the crown. The watch is 10mm thick which makes it similarly sized to a typical quartz movement watch. The Walmart Automatic Watch is neither too heavy, nor too light. I was pleased to find that the Walmart Automatic watch has a stainless steel band that fits my 8 1/2-inch wrist perfectly. When I left it unattended in my watch box, I found that the Walmart Automatic lived up to the promised 40 hours of run time.

Of course, for less than $50, the Walmart Automatic is not the perfect watch. The whole nation of Switzerland can breath again and return to their regularly scheduled activities. While I found the Walmart Automatic to be a great wristwatch, if you need to justify a $3500 automatic watch, there are a few flaws to note. First, the Walmart Automatic has some rather sharp surfaces on the edge of the bands and on the clasp. While the watch is generally comfortable, these unsmoothed edges can sometimes slightly chafe the wearer and scrape uncomfortably on fabric furniture and other surfaces. Second, apparently the bezel does not rotate. If you like using the rotating bezel of a divers-style watch to measure elapsed time, you'll be disappointed with the fixed bezel of the Walmart Automatic wristwatch. Third, many premium automatic watches have a transparent (or exhibition) caseback that allows the wearer to see the back of the watch mechanism. However, the Walmart Automatic simply has a traditional stainless steel back like any other watch. Fourth, the Walmart Automatic has no snob appeal and no historic pedigree. You won't be asked to join a yacht crew by virtue of wearing a Walmart watch. Finally, even the finest automatic watches are inherently less accurate that quartz movement watches. You may have to make adjustments from time to time to ensure that the watch is accurate.

Overall, I enjoy owning and wearing the Walmart Automatic. The watch seems alive. When I hold it to my ear, I can hear it tick. When I watch it, I can see lots of gears and mechanisms moving. It has the classic diver style looks I enjoy with my Relic "Wet" Multi-Function Men's Watch. The Walmart Automatic also has the fascinating movement dynamics of my Invicta Men's Mechanical Skeleton Watch in a more masculine package. For $50 or less, the Walmart Automatic represents a breakthrough value in the world of wristwatches. It also goes great with my knock-about Walmart Wedding Ring.