Watchlist: the best timepieces for up to £500

That “262 kHz” on the dial? It’s the vibrational frequency of Bulova’s UHF quartz movement, eight times greater than a standard quartz crystal thanks to the addition of a third prong, meaning the seconds hand doesn’t tick but sweeps smoothly around.

£319; bulova.com

With its Sixties motorsport-inspired watches designed in Canada and powered by movements as solid as a V8, Kickstarter startup Helgray has been a rightful success story. The Brigadier is a venture away from the track and into military utility, with a Japanese Miyota auto inside.

£344.50; helgray.com

Quite apart from The Fast and the… connotations lent by this chrono’s frankly absurd nomenclature, we love the unabashedly racy lines inspired by Certina’s role as official timekeeper of the ADAC GT Masters – a European GT3 racing series you probably haven’t heard of.

£390; certina.com

The Hoxton-based brand that kicked off the current trend for UK-designed, Swiss-made minimalist hipster watches is still the original and the best – so distinctively minimalist that a Uniform Wares dial doesn’t even need a logo to be recognised.

£350; uniformwares.com

The first-ever bona fide Swiss mechanical assembled entirely by robot – and by default the best-value Swiss mechanical on the market – is now available in steel, on a steel bracelet, for no more a price hike than a few bus fares. Your move, every other “accessible” brand out there…

£139.50; swatch.com

While Swatch’s Sistem51 might be the cheapest Swiss mechanical out there, its venerable sister brand Tissot, meanwhile, arguably makes the best-value luxury autos. The mechanics inside this good-looking auto are a tune-up of the classic ETA 2824 engine, giving 80 hours of power.

£450; tissot.ch