13 best digital watches – from the OG Casio to the outright bonkers (2024)

Digital watches, if nothing else, are designed to be fun, hassle-free additions to your daily life. You don't need hour, minute and second hands to be able to tell the time; quartz and mechanical watches are a waste of precious brainpower. Instead, invest in one our list of the best digital watches in 2023, from dirt cheap Casios to a £100K+ grail number.

Casio F-91W

£19,90 is not a typo. When it comes to having a watch on your wrist, this is hands down the best bang for your buck dollar, Euro or Yen in the world. The evergreen Casio F-91W sits on the wrist of school kids and construction workers just as well as it does under a suit jacket for someone working in corporate finance. For under £20, you're getting a crystal clear display, light and alarm – not to mention all the street-cred attached to rocking one. Its featherweight fit and ironic popularity among anti-watch peeps make it a talking point around anyone. £19.90. At jurawatches.co.uk

Casio A100WEG-9EF

If you want some vintage gold to go with your Stranger Things party swag this is it. An ingot of gold-coloured resin with a metal strap, it has the same charm as that which persuaded Barca star striker Robert Lewandowski to wear a Casio with his tux, and then some. The haptic charm of colour-coded function buttons come for free. £69. At jurawatches.co.uk

Timex T80 x Peanuts

34mm of summer cool with a massive hit of summer charm that belies its reserved size. A greenish tinge brings a touch of 1984 to the multifunction screen while Snoopy gazes up at the summer sky on a rainbow. Embrace the rainbow-colour-washed display – it's not quite to the level of other rainbow watches – as part of your new mantra to not take yourself too seriously. £85. At timex.co.uk

Casio G-Shock DW-6940RX-7

Nothing says digi-lit like a G-Shock. As part of its “Clear Remix” series, this is a jelly fresh take on the classic big bruiser DW-6900 series. Big, legible, and tough, it’s crystal-clear case is like an ice cube on a hot day. With a softer strap than the normal G-Shock resin, it has winning for the summer hols written all over it. £159. At g-shock.co.uk

Swatch Touch

Dating back to the ‘80s, Swatch can – and must – be credited for reviving the entire Swiss watch industry with its cheeky twists on everyday fun wristwear. Forty years later, we bring you the only Swatch with no hands, the Touch in its organic glory. The huge numbers on the screen might seem a bit too big, but it’s what differentiates this khaki sweetheart as smooth alternative to go-to Japanese digis. Quite chunky at 39mm, the smooth charm of the Swatch Touch is £91. At swatch.com/en-gb

Timex T80

For reasons already mentioned, digital watches are steeped in ‘80s and ’90s lore, and this cushion-shaped T80 is no exception. The brushed gold-toned 36mm case has a chunky, polished side profile that makes it a rather dressy number appropriate for, well, anything really as who abides by dress codes anymore? It's packed with functionality and besides a slinky-soft bracelet, there’s the party trick of the Timex Indiglo light-up dial, all for £85. At timex.co.uk

Hamilton American Classic PSR

You might be more au fait with digital wristwear from the usual Japanese suspects, but the first taste of glowing sci-fi numerals came from the US of A with the fabled Hamilton PSR. Once powered by the glow of energy-zapping LEDs, today this Swiss chunk of steel will make you (it won't) an extra in The Mandalorian alongside Pedro Pascal. We’ll take the full Sith look of the PVD black version, a silent menace until you press the button to fire up the hybrid OLED display for your next mission. £980. At hamiltonwatch.com

Autodromo Group C

For those who thought G-Shock had a monopoly on digital wrist-popping delights, think again – American microbrand Autodromo changes that assumption in a (yellow) flash. Inside a solid steel case with a lucid yellow colour, it brings to mind everything from the racing cars driving 350mph at Le Mans to Sony Walkmans from 1984. We’re all for it, primarily because of the sharp reverse-colour display, but also thanks to its 36mm size and a depth rating of 300m. £445. At autodromo.com

G-Shock CasiOak Full Metal Tiffany

There are also digi-grails we didn’t know we needed, starting with this bad boy. Scandinavian design is no longer all about arty minimalism, as this hand-painted art for the wrist proves in abundance with pops of Tiffany blue. G-Shock hit the spot when it finally released the all-steel Casioak, but IFL amps up the game with its limited editions of bullet-proof and unique wrist-art. £1,049. At Iflwatches.com

Breitling Aerospace Red Arrows EVO Titanium 43

Ignore the set of hands on this daddy and focus on the fact the digi-display has a 1/100sec chronograph, and a testosterone-fuelled flyboy vibe. This titanium nugget from Breitling is the tool watch of real-life Mavericks, hence the red jet fighter formation on the deep blue dial. Razor-sharp for accuracy and standard issue for our fave aerobatic aces the Red Arrows, this is the real deal (while also being digital). £3,500. At watchesofswitzerland.co.uk

Girard-Perregaux Casquette

Revived from its decades-long slumber, presumably aboard the Death Star, GP's Casquette offers a wrist presence like no other watch. The geek grail of the '70s hugs you like an alien armadillo with glowing eyes inside its shell-like head, and is sci-fi made real. Swiss and hand-crafted with a vintage LED display it’s a digital, ceramic grail worth its £4,000. At girard-perregaux.com

Chanel Monsieur Blue Edition

We have taken the liberty to stretch the truth a touch, but this time with a scholarly purpose. The first digital watches were jump-hour watches like this deeply desirable Chanel Monsieur. Just like this blue enigma, where a indigo disc with 12 hour numerals revolves within a framed window at 6 o’clock, proclaiming the hour. With the vertically balanced beauty of a prima ballerina, the Chanel Monsieur is a quietly spoken grail in white gold for £38,000. At chanel.com

Urwerk UR-120 Space Black

£96K for this futurist knock out UR-120 from the secret Urwerk lab in Geneve, anyone? With its mind-boggling digital display of mechanical twisting, rotating satellites, it's perhaps a bit of a surprise just how legible this alien space craft for the wrist is. Count yourself lucky to grab a glimpse into the future of the high-tech dark mastery of micro-mechanics earlier than others. £96,000. At urwerk.com