Graff Diamonds makes a watch called the Hallucination. For $55 million, you can purchase a watch that The International Watch Company describes as "a remarkable fusion of horological excellence and artistic extravagance." It's a watch that tells you the time (the horology bit) that's basically smothered in multi-coloured diamonds (the ostentatiously excessive artistic extravagance bit).

Or, you could save roughly $54,999,800 on one of the following that do the exact same thing (and more). So without further ado, here are five great value, albeit diamond-free watches, worthy of any collection.

We love microbrands, and we especially love it when one grows into a watch brand in its own right. Behold, Vaer. Based in Venice, California, Vaer works through an impressive supply chain that tries to keep things as local as possible, while making great watches. You feel like you’re helping the boys down the block with every purchase.

Vaer describes the Meridian as a military-inspired diver, and we would not argue with that. It features water resistance to 150 meters, a unidirectional bezel, and a quartz movement, offering convenience and durability. It also looks rather good on the wrist, even if that wrist spends more time on a keyboard than anywhere near the ocean.

39mm stainless steel case, 46mm lug-to-lug, FKM Ocean strap, Miyota GM12 quartz movement, dive and office-ready.

KRONOSTi ("Kronos," meaning time, and "Ti," meaning titanium) is a Taiwanese OEM we first spotted on Kickstarter, where their ShadowShark was available for under $100. When it arrived, we liked it immediately: light, solid, comfortable, made of titanium, and just plain fun to wear.

KRONOSTi calls these divers. We're not sure why. Nobody's diving here. To us, they feel more like field watches. In the end, we don't think it matters much. What matters is this watch itself, which earns a lot more wrist time than we expected when we bought it.

38mm titanium case, 47mm lug-to-lug, NH38 movement, rubber strap. BTW, if you've ever wanted to start your own microbrand (we all dream), KRONOSTi offers a build-your-own package, starting at two grand (USD).

Matt Cross, the owner of US-based Helm, has been making seriously tough watches since 2015. The Togiak, named after an Alaskan wildlife refuge, reflects this toughness with a case made of Grade 2 titanium and water resistance to 600 feet. Moreover, Helm offers a choice of bezels that range from elapsed time to compass markings, depending on how you imagine yourself spending the weekend (we’d choose the drinks counter, if one were available.)

There may be a waitlist, but it's a different sort of waitlist from the ones whispered about at Rolex boutiques, where people talk of "getting the call." With Helm, the wait is for practical reasons, and when the watch finally arrives, you still get to keep both the watch and your dignity. A fair trade, we believe.

42 mm Grade 2 titanium case, 49 mm lug-to-lug, NH35 movement with UTC and date; rubber strap (or matching titanium bracelet), and a bezel of your choice.

There are plenty of "vintage-inspired" watch brands out there, and then there's Dan Henry. Henry himself is a world-class watch collector (his online museum, vintage.watch, is a rabbit hole worth falling into). At some point, he decided to turn that obsession into a brand of stylish, credible, and eminently affordable watches.

We chose to feature the 1963 Pilot Chronograph for this issue. Why? Well, it looks terrific, for one. But also: flip it over and you'll find the SR-71 Blackbird stamped on the caseback. The Blackbird! As kids, we couldn't stop staring at pictures of the fastest plane ever built, and this watch manages to bottle a little of that magic.

40mm stainless steel case, 46.8mm lug-to-lug, sapphire crystal, Seiko Mecha-Quartz chronograph movement, and an imprint of an SR71 on your wrist if you wear the watch too tightly.

British-based Avail specialises in making minimalist watches, both stylistically and price-wise. Avail watches range from the slightly dressy (well, business casual) Bremen, to a selection of chronographs, to this, a proper field watch.

For the price, you get a British-assembled watch running on a Seiko movement; the watch has a mineral versus the more scratch-resistant sapphire, something to keep in mind if you frequently bang your watch into doorways or wrestle with kitchen cupboards. And the thing is, it looks like it should cost at least twice as much. At 40mm, it’s a substantial field watch. At $99, it is an extraordinary value.

Oh! For the price of one Graff Hallucination, you could buy half a million Avail Cargo Field watches. Change your watch every hour and you’d still have enough Cargos left for 63 years. Which is, admittedly, excessive.

40mm stainless steel case, 'Japan' Quartz movement (we believe it's a Seiko), nylon strap, water-resistant to 30 meters (it's not a diver).

Watch500 publishes twice a week: Watch500 Weekly covers news, releases, and industry insights, while The Five brings you themed watch picks (like these). Get the best of the $500 watch world - new releases, brand discoveries, industry news, and the stories behind timepieces that are eminently affordable.

And feel free to pass this along to someone else who doesn’t need another watch, but will probably buy one anyway.