This Affordable Rolex Alternative Is Nearly Identical To The Iconic Oyster Perpetual

Few accessories make an outfit quite like a nice timepiece. Watches have been synonymous with luxury and style for generations, with some watches even appreciating over time. As part of this class, Rolex is one of the best-known and most coveted watch makers on the market. This notoriety comes with quite a premium, with some models clocking in at over $1 million. Even more standard models, like the classic Oyster Perpetual 41, start around $6,650 on Rolex's Website. If wearing a small — or, in some cases, extremely large — fortune around your wrist sounds daunting, one Japanese manufacturer offers an alternative with style and capability very similar to the Oyster Perpetual at a fraction of the price.

With most models coming in at around $356, the Citizen Tsuyosa comes with a stainless steel case in both 40-millimeter and 37-millimeter varieties. Considering even a pre-owned Oyster Perpetual of similar size can come in at well over $8,000, the Tsuyosa is a virtual steal by comparison. And while an Oyster Perpetual's price can skyrocket depending on certain specs, the Tsuyosa's price stays fairly consistent regardless of your preferred face color or bracelet design. The Tsuyosa is not a carbon copy of the Oyster Perpetual, but the more you learn about this affordable alternative, the more parallels you start to notice between it and its Rolex counterpart. Of course, buyers should be warned to only purchase the watch on verified sites, as fraudulent website scams are becoming increasingly common.

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual comes in several sizes, its largest being the 36-millimeter and 41-millimeter varieties. As there are Citizen Tsuyosa models within 1 millimeter of each of those sizes, and both models are made of stainless steel, the feel and footprint of these watches overlap quite closely. Both watches are water resistant, though the Tsuyosa is only rated to withstand 50 meters of depth, where the Oyster Perpetual can handle 100. You'll also never need to wind either of these models, as the Oyster Perpetual is powered by Rolex's caliber 3230 self-winding mechanism, and the Tsuyosa has its own automatic mechanism that never calls for a battery. Both watches also offer a variety of face and dial colors, and their respective shades of black, green, and blue are nearly identical.

Despite their similarities, some buyers might be deadset on getting a watch that says "Rolex" on it. Those looking to spend a little more than they would on a Tsuyosa but less than what they'd pay for an Oyster Perpetual could also consider some entry-level Rolex models like the discontinued Oysterdate 6694. That said, while Rolex might be one of the bigger names in the watch game, Citizen is a perfectly respected brand as well. According to the company's website, it's been making timepieces for over 100 years. In that time, it's continued refining its process, utilizing new materials like titanium, and improving every design it produces.