The Summer of Ana-Digi: a Helpful Guide to the Retro Format

Analog and digital timepieces used to wage war on the wrists of horological enthusiasts. Nowadays, though, they’re more of a united front against the tide of smart watches and phones, offering wildly differing price points, use cases, and aesthetics. No longer is a digital calculator watch seen as “nerdy”, as celebrities and public figures like New York mayor Zohran Mamdani are frequently seen rocking the classic Casio silhouette. And despite their seemingly anachronistic focus on tactile functionality and focus, analog watches have never been more popular with young people looking to escape the crushing presence of their digital lives.

That’s where the analog-digital (“ana-digi”) format comes in. A clever combination of the best features of both types of “old school” timekeeping, new iterations like the Autodromo Group C Turbo Sport are priced compellingly, and cast a wide net despite sometimes venturing outside of most design conventions. They can be a great introduction to the larger world of watches, and unique conversation pieces in their own right. So, let’s dive in and take a look at some notable ana-digi watches from watchmakers you already know and love, and what sets them apart from their more traditional stablemates. 

Starting with the undisputed king of digital watches, Casio’s G-SHOCK sub-brand has a frankly staggering amount of ana-digi options on hand. Their aptly-named Analog-Digital collection boasts over 100 models currently and hundreds more in the past, and they range from eye-popping to utilitarian in terms of aesthetics. Somewhere in the middle is the rather classically G-SHOCK GA100BEG-1A model ($120), wearing a spy-movie matte black and electro green color scheme and classic G-Shock features like extreme shock resistance, illuminating digital displays at 3 and 9 o’clock, and three subdials that balance out the top half of the dial. It’s busy, brash, and downright loaded with features you’ll likely never need, making the perfect choice for anyone into adventuring.

Other GA100- series models come in wilder color schemes with varying functions, but the -BEG-1A is about as classic Casio G-SHOCK as it gets, and is a perfect standard bearer for the brawny boundary-pushing potential of an ana-digi watch. You can make a very serious argument that the G-SHOCK line is perhaps the most well-loved and widely appreciated watch collection on the planet, and if you’re a seasoned G-SHOCK collector or newcomer to the line, an ana-digi choice is the sweet spot. 

Like Casio, Seiko has made many ana-digi watches, stretching back to the 1980s. Classic square pieces and more dressy watches with rounded corners share space with chronographs with digital date displays—it’s easy to get lost in the Japanese giant’s offerings. But if you’re shopping for a Seiko ana-digi watch today, it’s hard not to go for the iconic Prospex SNJ025, the spiritual successor to the segment-defining H558 diver worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator. It’s an intimidating watch that packs 200 meters of water resistance into its bulky 48mm case, and it certainly commands a level of respect that you won’t find with other smaller offerings. With the digital display tucked above the 12 o’clock position, pushing the hour marker and surrounding indices down, it remains legible, durable, and certainly capable. Three pushers and three crowns circle the bezel, and the Seiko H851 solar quartz movement powers the whole thing with scary accuracy. 

It’s no doubt that there are much smaller ana-digi watches in the Seiko lineup that may appeal to a broader range of people, but the Prospex brings superb functionality and rock-solid reliability to the forefront. It’s likely too big to wear every day, but if you’re taking off on a more rugged adventure (or just want to look the part), the Prospex SNJ025 is an instantly-iconic and shockingly affordable (the retail price is $500) choice that has inspired many more expensive watches both in its current iteration, and in its star-studded past. 

The Promaster Skyhawk is Citizen’s beefiest pilot offering, and it looks every bit as serious as the name sounds. While different variations of the Skyhawk tout different specs, dimensions, and functions, stalwarts like the U830 chronograph and Skyhawk A-T with atomic timekeeping manage to come in handily under $1,000 while packing in features like perpetual calendars, dual time alarms, countdown timers, and even up to 200 meters of water resistance. With Citizen Eco-Drive technology and robust movements like the calibers U830 and U680, all ana-digi options across the Skyhawk line are built for high-altitude sophistication. 

Not a fan of flying? No problem. The Promaster WaveTracker is a yacht racing watch with a high-definition MIP LCD display that shows wave patterns via a tide graph. It’s a very niche feature, sure, but in a 42mm case and stylish colorways like green and gold, blue and silver, and black and orange, you can definitely sneak it onto your wrist on dry land, too. Plus, that little LCD display doesn’t just show tides—it can be changed to show race timers, a calendar, and more. You likely can’t afford a yacht, but you might as well wear a watch that thinks you can. 

Rounding up our selection of more budget-friendly options is Tissot, who have long offered ana-digi options, ranging from the very popular Two-Timer series of fun sport watches and the TSX series of motorsport watches, to the smart-adjacent T-Touch series, which combines smartwatch functionality with more traditional analog design and features. The main benefit of a T-Touch watch is that they don’t sacrifice classic analog style at the behest of those smart features. For instance, the T-Touch Connect Solar, powered by a solar tactile quartz movement, has a ceramic bezel, titanium 47.5mm case, and sapphire crystal protecting the standard analog hour and minute dial. The knurled crown is tucked within a guard and sits at 3 o’clock, between two pushers at 2 and 4 that control the digital screen, stretching across the bottom half of the dial. There’s even Super-LumiNova coating on the hands and indexes for legibility. Smart features do abound though, with the T-Touch capable of showing multiple time zones and powering a perpetual calendar, along with tracking calories burned, weather, altitude, temperature, and even incoming calls if paired to a phone. It may be a little too connected for some, but it’s an excellent peace offering between the analog and smartwatch camps, and maintains the classier styling cues of a “real” watch. 

If you’re looking for something less connected and more vintage, though, Tissot has a back catalog of cute and funky ana-digi timepieces that can be had for very tempting low prices on the used market. Vintage Two Timers from the 1980s and even Formula One TSX editions are relatively plentiful on the web, and you may even stumble across a titanium T690 or two. It’s a veritable treasure hunt of ana-digi Tissots, waiting for the right scavengers to come along. 

No watchmaker has as much spacefaring panache as Omega, and with the much awaited NASA Artemis II mission launch in April 2026, all eyes were once again on the wrists of the astronauts to see what timepieces they’d bring up to the vast expanse of space. The most visible horological star was, of course, an Omega—the X-33 to be exact. A titanium-encased Speedmaster variant, the X-33 doesn’t really have the same swoon-inducing pull of the classic Speedmaster Moonwatch, but it makes up for it in nerdy cool factor. Across several iterations, the X-33 has changed slightly in appearance, but functionality remains mostly the same: purpose-built mission timers, phase elapsed time, and dual time zone functions grace a dial-filling LCD display. 

The second generation X-33 got all the attention on the wrists of the Artemis II crew, and is the most classically handsome of the series, with a silver bezel, an inner minute track, and clear, luminous hands and markers. This generation debuted in the 2000s, and the caseback notably reads “Flight-Qualifed by NASA for Space Missions”, which is a pretty damn cool easter egg to bust out at a Earth-dwelling party. The third and fourth generations, while cool, don’t have that NASA qualification, hence the choice of the second-gen watch for the real deal. Plus, that classic concentric digital display was replaced by a more modern-looking black display with light text for later generations, doing away with some of that cool retro flair. There are other Omega ana-digi options to be had, like the flashy Seamaster Regatta, but nothing beats a space watch as far as the watch nerd community is concerned.

Not currently in production, watches in the X-33 line are readily available on the pre-owned market starting at around $2,500, which is perhaps the best deal going for something that says “Speedmaster” on the dial and has genuine spaceflight pedigree. 

Returning to the skies, the Breitling Professional Aerospace B70 Orbiter ($5,300, but a sold out limited edition) represents perhaps the creme-de-la-creme of ana-digi pilot watches. It sits at the top of a line that includes the similar but more subtle Evo, the B-1 of the late ‘90s and early 2000s, and the even earlier Pluton and Jupiter Navitimer models of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The spectacular Breitling B70 SuperQuartz thermocompressed movement at the heart of the Orbiter is matched in prowess by the titanium 43mm case, packing a frankly insane amount of power into a lightweight package. A bidirectional ratcheted bezel with brushed finishing surrounds the orange dial, fading into black at the minute track. It’s a bold design and framed by the digital displays at the top and bottom of the dial, and that covet-worthy Breitling logo acting as the 12. 

The digital displays showcase a 1/100th of a second chronograph function, a second timezone, two alarms, and a perpetual calendar. Visible through the exhibition caseback is a segment of the original balloon that adventurers Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones circumnavigated the globe with in 1999—the Orbiter was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of that journey. 

For the ana-digi timehunter on a truly limited budget, the used market is the place to be. Many models from the brands mentioned above, plus more from other heavyweights like Timex, can be had for under $500 and even under $100 in many cases. They come with the usual caveats of vintage watches, of course—limited serviceability or parts availability, potential wear, etc. But since most ana-digi watches are quartz-powered, they likely don’t need as complicated of a refresh as some older mechanical watches. 

On the flip side, some microbrands have joined the ana-digi huddle, with notable examples like Brew’s Metric Digital Blend for espresso enthusiasts, the aforementioned Autodromo Group C Turbo Sport for those craving some ‘80s tachometer vibes, and other compelling options like the Islander Rocky Point and Cadence Chadwick. As microbrands continue to push the envelope and blur the line between big-name luxury and independent watchmaking, we should see even more options come to market soon. 

There’s never been a better time to get into both analog and digital watches, with enthusiasts’ current cravings for a return to simpler tech and funkier designs. Whether you choose to buy something new or vintage, from a well-known brand with a deep history or from a plucky microbrand with something to prove, you’re more spoiled for options than ever.