Looking for a beater

If you want a beater then quartz/solar is definitely the way to go, the solar seiko tuna or solar sumo gmt work for larger wrists or if they aren't your thing then casio has the edifice/lineage/oceanus lines. You could also look at kinetic watches if you don't mind walking the dog and don't have too many watches.

If you are going for a reliable beater I would suggest a G-shock or a Citizen Eco-Drive. If you are going in dodgy areas and need to remain low key without attracting to much attention to your watch try to get a black one. Works like a charm here in South Africa because they think its plastic even if its PVD coated or something.

Nothing beats a Casio in that regard. Steel, rasing, Quartz or Auto...they all hold their ground.

Preowned or NOS Tissot 1853 PRS200 Chronograph Diver. (T362/462).

Less than $300 for a watch that can go from business to beach and look great doing it with Quartz grab 'n go simplicity. Super comfortable bracelet, multiple dial colors.

Oh, and if it has to be Swiss, buy a Glycine Combat 6. It's my motorcycle watch and so far has withstood everything I threw at her! 😁

Squale

Little bit above but traska beaters doesn't get beaten

I might suggest a Casio World Time "Royale," modded with a stainless steel case from SKXMOD and a leather strap from Vario.

Casio DW5600

Automatic? Hamilton Khaki is always my go to answer for this price. Non mainstream? Hard to also beat the values that Nodus, Spinnaker, and Boldr offer in this range. I would buy one of those, in that order.

GWM5610 immediately comes to mind because no one will steal it, you'll never break it, it'll radio sync in countries with signal, and you can just flip through the world time zones and swap them for your home time with a few button presses anywhere you go.

If you're looking for something a bit more normal, I'd say just get whatever 100m+ wr, quartz analog watch from a brand you trust looks and fits you the best. There are a lot of good options, so I think it's mostly taste. I guess if you really want mechanical, then a seiko, orient, or citizen diver you like the look of would make sense and be easy to replace. Micros would be an option but replacing those can be harder.

What size range do you prefer? That's the ultimate starting point

Nothing bigger than a 42

Here are a few suggestions that are built to last ie "Beaters"

I wear my Aragon to work all the time, it will take what you give it and look 🔥 while you do it.

https://youtu.be/qHLJHZ8QkVA?si=f4gKtOD-HqJfYaRv

https://youtu.be/zuffSnnZUuk?si=BtplaDnrT4nmk8HS

https://youtu.be/VWOPptn4R7c?si=6ADDVK5c_SWKa165

https://youtu.be/ZpvUXTn2Whg?si=hWIZ5WOPDailGvmA

There are some more on the website

https://www.aragonwatch.com/ARAGON_Divemaster_42_Skeleton_Seiko_NH72_Automatic_p/a015blk.htm

Ambush makes this…it will solve your feeling naked problem (comes in Steel too)

My beater is the Baltic GMT. Very versatile and can take a beating.

Chris Ward diver is what my buddy got 👍

Seiko 5GMT

If the question is beater, the answer is G Shock. No mechanical can truly compare.

Unimatic has some pretty solid choices for around that budget. Also, if you travel a lot you might consider a Seiko 5 GMT or a Venezianico GMT

G-Shock would definitely check all the boxes for a beater.

Certina DS series!

for a beater, I would suggest a Casio MRW-200H. It has some variation on the dial so you can try looking at their website. On my country, it retails around $20 to $30.

Pros:

• Surprisingly durable. It comes with 100m Water Resist (I wore it for swimming and its still ticking find with no water damage. Also, I wear it often when I cook dinner)

• Easy to read dial (analog)

• Rotating Bezel

• Strap can be swapped with another winged nylon strap

• Its very cheap, but feels decent on wrist. If something bad happens, you can either claim warranty or just buy another

• You can brag that you wear a NASA watch (please don't do this, although its true 😂)

Cons

• Case is not made of stainless steel (website mentions its made of resin, but personally, it doesn't feel cheap on my wrist)

• Might be too big for some wrist (lug to lug around 45mm to 47mm)

• Glass is made of resin (Not that scratch proof but polywatch should be able to fix most scratches)

Reference

• https://www.casio.com/mea-en/watches/casio/product.MRW-200H-1B2V/ (the model that I have is this)

• I took a WRUW of this watch. Feel free to take a look at it on my profile for reference

I hope you find that one watch that you are looking for 👍

Lots of prx Seiko available on sale in that budget.

I’d start there.

That’s what I got for my beater.