I swap out my straps with alarming regularity, so I would buy several straps.

I like sailcloth straps.  I've purchased at least one for my dive watch.  Black with white stitching would work well with your watch.

Mechanical watches:

Seconding what @ermant said, you might want to look at watches with the Poljot/Luch 2209 movement or the Luch/Vimpel 1801 movement.  Many models are 8mm thick, but I suspect some models could be slimmer.

It's easy to find models that are under $100.  As a bonus, both movements are shock resistant.

To me, they're attractive and functional accessories to what I'm wearing.

I like picking out the perfect watch (swapping the bezels and straps as necessary) for the activity and outfit.  Whether I'm hiking in the Rockies, snorkeling in the Caribbean, going to the office, or burning up the dance floor in my nicest kilt, I have a watch that is right for the circumstances, and will look damn good at the same time.

@Mrbudgetwatch just posted a video review of a different Yema model:

https://www.watchcrunch.com/Mrbudgetwatch/posts/disappointing-experience-with-the-yema-rallygraf-2568

I don't have any personal experience with the brand.

I like snorkeling.  If I'm going in water, I'll usually put my diver on stainless steel mesh:

I also have a selection of canvas straps that can handle the water:

In my opinion, a leather strap screams "desk diver."  (I don't have any leather straps that are treated to handle the water.)

@london.timepieces, the dislike for leather straps on divers raises a question … what's the opinion of field watches on leather straps … if the field watch looks like a diver?

This is the field watch that I was thinking of (30m water resistance):

I have a burgundy leather strap that fits this watch.  The burgundy and blue combination would work well.  The watch isn't going into the water.

Would you wear this watch with a leather strap?

Too large for my wrist, but I'd like to find an appropriate watch (small, affordable, and preferably Russian/Soviet) that has a similar dial.

Is it possible that these criticisms arose purely from a simple misunderstanding?  Did the people posting on Facebook spell out "everyday carry," or did they just type "EDC" and expect everyone to know what they meant?

I know what "everyday carry" is.  But if you were to mention EDC out of context, it probably wouldn't occur to me that's what you're talking about.  Acronyms are great when everyone knows what they mean.  And acronyms are terrible when many people don't know.

But why would people misunderstand EDC?

I Googled "EDC acronym" and discovered more than 100 meanings for EDC:

• Education Development Center, Inc.
• Export Development Canada
• Everyday Carry
• Electronic Data Capture
• Economic Development Corporation
• Electric Daisy Carnival
• Economic Development Commission
• Economic Development Council
• Electronic Devices and Circuits
• Eau de Cologne
• Endocrine Disrupting Chemical
• EROS Data Center
• etc.

So let's just say that the meaning of EDC could be a bit ambiguous.  And if the people posting to Facebook were to lazy/busy to type out "everyday carry," then why would they assume that the average reader would be sufficiently curious (and overburdened with spare time) to do a Google search, then read through 100+ results to guess what they probably meant?

@CascadiaEDC, I commend you for actually spelling out what EDC means.  But you seem to be in the minority of posters.  (I spent too long earlier today, on another forum, figuring out what OCBD stood for … just because two people were too lazy to type out "oxford cloth button down.")