What are good watch brands *not uber expensive*

[SeanGAR]

Hard to beat Seiko or Citizen. I haven't seen a reasonably prices Swiss watch in 10 years or so ... used to be you could get a nice Glycine, Epos, Fortis, Oris, Revue Thommen or Zeno for under $400. Not any more. And mechanical watches are cool, but normally need servicing each 5-8 years, which is not cheap. Seiko mechanicals are basically throw away .. it would cost as much to service as buy a new one unless you are lucky and have a good watchmaker nearby.