My first mechanical watch was a Seiko SKX007. I wore it almost everyday for ~10 years and it was a complete delight. There is something so wonderful about having something on your wrist that feels like magical engineering.

I'm a big fan of Hamilton watches. I like the simple design and the one I have is amazingly accurate, like within seconds of NTP over weeks when the weather and temperature are ideal. They definitely don't break the bank.

Exactly this. There are tons of essentially new old stock mechanical watches from all over the world (Vostok and other similar brands) that can be had in the $100 range, and the $300-500 range has lots of solid watches (maybe also Hamilton?).

I'd take an equally functional and/or reliable Japanese movement over an ETA that is used in the "luxury" categories where you're just paying for the label on the watch.

But quartz watches (~90% of my collection) are way more practical. They last longer (most mechanical watches need servicing every 5 years at $150+ per pop), keep better time, can be picked up and put on without setting if not worn every day and are only like $3 to swap out a battery. The key is finding a neat "gimmick" with quartz watches from quality brands. Things like Tritium luminescence are good if you like field watches. Or Citizen/Casio atomic watches that are super accurate through the use of the WWVB signal. Or "other uses" -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W#Usage_in_terrorism

+1 for orient.

I have a sexy 70s quartz omega, but my daily watch is an orient ray raven II. I've regulated it myself, so its now about +- 35 seconds a month (which is better than most rolexes.....)

even cheaper are pocket watches, and they are much larger and easier to play with.

At the very least, you other watches will hold a value more than your smartwatch, long term