New formal watch: Classy, Functional, Affordable, all at the same time?

Looking for something to replace this:

https://www.amazon.com/Casio-AW81D-2AV-Ana-Digi-Stainless-Steel/dp/B000AR96IK/

Functionally the only things imperfect about it are that it doesn't show the full time and date at a glance (you have to press a button to toggle), and the light is pretty weak. It's visibly cheap which only bothers me a little, but my wrist seems to be outgrowing it and it can't be expanded any further, which bothers me A LOT. I'd like to get something that looks nicer and retains as much functionality as possible, which seem to be conflicting goals. I looked at this Casio which is a higher-end model to the one I have now, but it still looks a bit cheaper than I'd like and there were too many complaints about durability. Also carefully considered a smartwatch but decided it's not time yet. Budget: $120

Here are the two closest matches I've found so far. Both just have radium-painted dials rather than a light, which I can settle for.

Fossil ME1128

Upsides: Classy AF, never needs batteries

Downsides: Near top of budget, just tells time like it's 1899 (you get hours/minutes/seconds and that's it). Basically I'd have to start relying on my phone for a lot of things I currently use a watch for.

Fossil Machine Chronograph Smoke

Upsides: Doesn't eat all the budget, shows date and has stopwatch function.

Downsides: Blue face dials look a bit more "sporty" than I'd like for this application. There are more expensive models with a white face...they know what they're doing.

Any better suggestions? I'm looking for something silver to gunmetal in color and not too shiny/polished, 39-45mm case, at least water-resistant, needs to be night-readable somehow. I'd like a watch with both analog and digital readouts but it seems that those all look too cheap and/or sporty.

You're gonna laugh at me - but my go-to classy watch is a Garmin Fenix 3HR Sapphire Titanium.

Doesn't look like all those other smart watches, all blacked out, real metal band, sapphire crystal. 

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Fenix-Special-Titanium-Band/dp/B073HPD5TQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519755174&sr=8-1&keywords=garmin+fenix+3+hr+sapphire+titanium&dpID=41kDGnyI6%252BL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

She's a big girl tho, so if you are a tiny little stick man it may look a little out of place.  

That watch is not far from what I'm looking for, apart from the price.

I have an Armitron watch that looks kind of like this one.

Gave up wearing it because there was some weirdness with the back of the watch requiring Hydraulic Press Channel levels of force to get it re-installed after changing the battery, and I was afraid I'd break it changing the batteries. A competant jeweler could probably fix it.

This Armitron looks good both visually and functionally:

https://www.amazon.com/Armitron-20-5182BKSV-Analog-Digital-Silver-Tone/dp/B01LRY8478/

But after measuring 50mm across my wrist, I revised my size specifications down...

Edit: This one's not bad, but I couldn't pick it over the Fossil Machine Chrono:

https://www.amazon.com/Armitron-204677BLSV-Stainless-Steel-Bracelet/dp/B0044QYG4C/

In reply to GameboyRMH :

Citizen Eco-Drives hold their value like last generation Jaguars. If you have someone nearby that takes them in on trade you can get a really nice one (retail for$ 500+) within your budget.  That way you have chrono, multi time zone, perpetual calendar, and solar powered.

I have an E812 based Citizen I bought used for less than $150 six years ago. By my accounting methods it's worth like 10 bucks now but it looks really nice when I need a smaller watch for suit and my dive watches don't fit under the cuff.

Good listings here. I buy through Watchuseek F29 here and there so if you need an intermediary let me know.

I'm going to vote for a Seiko5.

Good suggestion, this one's a strong contender:

https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SNKK27-Stainless-Steel-Automatic/dp/B004MAZN3I/

Edit: Better yet, this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SNZG13-Automatic-Stainless-Steel-Bracelet/dp/B006ITF2H8/

Dang, I'm partial to the one with the black dial. 

I use a Asus Zenwatch 2. I have one in silver and one in gunmetal. Both bought reconditioned with cheap bands for about $80 and then the bands swapped for something I liked. 

Edit: From there, pick a face that suits the occasion. Or make your own.

Rockin' a Carnival Tritium right now. on a colorful NATO strap.  $89 IIRC, Thick, but most of the tritiums are. If you don't need easy nighttime visibility the Seiko5 is an instant classic.

I'm not down with the gadget watches as much.

I have one of these that I like a lot:

NEW RUSSIAN VOSTOK 2416B AUTO AMPHIBIAN DIVER WATCH

That Vostok is pretty cool. 

I'll be the first to say it: I think the "classiest" watch is one that's on a leather band. Or at least a brown band. 

There are some rubber/silicone straps that looks really classy but won't smell like leather. 

I've got a mesh style band on my Skagen that is really nice, but I can't get over how "douchey" it looks. I just relate metal bands to late 90's early 2000s Italian-American reality tv stars. 

I did look at the Zenwatch 2, since it's one of the few smartwatches that can be reflashed with AsteroidOS and the android distro on my phone can't work with Android Wear. Many of its features don't work on AsteroidOS though, most notably the wifi connection. Same with the LG G-watch R.

I'm loving my Skagen.  Clean, minimalist looks with Fossil prices. http://www.skagen.com/us/en/men.html

Just got this a few weeks ago. About $213 on eBay.  

I have a few Seiko kinetic watches, including a blue dial like the one you linked to above. I have never been disappointed by one.

In reply to Aaron_King :

Whoa, new?  I hadn't seen those yet!

Aaron_King said:

I have one of these that I like a lot:

 

NEW RUSSIAN VOSTOK 2416B AUTO AMPHIBIAN DIVER WATCH

This was going to be my suggestion too. Built stout like Russian tank! And only about $70. Here is mine diving in the Bahamas:

The Russian watch looks great. I don't know much about them, but when lurking on some watch forums they had concerns about possibly getting Chinese copies.  

Of course, since It was eBay, I took the same chance with my new citizen. How heavy are they? I'd like to have one. 

Vostoks are awesome. I have 3 Amphibians and I have owned 2 more and 3 Komandriskies. They are tanks but there is the occasional chance to get a lemon cause quality control in Russia can be a little bit meh at times. The ones build in the USSR are better but they won't be waterproof due to age and will probably need a service. I don't think of Amphibians as being at all formal though.

This store sells a lot of new Vostoks included Special editions and has good customer service.

https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-classic/
 

These sellers on eBay sell legit Vostoks and other russian watches.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/samun_povt?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

https://www.ebay.com/usr/asap31?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

https://www.ebay.com/usr/zenitar?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

https://www.ebay.com/usr/svtrrts?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

I really like the Luch 2209 ultra-thin as a formal watch.

Well here's a turn of events that's as anticlimactic as it is grassroots: I'd been looking around for an older Casio analog-digital watch I had years ago that I'm pretty sure had the same band as my current watch but was retired due to damage. I thought I might've thrown it out at some point. This morning I ran across the box with that watch AND two spare links which I confirmed are identical to the ones on my current watch, so that solves the immediate problem of the watch not being expandable. Keeping broken junk pays off again!

Getting back to a replacement watch, I've been thinking about the functionality vs. looks/price conflict, and I figure that it actually might make the most sense to throw functionality under the bus for this application. I rarely use my formal watch for anything but seeing the time (I have a Casio sport watch that I'm usually wearing when off the job), and the most functional of the nice-looking watches are still so basic that I'd still have to rely on my phone to a great extent. So the Fossil ME1128 is looking pretty good there. It's like near-Pagani Zonda-level looks for Toyobaru money.

So next time someone asks me what I'd like for a gift I may have a good affordable answer for once. I don't need a nicer-looking watch but at least I'd like one.

I'll say again: leather is better: 

Visually, the leather doesn't look better or worse to me, just different...it's more comfortable but also less durable. Metal link bands aren't so comfortable but they last forever, which isn't a bad tradeoff. I never really watched Jersey Shore so it never got a chance to affect my view of watch bands. I'm also not a fan of mesh bands though.

Have you considered a used higher end watch?  I've got an '80s Tag Heuer Link that I bought from a pawn shop for about $200.00 that I'm quite fond of.  To me nothing says classic styling quite like a classic.