I’m starting to realize the 2k and under price range is a strange place for watches, and can’t exactly find what I’m looking for. As of now, the Sinn 556i RS is essentially what I’m looking at, it’s just maybe a little too bland. Maybe pictures don’t do it justice. Anyways, in a perfect world, I would go for an Aquaterra or maybe a BB36. I just want to gauge what all is out there and see if I’m more or less stuck with the Sinn.
Reading your requirements, the 556 was the watch that instantly came to mind.
The only point where I feel it leaving is the lume, which I find acceptable, but a notable step down from the sort of lume you will get on something like a Seiko diver.
It can come across as a bit bland in images, but I would say the rs version with the coloured second hand definitely improve that, and also now the fact that this is one watch I would definitely say comes across better in real life than in images - photos don’t tend to do a great job of showing the subtleties of the style, or the deep gloss of the dial that you get in real life.
Add Ann alternative, I would also check out Damasko - watches that are very much in a similar vein, but a slightly different take that you may prefer.