Seiko 5 sports srpd51 or if you can still find a seiko sea ui snzf17. Bother have an exhibition caseback.
Also, the ray 2 has better lume than the mako.
You could ask in r/Chinesewatches. In that price range there are plenty submariner homages like the SteelDive sd1975, maybe some have a display caseback.
You want a mechanical/automatic watch or an analog watch?
An analog quartz or solar would be more durable for whatever sportier activities kids do these days. They are also much more accurate than mechanical watches.
For automatics that are Japanese the citizen Promaster ny0086 would be one of the more robust ones.
Also the orient ray 2 or the seiko 5 sports models.
The Orient maestro is a modern/casual/minimalist design.
For analog quartz watches you have Casio that’s Japanese with models like the mtd1053 (40mm), efv100d, efrs108, efrs107d, mts100 and mts110 (these have a sapphire crystal and a 10 year battery).
There are plenty of watches of Chinese or Hong Kong origin (like perpetual Watches) if he’s from that part of the world, you can ask for recommendations in the r/Chinesewatches subredit.
The citizen eco-drive bm8180 would be a good choice, it’s solar powered and small in size to fit a small wrist. It’s also robust and would do well with all sorts of sports. Something like this would be my choice for a more classic looking watch that would keep up with an active lifestyle. It’s also Japanese in origin like seiko, Casio, orient.
There are also many microbrands based in Asia like vario, zelos, Phoibos…
You could ask in r/watchrepair
A casio oceanus t200 should be more affordable in Japan compared to importing it.
Some limited edition seikos do, but it all.
That MK is a big watch even for a man at 43mm, does she want a big watch like that or that’s just something she didn’t think about.
Here are some smaller but similar watches in design.
Citizen FE7053-51X
Citizen FD2013-50A
You could browse here for something else in you are in the US. These are less expensive and better watches. Just don’t hide it in a drawer in the dark when not wearing it so it can get some daylight and it’ll just work for many years since it’s solar.
If she actually wants something bigger, just browse the men’s watches on the same store maybe there is something in roze gold.
If she can find something she likes citizen eco-drives are much better watches than MK. Something from Casio’s Sheen line would also be a better choice when it comes to quality and durability but it’s what she likes that’s more important probably. Also a chronograph it’s not the best choose unless she will actually use it to time things,if a watch is more complex there are more things that could go wrong with it.
There are some smaller divers from companies like San Martin (retro diver or retro gmt) or the seestern 62MAS homage (37mm). You could ask in r/ Chinesewatches too or just search on youtube for 37mm diver or 38mm dive watch or something similar.
If you are in the US get an eco-drive you feel would fit him from this ebay store. They have the best prices. At the moment they do t have the most stock but there are enough to pick one.
Here’s one that might fit your description.
An all stainless steel (without gold colored plating) would probably fair better over time like this one (this model has a fixed bezel, there are other models with a similar (diver) style that have a rotating bezel that can be used as a 60 minutes timer like this one - o The larger side). The dive style of watches is the most popular stye of watches among men.
There’s also an extra 25% off coupon at the moment for some models including both of the ones I mentioned.
Eco-drives are very good practical everyday watches. They are durable, accurate and don’t require any sort of mentenance, just don’t hide it in a drawer in the dark when not wearing it so it can get some daylight and it’ll just work for many years.
Keep in mind the size also. Usually around 40mm is ok for most wrists for a watch without an external bezel and around 42mm would be a good size for a dive style watch. Depending on how big his wrist is you can go higher or lower than these measurements.
Also, titanium watches like the o e I mentioned are much lighter than the stainless steel ones, some people like that, others don’t.
For mechanical something with the seagull st19 movement. Sugess have some more interesting designs like the heritage chrono.
The solar orient neo 70s panda is pretty cool.
Baltany s5050 tuxedo or the Dan henry 1939 or 1937 or 1964 or 1954 for something vintage looking or the top gun /maverick one.
Seiko flightmaster sna411 or the citizen bullhead reissue for something a little different.
There are a lot of microbrands that use the seiko meca-quartz movements.
You could also look on sakura watches for soml jdm seiko chronos.
You could also check out birthyearwatches.com. You might find something interesting if you’re lucky. Usually they have a video with the watches they sell.
Keep in mind that leather straps are not suitable at all for water related activities.
The Citizen BH3000-68E comes on a bracelet.
The only watch that would meet those reguirenments is one of the ana-digi (analog dial with a small digital display) Casio protrek models. Or maybe one of the smaller digital ones like with a metal bezel the prw30.
These have a barometer with weather alarm, compass, altimeter, thermometer, and the PRW models also have atomic radio sync (not satelite/GPS) if you are within the range of the Colorado radio signal, most of the US is), the PRG models don’t have atomic radio time sync. They are all solar watches (battery is charged by light)
The models with a stainless steel bezel look less toyish so those are probably the better choice.
Don’t get stuck on the rubber straps, you can get a Nato leather strap for it or some other leather strap if he realy won’t like it.
Timex has the expedition north tide temp compass (that’s the actual name) models but these are missing the atomic radio sync and the barometer. They do however look less sporty and come on leather or bracelets options.
The only satelite /GPS casual watch I know within budget would be the citizen satelite-wave but this one doesn’t have the other outdorsy features.
The citizen altichron is another option that has an altimeter and a compass but I don’t think it has a weather alarm if that’s important. It might also be more complicated to use compared to a protrek since it’s analog only.
Apart from the timex all the others here are big watches.
There might be some smaller protrek models like the prw50 and prw60.
It’s an odd combination of features for a more formal watch, most watches only have the practical features like solar charging or atomic sync but no other outdorsy features. For something like this you could look at Casio’s edifice line and get one of the atomic sync or Bluetooth sync models. Also an eco-drive diver from citizen would be a good everyday durable regular watch.
If you like subdials, orient has a few other models with the same movement like the defender.
Also there are some sea-gull movements that have subdials you can find watches like the sugess s426 that use these. Sugess have other similar designs, just make sure the movement is an automatic, some are handwind only.
Keep in mind that the 8000series movements from miyota have a few quirks that seem to bother people.
The seconds hand can visibly stutter and also stop for a little while if shaken, the rotor is unidirecțional and spins freely in one direction sometimes being loud and might even wobble.
Take a look at this 34mm sea-gull.
I second the citizen eco-drive Promaster Tough bn0211.
For a dressier automatic the citizen nb1050.
These both have a scratch resistant coating on the case and bracelet and a sapphire crystal too. You can set up a notification on ebay for when the tough comes back in stock but it probably won’t be before Christmas and they don’t last that long either. There are other tough models also but not at this price.
But keep in mind that even though these do resist better to scratches than regular stainless steel they are not scratch proof and in an enviroemt like construction work will pick up scratches just not as many as regular stainless steel.
Also a brushed finish on the case shows scratches less that a polished finish.
Maybe this sea-gull.
If you are in the US take a look at the officialwatchdeals store on ebay and get a citizen eco-drive you like from there. It’s probably the best watch you can find. They don’t have much stock at the moment since it’s before Christmas but there are still plenty to choose from. Keep in mind the size of you have a small wrist.
This BM6929-56L would be a great everyday watch. It’s super titanium and has a scratch resistant coating + a sapphire crystal.
This AW0100-51A is another option with a more simple design or maybe this more modern/minimal blue dial (has an integrated bracelet and you can’t replace it for a strap if needed). There are others to choose from also.
For automatics there’s the orient ray 2, bambino, maestro, pilot/flight, defender that might be within budget depending of where you live. Keep in mind that automatic watches are not as acurate as quartz and can gain or lose time /day as much as a quartz does in a month.
Citizen ny0086 is an ISO certified divers 200m watch that you can find within budget depending on your region.
Invicta 1953 (31290).
There are also plenty of homage type of watches both automatic and quartz (not many solars though) from brands like escapement time, seestern, addiesdive, SteelDive, Pagani Design, sugess, ets… that are good watches for the price. You can ask for recommendations on r/Chinesewatches. If you look on the choice section of aliexpress you might find some on sale but usually on r/Chinesewatches you gel a lot of direct links. Escape wheel watch reviews on youtube covers many of these in detail.