The case housing the Duro’s internals is made of stainless steel, with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. And while it may be rather large, it does play host to some nice details. Casio has clearly etched all of the relevant data (Reference number, water resistance, etc.) into the steel, with the welcome addition of their classic marlin logo. This prominent fish only appears on Casios with a rating of 20Bar or higher. It’s a pretty cool bit of badging for a timepiece costing less than $50. Inspired by the sea, this watch black resin band and stainless steel case with black dial and bezel give it a classic look.
If you turn the watch over to its back, you will see that the bottom half of the crown extends well below the guards. This lets your fingers turn it more easily from the bottom, but it also reduces the protection that the guards can provide. The screw-down crown on the MDV106-1AV has notched ridges which provide extra grip.
I took off the rubber strap and added a black and gray NATO. Even with the addition of the strap, it still comes in well under your price range. The mineral glass is mirror-polished, it doesn’t have an anti-reflective coating on the underside like Invicta watches. What makes it stand out is its exceptionally low price and the fact that it is a true dive watch. Unlike many watches in this price range which are simply “dive-inspired”, the Casio MDV106-1AV puts them all to shame with its full suite of dive watch features. A quick cursory glance and you might think this watch is much more expensive than it actually is.
Choose a style (dress, tool [diver, field, pilot,etc.], casual, etc.), start looking around. You can get Swiss made for just around $300USD; you can get some mighty impressive microbrands. Also, don’t forget the secondary market for some great deals! I’m likely selling my Ray Raven II for $120 OBO over on /r/Watchexchange/, where I’ve also gotten several great watches, including a Geckota K1 44mm Pilot watch . I peruse that sub every day, not only to dream, but also to look and figure out what I like and want.
The resin strap is useful still, but personally, I’d only use it for actual swimming or diving. It’s comfortable enough but is very long so you end up having a long tail end. The tang buckle is also disappointingly plain, being polished steel and not having g shock watch any markings or detail at all. A standout characteristic of the Duro’s dial is no doubt the sunray finish to it. Completely unexpected, and not something I had previously noticed on photos, it’s a beautiful dark charcoal grey intermingling with deep blacks.