I guess I can't see many inexpensive watches going up in value, unless you manage to find one that gets build in small quantities.
I think if you bump your budget up to around a thousand, you'll have more choices. I have a Raymond Weil automatic that I really like and my daily watch is a Movado, it's a quartz, though.
I highly recommend making sure you get a sapphire crystal- very hard to scratch. The Movado I have worn to work daily for three years and it still looks great- no scratches on the crystal and my job is about half desk half building repair, so it does get beat around a little.
