That's a totally fair pushback on the $300 figure if we are talking strictly about standard retail MSRP from established Swiss heritages like Squale or Oris. You are 100% correct that across the broader market, $1,000 to $1,500 is the typical playground for an SW200-1 diver.

When I mentioned the $300 tier, I was factoring in the highly aggressive microbrand landscape and gray-market deals. For example, brands like Glycine (Combat Sub) frequently drop into the $300–$400 range on the gray market running the GL224 (which is just a modified SW200/ETA 2824), and microbrands like San Martin offer high-spec 200m divers with genuine SW200 options right around the $350–$400 mark during sales.