Anything G-Shock....... I have been beating on mine for almost 2 years straight, I never take it off. I even swim with it. Before my G Shock I was going through watches every 1 to 3 months.
Luminox. I've had 2 of them. Very durable, waterproof, and has gas tubes(borosilicate glass capsules) that are very bright. They last for 25 years. www.luminox.com/
Luminox are great, I don't know if they are mechanically winding or not. I have two Citizen Ecodrives and LOVE THEM. They are not mechanically wound, but rather recharged by the sun. The amount of charge they hold from full varies, I think the least amount is 90 days. I haven't had any trouble with mine.
S&W makes a "SEAL" brand watch with trijicon powder (easiest way to describe it, its late and I cant think of what the stuff is actually called) in the hands of it.IDK about winding, just because I dont see it as a commonality with "work" watches.
Other options are Luminox (Gold Standard of workhorse watches, IMHO), UZI (decent watch for a cheap price, worth it if youre gonna potentially wear it out prior to havin funds for a luminox).
Good luck, and fill us in with any purchase decision.
another +1 for the citizen eco-drive. IIRC, 15 min a day in sunlight and 20-30 under anything other light than sun for a day's charge. from full charge it will last 90 days in total darkness and the second hand begins to tick in 2 second increments instead of 1 second increment when power is low. For the record, i have had mine 2 years and NEVER gotten close to running out of power. Amazing watch for the money. It's worth a look at.
Anything G-Shock....... I have been beating on mine for almost 2 years straight, I never take it off. I even swim with it. Before my G Shock I was going through watches every 1 to 3 months.
Another one for Luminox. I have 3. The 1st was a gift from my wife about 10 yrs ago. Just replaced the battery earlier this year. Tritium still bright, too.
Luminox is a great watch. I really like the Trase H3's. I have 2. One is GI issue w/ green tritium, radiation symbol marked, no date window, and the other is the code blue.
I bought a like new Luminox out of the classifieds here back in February. It lasted two months and the second hand fell off and the watch stopped working. May as well have lit that $175 on fire.
I now have a G shock. It's a pretty safe bet I won't need another watch for many years.
Rolex? Nice watch, but you probably need a submariner to get good glow in the dark. Big bucks! Even then, it will wear out in time. However, if you want a 18K SS perpetual date, let me know.
If you felt like putting out the money (249.99 on eBay) there is the H.R.T. titanium watch by 5.11 It's not mechanically wound but it's extremely durable, it has digital and analog read outs, the dials glow, all the features of a digital watch such as multiple time zones to chronograph and count down. A perk is it has the SureShot ballistic calculator built into it. The only fall back is you have two batteries to replace but they last a long time. I own the Field Ops watch by 5.11 which is entirely digital and I didn't have to replace its battery for 2.5 years.