I've had bad experiences with Breitling, so I'd stay away...
I don't really like TAG either, I wasn't exactly amazed with their precision, my friend had a quartz one and the second hand wouldn't align exactly with the markers...
If you want a good chrono, I can recommend the Moonwatch, in other words the Omega Speedmaster. But, to be honest, I'd only get that in manual wind as a true fan
IWC pilot chrono isn't bad, but its based on the Valjoux 7750, and the rotor is quite loud, movement outdated AFAIK...
As you're on this forum, you could probably appreciate the heritage behind a Rolex Daytona, but that may be out of your price range.
Hm... what else... Well, you may want to look into Ebel, they're not that well known, but make quality watches.
Another one of my favorite chronographs is the Breguet Aeronavale - but again, prolly out of your price range.
Maybe Ball Hydroengineer or whatever its called? Apparently, it has good lume, considering its a tritium watch.
Of course, there's the big players... AP, VC, PP, JLC... wouldn't it maybe be better to wait till your 50th bday, save up, and get something like a Patek Nautilus? Or the VC overseas is very nice, but in the matt version (don't like the polished one, the flatness + diameter throws it off for me)
I dunno, just throwing out some ideas...
Oh year, and if you get the speedmaster, don't forget, next time you're going for a watch, there's the Seamaster... IMHO an ideal black/blue combo...