New Guy here looking for a vintage ladies watch

I definitely think you can find that for $500 or less but you should also budget for a full movement service which may cost an additional $300 or so.

You mention ‘“vintage”. Or do you mean a new watch with a “vintage” look? If you are looking for “vintage”, there’s a chance you might be looking at mechanical or quartz. Does she have a preference? If new, you can forget new Omega or Tudor watches in that price range. Tissot or Seiko, you’ll end up with quartz. If you want an older “vintage” watch, prepare to shell out to have it serviced.

Unfortunately, most vintage watch dealers don't deal in ladies watches, and you would pay a high premium to buy from a dealer in any case. I have seen some ladies watches for sale on Etsy, but the focus is more on cosmetic appeal than authenticity/collectibility. I doubt that they sell many watches in solid gold cases. Since gold is currently so high, gold watches are being scrapped left and right. Especially watches that aren't terribly collectible.

I suspect that a large percentage, perhaps the majority, of vintage ladies watches will either have badly damaged dials or they will be repainted. They were rarely water resistant. So you will need to be patient and look closely.

As noted above, you could consider a vintage men's tank watch. Many are not terribly large.