From your title, I assume you are only interested in D'Arsonval meters. Simply put, Simpson Model 260 for rugged every day use in a industrial or lab environment. These meters were reliable, accurate and very rugged.
The low cost player for this type of meter was the Radio Shack Micronta. This meter's only downfall was that it was not very rugged. The case was thin plastic and was easily broken. Other than that it could do everything the Simpson could do. The upside to it being thin plastic is that it was much lighter in weight than the heavy duty Simpson.
I should mention that I worked in an industrial environment in the '80s and used both of these meters at different intervals. We often worked and checked 480 VAC mains. The shop provided the Simpson meters for technician use, so I used that, but my first owned meter was the Micronta. After accidentally dropping it from a 25 feet high gantry crane and it shattered into thousands of pieces, my next meter purchase was a Fluke 77 with the outer boot, which was SOOO much better than either of the D'Arsonval meters, which I will not go into. However, I will say that I accidentally dropped my 77 many times from up high and that meter was indestructible.
As a footnote, I still have the 77 and it recently was caught in a rainstorm inside my new toolbox and, unknown to me, this toolbox leaked and filled with water. It wasn't until a day or 2 later that I discovered this and to my dismay, the 77 works no more.