[ilamont]

Citizen is another Japanese watchmaker and the eco-drive solar technology has been around for about 30 years.

You can get a low-end Citizen Eco-Drive for about $100, sometimes even less on sale. Solar powered, very durable, and they look great. Most are water resistant as well.

I've had one model running continuously for 11 years. I love never having to charge it or change the battery.

[officeplant]

My roommate is a watch collector and made me almost buy an eco-drive watch so many times. I really like the idea of them, but after not wearing a watch for 20 years it just feels uncomfortable to wear one. PDAs and cellphones ruined my ability to wear watches.

[q-base]

I can only chime in and support this claim about Citizen. I have had one of their Eco-drive models for about 15 years now and it has had months in drawers or laying on shelves not being used, but it has never stopped working. I am so impressed with that watch!

[Tarsul]

yes, I love mine too. However, after a very dark december mine stopped (and I was very confused by it ;)). Had to put it on the window sill for a few days for it to work again.

My personal advice for anyone looking would be the following triumvirate: solar ("eco-drive"), sapphire glass (never mineral glass!), radio controlled. It just works - you don't have to do anything ever again (except maybe if you have a december like me...).

[snicky]

Recently, I bought another watch that fits your description + it's absolutely gorgeously looking - Casio Oceanus T200. It's a dress watch with a mesmerizing dial and a beautiful case with some superb polishing that is done in the same factory where they produce cases for Grand Seiko. As an additional gimmick you also get Bluetooth - the watch can connect with your phone every night and seemlessly adjust the time, so it's basically always spot on. They sell it in Japan for around 400$.

[nikau]

I recall reading that the radio time signal is being decommissioned in the us

[jhbadger]

There was a proposal in 2018 to do so (as the argument was GPS was a better alternative), but there was enough outcry by people with radio watches/clocks as well as industrial equipment that uses the signal to delay the shutdown for the foreseeable future.