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Citizen makes great dumb watches. They're built well, reasonably priced, and completely solar powered. Promaster is maybe the best dumb watch you can get for that price point, you just need to put a sapphire glass in it. I wish they'd do a "Promaster Pro" model though, with a higher frequency quartz crystal and magnetic resistance. That would be asymptotic with perfection.

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I work at a watch repair shop and wish I could fund public service announcements that the eco drives will not last forever if kept in the dark, ie stored in a jewelry box or a drawer longer than a few months. They use capacitors that become ineffective if allowed to die all the way. You need to keep them exposed to light, and even then ~15 years is the optimistic end of the capacitor’s lifetime.

IMO you’re better off with a cheaper Casio that can last ten years on a 5 dollar battery. When the capacitor fails in a solar watch due to being kept in the dark we charge 85$ to replace it.

Also the older eco drives are unserviceable and you’ll have to buy a new watch if something goes wrong in the electronics or mechanics.

I appreciate the heads up. I tend to keep mine by a sunny window when I'm not wearing it...letting a watch's movement come to a halt just feels wrong somehow.

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