I need a new watch!

[Slick Fork]

I've got a citizen solar powered watch and love it. The claim is 11 hours of sunlight provides enough juice for 6 months. No idea how true that is, I don't go out of my way to expose it to sunlight and never had a problem all winter. Only had it a year so I can't speak to its longevity though. My understanding is that battery replacement should be done via sending it in so they can re-waterproof the watch.

When I was researching, what swayed me to the citizen brand was primarily price point. An automatic would be nice, but out of my league at the moment. I had the same battery concerns as you, but from doing a lot of reading I got the impression that the batteries lasted quite a while. The big advantage to solar seems to be they are a little more durable than automatics (no shock sensitivity), and that not having to change the battery all the time means the waterproof seals stay intact for much longer.