Anyone Else Need A Solar Charging Day?
I like solar watches a lot. If I was forced to choose, I think they are arguably the best type of movement. They're highly accurate and always ready to go, with the only drawback being the need to adjust the date on the less sophisticated models.
Well, not the only drawback.
Turns out, if you do like solar watches a lot and you buy a lot of them as part of a larger collection of regular quartz and mechanical pieces, you can't wear them enough to keep them all organically charged. I find myself in the odd position of having to take mine for regularly scheduled trips to the windowsill. If not, it's possible to run out the entire four to six months charge, and find a dead - or at least halting - watch when I reach for it. So they get these little days out, like "taking the air" at an old-timey medical spa. (No enemas, thankfully.)
I'm curious if anyone else with a thing for solars can ID one that they also own in this lineup, or simply commiserate?
Ah crap, forgot one! Sorry, li'l buddy!
Photographer and multimedia artist working in the Upper Midwest, USA. I started paying attention to watches circa 2010, and now enjoy a collection ranging from vintage Soviet pieces to field watches a...
I just keep them in a watch case with a glass window so they get plenty of light.
I bought a clear case so that I can move my solar watches close to the window at once for their weekly “bath”. Sorry I don’t own or recognise any in the photo; care to enlighten?
Sure! Top row, front to back: Citizen Promaster Tough, a Jack Mason with compass bezel, one of the Timex Expeditions, Citizen's Nighthawk and Promaster Land World Time, Casio Oceanus T200, Seiko Prospex "Urban" Tuna (plus Redwood Field V3). Bottom row: two CasiOaks and two square G-Shocks.
I just keep them in a watch case with a glass window so they get plenty of light.
I wish I had this option, but I haven't figured out how to make it work space-wise 😢
Yup. That is such a pain in you know where
It's better to keep them permanently in at least a little bit of light. Allowing the battery to fill and empty over and over eventually kills it. Not the end of the world on the ones where it's replaceable but it's another pain in the butt to deal with.
I own a 15 piece solar collection and the best solution I have found it to keep them all together in a sunny place in my house.
It's not good to let them run down, then charge, etc.... The best thing you can do with your solar watches is to keep them on full charge all the time.
Mine live in a glass top box by a window and get an occasional trip to the windowsill for a full blast. It's worked for this one since 1996 and t hasn't missed a tick.
I have two. I just keep them on this stand under a window and it gets the job done... I have a Citizen Promaster Diver and an Orient Solar Chronograph
Intriguing!
I'm hearing the feedback about more constant lighting. Maybe I should find a long (custom?) case that fits across that sill...
I keep all my solar watches sitting on the window ledge full time. This way I don't have to worry when I choose to wear one and it is out of power.
I love Eco drives so my watch case is usually open and right below my bedside table lamp. That light is on for a few hours every evening (I hate overhead lights) and it keeps them all in working order, but still get wear once every few weeks. The only one that gets a little less wear is the 2-tone perpetual calendar so closest to the lamp.
Yes, as many contributors have said, just keep them in the light.
Solars are my favorite too, but what I would really like to see is a three-hander Solar Mecha-Quartz watch. This would eliminate the two big complaints about quartz watches - battery changes and the ticking second hand.
Alright, problem solved. Just need to somehow cram a 3"x28" windowsill full of like 20 of these bad boys.
I like solor watches too I have two tissot touches a rose gold one and a titanium one with red strap
Yeah, I also tuck my solar in a window. I like it, but I don't wear it enough to not feel nervous so ...
Uhm.. i put mine in a watch case on my desk by the window... does the job as well..
My watch box has a window on the top and I'm sure that sorta helps, but I do have a "charger" for solar watches that I bought on Amazon (it's basically an LED light) and I'll occasionally check the charge level (all of my G-Shocks and Citizens have some form of battery meter) and if it's below half I'll give it a couple of hours on the charger. My daily is a solar watch so I rarely have to charge that one.