# Wristwatches: solar? self-winding? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705 "2012-10-04T15:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/21 "2012-10-05T13:44:08Z")
A watch-winder, whether AC, battery or water-powered, would seem to defeat the purpose of a self-winder, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/22 "2012-10-05T13:46:42Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > A watch-winder, whether AC, battery or water-powered, would seem to defeat the purpose of a self-winder, wouldn’t it? If you have one watch that you wear every day, then a winder isn’t needed. But I wear three of the four watches that I keep on the winder (one is a duplicate, so I don’t wear it), and I only wear a watch when I go out of the house. Since I telecommute three days a week, a watch is likely to wind down unless I store it on the winder. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/23 "2012-10-05T18:16:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve had a Citizen Eco-Drive watch for about 10 years - it’s great - keeps perfect time and keeps a charge without needing any special exposure to light - I just wear it, and it works. +2. Zero issues with it. Great watch. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/24 "2012-10-05T19:19:53Z")
I have a Pulsar Solar, which I think is made by Seiko, purchased in 1998, worn daily for about 5 years and occasionally for the last 9 or so. I really like it and it still works great. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/25 "2012-10-05T19:45:36Z")
I have 5 watches that I wear regularly, three of which are Seikos. I have a Citizen Eco-drive watch, a Seiko automatic (self winding), and three battery powered watches. I have had no trouble with the solar or automatic watches. However, since I don’t have a winder, the automatic does run down and stop after 36-48 hours of inactivity. As many have said, you can get a very good battery-powered watch for $100-400. The ones that I have require a new battery every 5-6 years. I think that it cost me ~$7 to have a jeweler replace one. The automatic and solar watches are by far the thickest ones that I own. If you want a thin watch you should stick to battery powered quartz movements. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/26 "2012-10-05T22:05:41Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > I’ve had a couple of self-winding Tag Heuers, and even wearing one 24/7 and having a job/life that kept me on my feet and walking for 12+ hours a day, it would stop running after a few days. My then-fiancee took it back and got a different model which exhibited the same behavior. She then got me an auto winder, which seemed to render senseless the idea of a “self-winding” watch. Damn shame, as I was really taken with the looks of the things (both were from the Monaco line). It was more practical to wear a traditional wind-up watch, or a battery-powered one. > . I have a Tag Heuer Link Automatic Chronograph and I’ve never had a problem with it. I don’t wear it when I’m sleeping and it winds down after about 24-48 hours if I’m not wearing it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/27 "2012-11-19T16:46:28Z")
Update: it sounded like a self-winding watch would turn out to be annoying due to the accuracy issues, unless I went for a higher-end one that was both self-winding and quartz (e.g. Seiko Kinetic). I wound up getting a Seiko solar watch and it’s been pretty good. The main annoyance is that the bracelet is not at all adjustable (their older-style ones could be adjusted up to maybe 1-2 cm difference), and it _just_ fits my big-boned wrists (OK, I’m fat too but normally watches aren’t a problem). So I tend to take it off more than I otherwise would. I misplaced it once already because of that - found it a couple weeks later _still running_ and with the correct time. Must have been on the floor with just enough light to keep it going. And of course I found my battery-powered one immediately afterward :). ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/28 "2012-11-19T23:35:57Z")
I killed my fake Seiko at a job where I had to use a degausser. That was ten years ago. My parents gave me a real one for my birthday and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/29 "2012-11-20T01:11:22Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The main annoyance is that the bracelet is not at all adjustable Are you sure? The removable parts of the links on the older bracelets used to be really conspicuous, but on newer ones, they’re still there, but engineered so that the join is almost invisible on the sides of the bracelet links. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/30 "2012-11-20T03:57:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are you sure? The removable parts of the links on the older bracelets used to be really conspicuous, but on newer ones, they’re still there, but engineered so that the join is almost invisible on the sides of the bracelet links. Pretty sure. I don’t see any place where I could move a spring pin to a different set of holes (like on my older watchband). It wasn’t “obvious” there either, you had to know what to look for. My old watch had a band something like [this](http://www.amazon.com/22mm-Super-Oyster-SKX007-Curved/dp/B005K64ZXW). If you look carefully at the 4th picture that shows the clasp area opened, you can see the the right-hand portion is connect to a place with a couple of other holes. It is a pain, but you can have it connected to a different set of those holes. My [new watch](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HJQHB0/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00) doesn’t appear to have anything of the sort - if you scroll down and click on the “deployment clasp” link you’ll see a line drawing. If you see a way to adjust that, let me know :). ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/31 "2012-11-20T04:56:56Z")
Yeah, I think you’re right, that bracelet doesn’t look like it has fine adjustment capability. Strange. Are you using all the links that came with the watch? You can call Seiko’s U.S. service center and I believe they will send you extra links for free - you can have a watchmaker insert one more and it’ll loosen it up a bit. > **[Seiko Watch Corporation](https://www.seikowatches.com/support/customer/northamerica.html)** > > Seiko is one of the few fully integrated watch manufactures. We design and develop our own movements using leading-edge technology. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/32 "2012-11-20T14:19:10Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Yeah, I think you’re right, that bracelet doesn’t look like it has fine adjustment capability. Strange. Are you using all the links that came with the watch? You can call Seiko’s U.S. service center and I believe they will send you extra links for free - you can have a watchmaker insert one more and it’ll loosen it up a bit. > > [Seiko Watch Corporation](http://www.seikowatches.com/support/customer/northamerica.html) Yep - I’m using the bracelet as it arrived (there were no extra links). It just seems silly that you have to go to so much extra trouble to make the thing fit. Even if it’s too large, it looks like a daunting task to remove links. Their original design (on my older two watches) was a lot “easier” to adjust (as much of a pain as it is to move those spring pins, it’s at least _possible_ without special equipment). ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/33 "2012-11-20T15:48:03Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I have a Citizen Eco-Drive solar-powered watch that my wife bought at Costco. I like it well enough, although I’ve only had it for a year or two. I’ve certainly never had a problem keeping the battery charged. I’ve had my Citizen Eco-Drive watch for … 4+ years now. It’s NEVER needed any kind of attention, and it was purchased at a very low, closeout price from a Sportsman’s Guide catalog. It DID have a satin band, which wore out, and I never could find an exact replacement. But my gentleman friend (now spouse/genius on eBay) found a pair of Japanese sterling silver “Black Hills Gold” knockoff bolsters (the parts that go onto each side of the watch), which we joined up with a cheap Speidel stretch band … what can I say, but that it’s a really beautiful, interesting watch !!! 🆒 😃 I highly recommend this brand. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705/34 "2012-11-20T19:03:03Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Self winders break if you do stuff like hammer nails or similar activities. Self-winders/mechanicals also disappoint wearers greatly if they’ve become accustomed to the forever-accurate readout of any quartz watch. I love my self-winders, but even the best of them lose a minute a month or so of accuracy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wristwatches-solar-self-winding/636705.md?page=1)