The Best Solar Watches

Solar watches are an eco-friendly alternative to traditional quartz watches with lithium battery-powered movements. Watches with solar-powered movements still maintain the accuracy and reliability of quartz technology, which makes them much more precise than any mechanical watch. Here's a brief history of solar technology in watchmaking and a selection of notable solar watches on sale now.

Solar Watch Technology - A Brief History

In the late 1960s, the Swiss watch industry was on the precipice of a technical revolution that would ultimately threaten the very existence of traditional mechanical watchmaking while simultaneously ushering in the dawn of mass-produced electronic watches. By the 1970s, quartz movements had won out over a handful of other early technological approaches to producing electronic watches (you can delve a bit more into that history here), giving rise to the era now known known within the industry as the Quartz Crisis. Experiments with using solar power to charge watches, however, go all the way back to the '60s, to the development of the first solar-powered movement by American engineer Roger Riehl. This technology was introduced to the market in 1972, with the first prototype called the “Synchronar” and the first production piece, the Synchronar 2100, released later that same year.

Priced at nearly $500 (about $3,200 in today's money), the Synchronar 2100 was considered something of a luxury product and struggled to compete in the market against the cheaper, more accessible quartz-powered watches that continued to proliferate. Nevertheless, the model set the stage for brands such as Citizen, which would utilize solar technology in watch movements when its costs decreased and production capacity increased. Today, Citizen’s Eco-Drive technology, introduced to the market in 1976 (and explored in greater detail here), is dominant in the still relatively niche arena of solar-powered watches and is perhaps the Japanese company’s most important contribution to the industry. However, Citizen isn’t the only watch company that has developed solar technologies for watchmaking, and not all solar-powered watches are mass-market consumer products. Other brands — including Tissot, Seiko, Casio, and Cartier, among others — continue to harness solar technologies within their product lines. 

How Solar Watches Work

As the name suggests, solar watches capture, store, and convert light energy into electrical energy. Early solar-powered models had fully exposed solar cells that faced the sun, either on the dial or on top of the case. The Synchronar 2100 went with the latter option and placed the solar cells on top of the case, giving the watch a futuristic look. Today, a solar cell is placed just under the dial to achieve the same results. As light is captured by the solar cell and converted into electrical energy, it’s then relayed to a rechargeable battery where it's stored. Despite their name, solar cells can collect light not only from the sun, but also from artificial light sources, albeit at a slower rate.

Advantages of Solar Power

Solar power offers several technical advantages over both traditional mechanical movements and modern quartz movements, making it an appealing option for many. First and foremost, the energy to run the movement comes from the ultimate energy source, the sun, which will be abundant for at least another billion years or so, offering plenty of light energy to capture and convert. Secondly, the storage of energy in solar watches, in the context of power reserve, far exceeds anything any mechanical watch can achieve; it's also a feature that's completely absent in traditional battery-operated timekeepers. Thirdly, required maintenance intervals for solar watches are few and far between. Since solar-powered movements require neither lubrication nor a standard battery, it could be a decade or longer before they need servicing. Finally, solar powered movements are at least as accurate as their battery-driven counterparts, utilizing a quartz crystal to power the gear train at extremely high frequencies. Their resulting precision is with a deviation of just seconds per month. The low cost of ownership, relatively inexpensive price point, and high level of accuracy make solar technology a legitimate third option to mechanical and battery-powered timepieces.

Solar Watch Options

Below is a curated list of some solar-powered watches across different price points from, the iconic Casio G-Shock Full Metal 5000 to the luxurious Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat to an ultra-tough divers' watch from TAG Heuer. 

Tissot T-Touch Connect Solar

Case: 47.5mm, Thickness 15.3mm, Lug-to-Lug: 60mm, Crystal: Tactile Sapphire, Movement: Solar Quartz E32.001, Water-Resistance: 100m, Price: Starting at $1,050 on the rubber strap

Tissot brings together both solar and smartwatch technologies with the T-Touch Connect Solar. It’s an impressive piece with an equally impressive size, coming in at 47mm in a hypoallergenic titanium case. It connects to your mobile device with Tissot’s proprietary app, syncing messages, calls, and alerts while also providing health monitoring functions. True to its name, the T-Touch has a tactile crystal that allows the wearer to select functions by touching the large, interactive screen. Yes, the watch's sheer size might limit its audience to those with larger wrists, but the added smartwatch functionality might well appeal to another segment of buyers, outside of the watch enthusiast community, for whom case size is secondary to the tech.  

Seiko Prospex Speedtimer

Case Size: 41.4mm, Thickness: 13mm, Lug-to-Lug: 45.9mm, Lug Width: 21mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Seiko Solar Caliber V192, Price: $725

The original Seiko Speedtimer, released in 1969, was among the world’s first self-winding chronograph watches, equipped with the legendary Caliber 6139. When Seiko revived the Speedtimer, as part of its sport-oriented Prospex collection, it decided to eschew the automatic mechanical movement in favor a new, high-tech, solar-powered one, Caliber V192, which enhances reliability and runs up to six months on a single charge from any light source. Seiko released the first modern Speedtimers in 39mm cases in 2022 and added new colorways, and new case dimensions, in 2023. The 42mm cases (actually 41.4mm, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 45.9) are made of stainless steel, with aluminum tachymeter bezel inserts. The color options include a silver-and-black “panda,” a blue dial with red-and-blue “Pepsi” bezel, and a black dial with red-and-black “Coke” bezel. The subdials are subtly translucent, so as to allow light to penetrate and charge the solar movement inside, the same V192 that operates the 39mm Speedtimers. The three-link bracelets fasten to the wrist with a three-fold clasp.

G-Shock GAB-2100 “CasiOak”

Case: 45.4mm x 48.5mm, Thickness 11.9mm, Crystal: Mineral Glass, Movement: Casio "Tough Solar" Quartz, Water-Resistance: 200m, Price: $150

Casio’s G-Shock GA-2100 debuted in 2019 and swiftly garnered the nickname “CasiOak” for its eight-sided bezel that was, to many, evocative of the one on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, one of the luxury watch world’s leading Swiss-made icons. The GAB-2100 version released in the following year added both Bluetooth functionality (hence the “B” in the alphanumeric reference number) and the Japanese brand’s “Tough Solar” technology, which utilizes light to constantly recharge the movement’s battery. The GAB-2100 boasts an array of smartwatch-style functionalities that come from pairing the timepiece with a devoted Casio Watches app on the owner’s smartphone — among them, a world-time function with 38 time zones, calendar indications that will be accurate through the year 2099 without any need for resetting; a stopwatch that can track elapsed times, including lap times and split times, up to 24 hours and with an accuracy to 1/100-second; and a countdown timer that can be set for up to 60 minutes.  

Seiko Prospex "Arnie" SNJ025

Case Size: 47.8mm; Thickness: 13.8mm; Lug-to-Lug: 50.5mm; Lug Width: 22mm; Water Resistance: 200m; Movement: Seiko Quartz H851; Crystal: Hardlex; Price: $525

Based on the Seiko reference H558-5000, a watch that Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger wore in the 1980s blockbusters Commando and Predator, the SNJ025 was launched in 2019, retaining the "tuna can"-style case concept and analog-digital display of the original while also upgrading the watch with a modern solar quartz caliber that addressed the one weakness of its screen-worn predecessor, namely its occasional poor battery life. Size-wise, the SNJ025 is a watch made for a Mr Olympia, even larger than the original watch, which measured just under 46mm. It's also a true ISO-certified dive watch with 200 meters of water resistance and an impressively luminous dial, as one has come to expect from Seiko. 

Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Nighthawk

Case Size: 42 mm, Thickness: 12.5 mm, Lug-to-Lug: 46.5 mm, Water Resistance: 200 m, Movement: Eco-Drive, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $495

The current-generation Citizen Promaster Nighthawk is a refreshed military-inspired aviation watch that goes big on the functionality and bold on the design. The sporty 42mm case features a slide-rule bezel to go along with the dual time zone, chronograph, and date. Well-suited for use in the sky, its 200 meters of water resistance means it has some underwater abilities, too. Powered by Eco-Drive, the Nighthawk will be ready when you are, whether it's your daily wearer, your weekend go-to, or something you throw on just once in a while. Two color options are available, one in steel with a sunburst charcoal dial on the olive drab strap as well as on all-black version. 

Citizen Eco-Drive Garrison 

Case Size: 42 mm, Lug width: 21.5mm, Crystal: Mineral, Water Resistance: 100 meters, Movement: Eco-Drive Caliber E111, Price: $275 - $375

Solar technology isn’t limited to any particular style of watch, although it’s most closely associated with sportier, multi-function timepieces. However, with the Citizen Eco-Drive Garrison, you get the benefits of the quartz accuracy, the six-month power reserve, and low-cost technology in a casual, military-inspired field watch with a stylish everyday versatility. Citizen’s answer to a classical field watch, the Garrison lives up to its military-inspired name with its adoption of mission-ready details like an inverted orientation triangle at 12 o’clock; large, legible Arabic hour numerals; and an inner 24-hour scale within the main 12-hour track to display military time. The big case adds to the rugged, no-nonsense look with a brushed finish and fastens to the wrist with a brown calfskin leather strap with contrast stitching, a la early aviation watches and their modern descendants. The Garrison is also one of the very few Citizen watches that offer the light-powered Eco-Drive movement at a price point under $300.

Case Size: 44mm, Thickness: 12mm, Lug-to-Lug: 49 mm, Lug Width: 20mm, Water Resistance: 200 m, Movement: Eco-Drive E168, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $725

Perhaps the most important technological advantage of solar-powered watches is their ability to perform when called upon — no winding or setting required and no unexpected dead batteries. This is why the Citizen Promaster Diver is a widely regarded choice among professional divers who don’t necessarily see themselves as “watch people,” but rely on their watch as yet another piece of high-performance equipment to keep them safe. The Eco-Drive version of the Promaster Diver is one of those tool watches that makes good sense, with its six-month power reserve and decade-long service intervals. In addition to the technology packed inside, its external features include bold, easily legible hands and markers along with a rock-solid ratcheting bezel.

Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat

Case Size: 33mm x 25.5mm and 29.5mm x 22mm, Thickness: 6.6mm, Water Resistance: 30 m, Movement: SolarBeat, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $3,850

Cartier's introduction of the Tank Must SolarBeat in 2021 was an intriguing move by one of the world’s most important luxury brands. Not only has ultra-traditional, ultra-fashionable Cartier boldly embraced solar technology but it has decided to utilize it in its most iconic watch collection, the Tank. In many ways, this move into solar and away from traditional battery-powered movements, makes sense, particularly in a women’s model. Solar has proven itself to be one of the best set-it-and-forget-it options available. Of course, the Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat is a step up in price relative to the other options on this list, but within the luxury market, the $2,600 price point fits well within the Cartier catalog, at least in comparison with the brand's quartz-powered Tank models.

Junghans Max Bill MEGA Solar Titanium

Case: 38mm, Thickness 9mm, Lug-to-Lug: 42.5mm, Lug width: 20mm, Crystal: Convex hard plexiglas, Movement: Connected radio-controlled solar movement J101.85, Case material: Titanium, Price: $1,520

The only German watch brand represented on this list, Jughans traces its history all the way back to 1841 and is today well known for its minimalist, heavily Bauhaus-inspired designs. Fittingly, the brand’s flagship collection is named for Max Bill, the Swiss architect and industrial designer who helped popularize the Bauhaus style. Junghans uses a variety of movements in the Max Bill collection, including the solar-powered quartz caliber that powers the MEGA Solar Titanium model, with a 38mm case made of titanium. Solar charging is made possible by the construction of the matte gray dial, and in another high-tech plus that you generally won’t find in similar watches in this streamlined, “form-follows-function” style, setting the time and date can be accomplished easily via a radio-controlled time signal from an accompanying Junghans MEGA app.

TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph

Case Size: 40mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 200 meters, Movement: Solar-Powered Quartz Caliber TH 50-00, Price: $3,350

TAG Heuer’s Aquaracer Professional 200 Solargraph, introduced in 2022, is equipped with Caliber TH50-00, a solar-powered quartz movement developed exclusively for the brand in a partnership with Swiss movement specialist La Joux-Perret. The movement requires only a two-minute exposure to sunlight — any light, actually — to charge up with enough power for an entire day; after a full charge of about 20 hours in the sun, it will run for up to six months without any additional light exposure. Its ultra-efficient rechargeable battery can even power up after just 10 seconds to restart a watch that has stopped ticking. The watch’s dial, with a sunray finish and the familiar ribbed pattern of the Aquaracer family, is partly translucent to allow light to penetrate through it to charge the movement, as well as the Super-LumiNova elements on the dial and bezel (as below). The first Solargraph had a black PVD-coated steel case in the 40mm size. Following it up, less than a year later, was a new model (above) in a sandblasted titanium case of the same dimensions, mounted on a titanium link bracelet and a polar blue dial designed to evoke the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle. 

Timex Expedition Field Post Solar

Case: 41 mm wide x 12 mm thick, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $199

Timex has been on a run recently with the Expedition North series. We even did a video on one of the models. In fact, Timex tends to have a watch for essentially all use cases these days, so it should come as no surprise to see the brand pop up here in this category for solar watches. The Expedition North Field Post 41 gives you all the feels of a traditional military-inspired field watch with the hyper-legible numerals in both 12 and 24-hour formats, some faux-aging and a dark dial (more on that in a moment). A cool hallmark of this watch is the use of crown guards, which is atypical in this format but works very well, acting as something of a Rolex Air-King homage in the process. The dial, while dark, is where you see the solar effect in full… effect. That’s because it is translucent, something you will see on (almost) all solar watches and allows the light to penetrate to the solar cells within, which can power the watch for four months and obviate the need for battery changes. At just $199, this is one of the most compelling attainable options in the space.

Tissot PRC 100

Case: 39mm wide x 9.2mm thick, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $475

The PRC 100 line originated in the mid-2000s and is defined by its twelve-sided (dodecagonal) bezel. The PRC 100 returned in 2025 with the set-it-and-forget-it convenience of quartz, but with a solar-powered bent courtesy of the brand’s advanced “Lightmaster” technology.  In the case of the Swiss solar quartz used in these models (which the brand details as the Accumulator type Panasonic CTL920F battery), the solar cells are distributed on the watch face itself, patterned in a discreet honeycomb-like pattern that can be seen up close on the dial, indices, and hands. The solar energy is channeled as the light passes through the crystal, and both sunlight and artificial light are suitable for recharging. Another benefit of solar quartz is that it needs to be changed much less frequently than typical quartz, which makes it a more sustainable option. In the case of the PRC 100 Solar, the brand is offering an extended three-year warranty (over the standard two years) as a testament to its confidence in the longevity of this movement.

Seiko Astron SSH161

Case: 42mm wide x 12.4mm thick, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Price: $2,500

The Seiko brand celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024 and marked the occasion with an all-new Astron movement, Caliber 5X83, the first solar-powered, GPS-equipped movement that combined a dual-time function with a chronograph. The release of this new, more complicated version of the Astron sent a strong message to any remaining doubters, who may have dismissed the original GPS Solar Watch in 2012 as a trend, a gimmick, or a niche product with limited appeal: in contrast to its groundbreaking but short-lived 1969 predecessor, this Astron is its own distinct product family that is likely to be here for the foreseeable future, with seemingly endless capacity for expansion. At 42mm in diameter with a 49.5mm lug-to-lug, this watch is more wearable than it looks, especially considering it has a lightweight titanium body with a hard coating for durability. But perhaps the main differentiator for the Astron, compared to most others in the solar group, is its GPS functionality. It can be a bit of a novelty, but there is nothing more satisfying than pulling Astron out from the dark (say, a drawer), watching the light hit it, and seeing the GPS function do its magic and set the watch. This is not "set it and forget it" — this is a watch that may have you forgetting how to set it altogether.