OUR TOP 6 PICKS: Solar Watches (up to 800 €)

Tags: Selection of the best | Men's | Classic

10.11.2025 | 6 MIN

I often hear the view that solar power is the future of watchmaking (and beyond). How about you—do you already have your solar watch? If not, today we’ve put together a selection of six solar models with an excellent price-to-performance ratio—favorites not just of ours, but above all of you, our customers.

Who should consider solar watches, and why?

Above all, anyone who wants a hassle-free watch. The hallmark of solar watches is, without question, convenience: they’ll run for years without trips to a watchmaker or an electronics store for a battery replacement.

They convert light into electrical energy, and even a brief exposure to light is enough to keep them running in everyday use. They perform best in direct sunlight, of course.

The harvested energy is stored in a rechargeable cell, which means that even if you put the watch away for a while, it won’t stop, and on a full charge it will typically run for up to 6 months or more—even in complete darkness. The cell’s service life is roughly 10 years, after which it can be easily replaced with a new one.

1) Casio Edifice ECB-950

We choose solar-powered watches primarily for their practicality, so with this type we often opt for everyday styling and more robust specs. Casio Edifice ECB-950 not only ticks all those boxes, it also offers much more.

Notably, the ana-digi layout and a suite of digital functions—alarm, stopwatch, world time and Bluetooth connectivity—let you configure everything via the smartphone app. The design is decidedly dynamic. Sharper lines and an octagonal bezel give it a sportier character, and there’s a tachymeter scale as well.

The case is stainless steel, the crystal is mineral, and water resistance is rated to 100 meters, so you can wear the watch in the shower and the pool.

And at night you’ll definitely appreciate the bright illumination, which is fully automatic—the watch lights up when you tilt your wrist.

In short, the ECB-950 is packed with practical features, and its motorsport inspiration is unmistakable. Just note that at 48 mm / 13.9 mm, it’s better suited to larger wrists.

2) Orient Sport Solar RA-TX020

The Japanese brand Orient has long been known for offering some of the most affordable quality dive watches with automatic winding. In 2023, however, it ran an experiment that paid off: Orient Sport Solar RA-TX020. Solar-powered watches were anything but typical for Orient—let alone in a dive-watch design. But it’s fair to say these two traits are a perfect match.

You could call it the ideal watch for summer and your summer vacation—with 200 m water resistance you don’t have to worry about proper snorkeling or diving, and even over a lavish breakfast on the hotel terrace the watch will stockpile enough energy in its rechargeable battery to keep running for a long time to come.

The watch draws power through three subdials, beneath which the solar cell is concealed, and when fully charged it will run for as long as six months in complete darkness.

A sapphire crystal won’t be scratched by accidental knocks or beach sand, and the robust 43 mm steel case, chronograph, and classic dive bezel lend a sporty flair to any outfit.

3) Citizen Sports Eco-Drive AW013

The Citizen AW013 is a truly—almost unbelievably—stylish proposition.

The unusual tonneau shape with an integrated bracelet is a designer indulgence with roots in the 1970s. The watch measures 39.5 mm in diameter, but with this kind of design you always need to account for the fixed first bracelet links, so we recommend trying it on your own wrist.

What you’ll notice first, however, are the dials on this model—specifically their distinctive colors and an alluring texture that looks a bit like an iced-over surface. These delicate, colored dials are set off by the sportier case silhouette and the titanium from which the watch is made.

And Citizen’s titanium is something many brands can only envy. Citizen calls it Super Titanium, hardened using the patented Duratect technology. It adds not only scratch resistance, but also allows for a high polish and a pleasing, non-greyish tone, rather than the drab grey otherwise typical of titanium.

The AW013 is fitted with a sapphire crystal—just one more sensational spec that defies expectations. Add 100 m of water resistance and a day-date display, and you have one of the most practical and stylish watches in this price bracket. It’s no wonder it remains a favorite in the rankings, and we believe its popularity won’t decline—if anything, quite the opposite.

4) Festina Solar Energy

When fashion-oriented Festina launched its own solar watches in 2023, Festina Solar Energy, our jaws dropped. No one really saw that coming. And we were duly skeptical.

As it turned out, needlessly. In recent years, Festina has been steadily breaking out of the “fashion watch” box, and we can only welcome the shift.

They took a slightly less conventional approach to solar power—rather than a solar panel hidden beneath the dial surface, they used a ring around its perimeter. It adds an appealing sense of depth that’s accentuated by the dial’s grained texture.

Festina has framed its solar collection very elegantly, and the Festina Solar Energy models on a leather strap could easily play the part of your companion at formal events.

The 41 mm size is highly versatile, and at just 10 mm thick they slide neatly under a shirt cuff.

5) Citizen Promaster Solar Tough Super Titanium BN0116

Citizen Promaster BN0116 is the watch that our colleague Lukáš said in his review he would choose if he were a so‑called prepper—someone always ready for any crisis or apocalyptic scenario.

It’s robust and well put together, yet in a pleasantly versatile 40 mm size. And it’s not just the size—above all, the Super Titanium case keeps the weight very low (on the fabric strap the watch weighs just 66 g), so it will never get in the way on the wrist.

The calling card here is, of course, solar power, which is useful not only for disaster scenarios when you wouldn’t, among other things, be able to have a watchmaker change the battery. Just as important is the field‑watch design with exceptionally legible numerals and lumed hands. This isn’t hyperbole—if any watch were to be a benchmark for legibility, it would be this one. Legibility is further enhanced by an anti‑reflective coating on the sapphire crystal.

What’s most interesting, though, is that the watch has no conventional caseback, because the entire case is machined from a single piece of titanium. That kind of construction guarantees serious durability. And since it also has a screw‑down crown, water resistance is rated at a full 300 m.

6) Tissot PRC 100 Solar

We had been reading sensational, exciting news about the innovative Tissot PRC 100 Solar long before it even reached us. And the wait was worth it.

Until now, we had only seen Tissot’s solar power in the brand’s outdoor-oriented hybrid T‑Touch line, where its efficiency was praised in superlatives. Now, for the first time, it arrives in thoroughly classic, more elegant analog watches that conceal a new gem of Swiss engineering.

The Ligthtmaster solar technology not only delivers a full 14 months of running on a single charge, it also requires less light than we’re used to with solar watches. Just 10 minutes under artificial light or 1 minute (!) in direct sunlight provides up to 24 hours of operation.

Unlike conventional solar watches with a panel hidden beneath the dial, the PRC 100 Solar integrates the system into the crystal in the form of microscopic solar cells with a honeycomb structure that is not immediately visible to the naked eye.

In terms of size, it hits the taste (and wrist size) of most men—39 mm, a classic (as are the sapphire crystal and 100 m water resistance, both absolutely standard for Tissot).

The case is entirely brushed, with polished bevels. The most distinctive feature is the bezel with a “dodecagonal” (twelve-sided) shape, which has become the hallmark of this collection. Otherwise, the look is absolutely minimalist.

And that’s all from us. We hope you enjoyed our selection; tell us in the comments which solar watches are your favorites.

Photo credits: Hodinky 365 photographers; official manufacturer images

You might also be interested in:

6.9.2022
THE BEST OF: 6 men's diving watches under €350