I bought a Seiko solar though and it loses time like a motherfucker in winter because it sees so little daylight. Which is why I eventually bought an automatic. The Seiko is great in summer though.
The ray mears doesn't necessarily need daylight, you can charge it indoors under a light.
I never actually take it off and charge it though, daily wear seems to be enough even in winter.
They come up on ebay fairly regularly man, don't give up! @>>>>>>
If my trusty citizen ray mears ever stops receiving solar power then that's what I'm gonna go for.