When my husband and I went to the jewelry store to return the non-functional watch he gave me for Christmas, we were presented with a huge variety of choices of replacement watches.

I'm pretty picky about the kind of watch I wear.  I really wanted exactly the same watch as my old one (which resembles the one on the right in this picture).  It's a good all-purpose watch, and as the old commercials used to say, "it takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

The jeweler showed us to a display case where I spotted a watch that looked like what I wanted.  When I pointed that one out, he informed us that the watch cost several hundred dollars.  There weren't any diamonds or precious gems--and this sounded like an awful lot for a utilitarian watch with a basic-black leather band.  That's when he told us that this watch was solar powered.  It would never need a battery replacement.

For a person who spends eight months out of the year wearing long sleeves, a solar-powered watch doesn't seem like a good idea.  I don't think it would get enough exposure to sunlight to keep it running!

By the way, while I was wandering around the jewelry department, I noticed that there was a big sale going on:  wedding sets were deeply discounted.  So guys, if you're planning on a Valentine's Day proposal, this is a good time to pick up that ring.

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