Damn,,, that's a wild story. You should get a new Garmin watch, they are even more awesome now.
I looked for 2 or 3 years after it happened and all of the models were needing to be plugged in to charge (which I really don't want) and not waterproof. If that still the case?
You could get an Instinct Solar, put it in battery saver mode. As long as it gets 3 hours of sunlight a day it should last forever.
You'd be turning of all the smart watch features though.
Instinct Solars are the way to go if you want battery life. It's nice to be able to top up your charge just by being outside.
Mine does plug in to charge. But it is extremely water proof. It does so much stuff too. Really too much for me to list off here. You should go check out the Fenix lineup. I have the Fenix sapphire solar and I love it.