Contrasting Citizen Eco-drive and Seiko Kinetic Dive Watches

For the most part watches have been battery powered or mechanical. The mechanical variety had to be wound regularly, and the batteries in the latter needed a change once in a while. But what if it was possible to find a watch that would run for a lifetime without winding or new batteries?

Well it is possible, and besides being useful to those of us who are lazy, it’s quite practical for watches that aren’t worn everyday, like diver watches. And not just a dive watch, but those used for different occasions, like only everyday casual or just during more formal events.

Used to be one had to either rewind and reset their mechanical watches, or if they were self-winding, invest in a watch winder. In the battery variety, the battery always appears to be failing at the worst times, and besides that, often requires the services of a jeweler.

Today there are not just one, but two alternatives. This is especially great news for divers, who may not wear a dive watch on a regular basis.

First is the Seiko’s kinetic style watch that uses kinetic, or motion-generated, energy created by the wearers arm movements. It’s similar to the self-winding watch which used that same energy to wind the mainspring. The difference is these Seiko dive watches use that energy to charge up a battery which actually powers the watch. The excess is kept in these storage cells to provide power when there’s been no movement.

Solar is the other power option, and is used in the Eco-Drive watch by Citizen. Instead of kinetic energy, these Citizen Eco-Drive watches are powered by light from the sun, or a lamp, or virtually any source of light.Tiny solar cells on the watch dial transform light into electrical energy, which is collected and stored in energy cells, similar to a battery. When there’s no light, this stored energy can provide power over very long periods of time.

Once they’re charged up, both Citizen Eco-Drive and Seiko Kinetic models can be left for months without being worn and still keep running. Many newer designs have a hibernation mode which freezes the hand and dial functions when no movement is sensed for extended time periods. But internally the quartz movement keeps the time, so once motion is sensed, the watch resets itself.

Battery technology is now at the point where the life of this storage cell or battery can reach past the lifetime of the wearer. With the battery never needing to be replaced, these watches are incredibly friendly to the environment.

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