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Comparison of Eco-drive vs. Kinetic Dive Watches |
Traditionally watches have either been mechanical or battery powered. The mechanical variety had to be wound regularly, while the latter required changing batteries from time to time. 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 other occasions like dress up nights out, or just normal daily wear.
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, it seems like the battery always needs replacing at the most inconvenient 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 diver 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 kinetic watches use that energy to charge up a battery which actually powers the watch. The excess is stored for sustaining power when there’s no movement.
Solar is the other power option, and is used in Citizens Eco-Drive series of watches. Instead of kinetic energy, these Citizen Eco-Drive dive watches are powered by light, not just from the sun, but any light source.Tiny solar cells on the watch dial transform light into electrical energy, which is collected and stored in energy cells, similar to a battery. This supplies power for extended periods, even without light.
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. There’s a hibernation mode incorporated in some newer designs 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, everything resets automatically.
Battery technology is now at the point where the life of this storage cell or battery can reach past the lifetime of the wearer. Since batteries needn’t be changed, these watches are super green. |
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