Kinetic Seiko
Posted on (05/10/10)
Kinetic Seiko
Kinetic Seiko
Since the 1400s, watches have kept time using mechanical energy. A mechanical watch must be wound on a regular basis, or it will stop. However, if the owner winds the watch too much, he runs the risk of breaking the mainspring. Battery-operated quartz crystal watches solved the issue of over-winding. They gained popularity in the 1970s. However, the batteries used to run these watches are an environmental hazard.
Kinetic Seiko is the first platform in the world to capture the kinetic energy created by a bodys natural motion and convert that energy into the electrical energy required to run a watch. The revolutionary Kinetic Seiko watch, sold under the name AGS, debuted in 1988 and was an instant success. With no batteries, these watches are environmentally friendly. However, the watch did have one drawback. Early versions of kinetic watches did not maintain a charge for terribly long, requiring the owner to swing the watch back and forth in order to keep the watch running.
Enter the Kinetic Seiko Auto Relay watch in 1998. This new rendition of the kinetic operating platform invented by Seiko enables owners to maintain four years worth of power when the watch is at rest. The auto relay function places the Kinetic Seiko Auto Relay watch into a sleep mode when the watch has been at rest for seventy-two hours in order to conserve power. When the watch senses movement, it wakes up and displays the correct time.
A year later, the Ultimate Kinetic Seiko Chronograph joined the popular line of watches. This Chronograph is built to Seikos high standards for quality and precision. The chronograph function can be set for a full twelve hours, in increments as small as one-tenth of a second. This Kinetic Seiko uses thirty-eight rubies to ensure that the hands move smoothly and that the date changes accurately. Separate dials on the watchs face allow the owner to view several functions simultaneously.
In 2005, the Kinetic Seiko Perpetual debuted. This new generation of watches combines the superior performance and extended at-rest period with a new feature. The Kinetic Seiko Perpetual contains a perpetual calendar. This calendar is accurate into the next millennium.
The Kinetic Seiko Direct Drive combines the best features of a kinetic watch with the easy charging mechanism of the earlier mechanical watches. This watch can be charged through the kinetic energy of normal wear, or it can be charged manually by winding the stem. A power reserve indicator informs the owner of the amount of charge remaining in the Kinetic Seiko Direct Drive watch.
