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Seiko Watches solution to global warming: Kinetic Technology
The Seiko we looked at was the flagship Seiko SNL007P1, a fairly recent Arctura range model manufactured with a titanium bracelet. This watch retails at a steep £550, but the features of this watch are clearly enough to make up for the hefty price. The first thing we noticed is how light the watch was, even for a titanium model. This watch also features a chronograph, scratch resistant glass and 100M water resistance. It claims to keep charge for an astonishing 5 months when left stationary from a full charge.
So what did we do? We took this beauty apart and took a look at the components of the technology. Inside the case there is a very distinct motor, which is able to move freely as the watch does. This movement from this motor is then amplified by using a series of cogs which turn a small rotor – Seiko claims this then rotates at up to 100,000 revolutions per minute. Similarly to how electricity is generated within a power station, the movement of the rotor uses a magnetic field to create a voltage across a coil. A circuit carries the resulting current to an electrical storage unit, where the voltage is stored until required. Seiko Watches claim that through normal wear, the watch should keep charge continuously.
In our first test, we wore the watch for a period of 2 days. This allowed the watch to gain some level of charge. After two days the watch was left motionless for a period of 3 weeks, to test the charge storage feature. When we examined the watch to see if it had kept time, the watch hands had stopped, but upon movement quickly rotated to show the correct time. This shows that the watch is able to store power for an extended period of time. Unfortunately we were unable to test the watch for the full 5 months as specified because of time constraints.
We then tested how long the watch takes from a completely discharged state, to resume normal timekeeping. After two minutes wear the second hand started to rotate, and we set the watch to the correct time. An hour later the watch was still keeping time. The chronograph features of the watch also worked perfectly and accurate within the specified 1/5 of a second.
Finally, we checked the accuracy of the watch overall. In our test the watch lost 3 seconds time in the first month and then only 1 second in the next month. Most quartz watches keep time to within 15 seconds a month, so this watch has showed high performance for a quartz watch.
After putting the SNP007P1 through its paces, we found that the watch more than exceeded our expectation. The completely self sufficient watch is perfect for those who do not want the hassle of getting the battery replaced and for those who have concerns about accuracy. The watch is also available online with discounts available on the steep retail price.
