Kinetic Watches: Motion Makes it Happen

Kinetic watches? No, they're not made in the Nutmeg State by bad spellers. Kinetic is the way these watches are powered and it's really quite fascinating. Kinetic, from the Greek word for motion, describes how these wristwatches take the movement of the wearer and with the help of a tiny oscillating weight, transfer it into a magnetic charge which is then converted into electricity. Sound complicated? It is. So complicated that as the Seiko watch company developed the first kinetic watch, they applied for some fifty patents along the way.

Seiko remains the premier maker of kinetic watches, and why not-- they perfected the first kinetic, human-powered wristwatch and nobody has been able to build a better kinetic watch yet. Kinetic watches aren't cheap, but they never need winding or batteries and that van be priceless. Sure, most watch batteries last a fairly long time. But no matter how long one lives, when it does die it's always too soon and the wrong time. Kinetic watches are always charged, always set. The kinetic energy generated by wrist movements of the wearer is stored for up to six months in either a capacitor or small rechargeable battery.

Kinetic watches are good for the environment, too. Batteries are a ghastly things to throw away. Batteries release all sorts of nasty stuff into the landfill they're buried in. Since kinetic watches never need a new battery, there's never an old one to toss. Kinetic watches are one of the few true Jetsons-like inventions you can actually own. If you require a watch you can always count on, get yourself a kinetic watch.
 posted by Watches Giant