Kinetic - Automatic

[Eighteeteewhy]

I see some watches that say Kinetic and some Automatic.

Are they the same thing? Excuse my ignorance.

@

[Hoofy]

Kinetic is Seiko's technology. It's basically a quartz watch that relies on a rechargeable battery to be powered by a rotor as you would get in a standard automatic (mechanical) watch. Clever stuff.

[Arun_D]

Both utilise the wearer's wrist motion to keep the watch going, the difference being the Kinetic system uses wrist motion to charge a battery to power a quartz movement, and automatics use this motion to wind a mainspring on a traditional mechanical movement.

Edit- yeah it took me that long to type this on a feckin iPad!

[Hoofy]

Arun_D said:

Edit- yeah it took me that long to type this on a feckin iPad!

That's not the standard sig you get when posting from an iPad.

[CardShark]

I think that a charge is held for a couple of months with the Kinetics as opposed to a couple of days for a traditional auto, the battery can also fail after a number of years as well, seem to remember others talking about an approximate 10yr lifespan but that could be tosh.

[Eighteeteewhy]

Cheers, I had inklings that's what it might be.

I can't really see the point though, so instead of changing the battery every 5 years you have to change it every 10, but I bet it's not a simple back off, change battery affair?

[Eighteeteewhy]

Hoofy said:

Kinetic is Seiko's technology..

I see it on a lot of other watches, do they use Seiko tech? And pay money to them I'd guess?

[Hoofy]

Eighteeteewhy said:

Cheers, I had inklings that's what it might be.

I can't really see the point though, so instead of changing the battery every 5 years you have to change it every 10, but I bet it's not a simple back off, change battery affair?

You can buy kits. I cannot remember what a change involves.

Edit: That said, the early batteries failed soon but the later ones may last longer; I have a 1990s Lorus solar-powered watch that I bought a while ago just to see when it will die.

Edited by Hoofy on Monday 2nd July 21:23

[Hoofy]

Eighteeteewhy said:

I see it on a lot of other watches, do they use Seiko tech? And pay money to them I'd guess?

Might be subsidiaries of Seiko...

[Arun_D]

Hoofy said:

Eighteeteewhy said:

I see it on a lot of other watches, do they use Seiko tech? And pay money to them I'd guess?

Might be subsidiaries of Seiko...

Yes, Pulsar etc

Perhaps I should have said Seiko Group's technology in my initial post.

[Hoofy]

Arun_D said:

Yes, Pulsar etc

Perhaps I should have said Seiko Group's technology in my initial post.

Yeah, Pulsar and Lorus are the big ones that come to mind. Not sure who else uses Kinetic technology. Mind you, I've seen it in other brands I didn't think were Seiko-related (or I might be getting confused).

[ApexJimi]

Citizen's "Eco-Drive"?

[Hoofy]

ApexJimi said:

Citizen's "Eco-Drive"?

That's solar power. Damned clever stuff, though, because you can't see a panel. Black magic if you ask me. Citizen should be burned at the stake.



Lorus do similar, as I mentioned above:



Full lume dial!

Edited by Hoofy on Tuesday 3rd July 14:14

[Irrotational]

Hang on - that means it glows in the dark AND is powered by light!? So it should last forever!?

[ApexJimi]

Hoofy said:

ApexJimi said:

Citizen's "Eco-Drive"?

That's solar power. Damned clever stuff, though, because you can't see a panel. Black magic if you ask me. Citizen should be burned at the stake.

I've never really paid THAT much attention to Citizen's stuff, as none of it has appealed to me very much. I always just assumed that Eco Drive was Citizen's version of Kinetic.

[Justayellowbadge]

Hoofy said:

Arun_D said:

Yes, Pulsar etc

Perhaps I should have said Seiko Group's technology in my initial post.

Yeah, Pulsar and Lorus are the big ones that come to mind. Not sure who else uses Kinetic technology. Mind you, I've seen it in other brands I didn't think were Seiko-related (or I might be getting confused).

A number of swiss manufacturers have turned them out with an ETA movement. Go by the name of Autoquartz IIRC. Omega, Tissot & Longines used them.

[Hoofy]

Irrotational said:

Hang on - that means it glows in the dark AND is powered by light!? So it should last forever!?

[Hoofy]

ApexJimi said:

I've never really paid THAT much attention to Citizen's stuff, as none of it has appealed to me very much. I always just assumed that Eco Drive was Citizen's version of Kinetic.

Fair enough. I'm a geek and like to see what eco technologies are being used. Only from a tightfisted viewpoint, mind. *goes off to burn a tyre to prove a point*

Citizen's eco-drive range is vast. From very traditional dressy watches to OTT pilot wannabe watches to issued diver's watches.

[Hoofy]

Justayellowbadge said:

A number of swiss manufacturers have turned them out with an ETA movement. Go by the name of Autoquartz IIRC. Omega, Tissot & Longines used them.

Oops. Forgot about those!