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Citizen has launched a new range of watches with a fancy mechanism called Eco-Drive that never needs a battery change. If you ask us, it doesn't get much more power-efficient than that.
The watches convert sunlight that hits the dial into power via something called an amorphous silicon solar cell, technology that means the watch dial doesn't have to look like an über-modern solar cell. The small lithium ion battery means that it will work even when it's dark, obviously an essential feature for a timepiece -- and for those of us living in dreary winter Britain.
Once charged, the watches can last anywhere between 180 days to four years, but will eventually drop into sleep mode -- where the dials don't move but the watch keeps time and wakes up to set itself right when it gets some more sunlight.
The Eco-Drive is available in several watches already, including the Sport Chronograph; the Aqualand, with a gaudy orange strap and 100m water resistance; the Perpetual Calendar in fancy titanium; and the Skyhawk AT, which uses radio transmissions to sync up with an atomic clock.
This technology might not work yet for energy-intensive applications like phones or hand-held computers, but who knows what will happen when solar cells become more powerful? Perhaps some day we'll never have to plug in or recharge our gadgets. Wouldn't that be grand?
The new range of Citizen watches includes the Sport Chronograph at £169; the Eco-Drive Aqualand at £349; the Perpetual Calendar Titanium at £299; and the Skyhawk A.T. in stainless steel, £349, titanium, £399, and with a rubber strap, £299.
21 January 2008 01:11pm
Lets not forget about kinetic energy watches as they have been around for years! A big selling point with kinetic watches is their energy saving ability and their accuracy. Kinetic watches never need winding or a battery change. Kinetic watches are capable of storing energy for up to six months. Not bad eh?
24 January 2008 07:10am
I've borrowed one of the older models for review, and I definitely rate the Eco Drives on build quality -- even if the controls/interface are nearly as cryptic as a Rubik's cube
08 May 2008 03:17am
hi i have a lady citzen eco-drive watch and the battery won't charge. have sat the watch in the window for week and nothing. it dose move in the day time but nothing at night
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