HOW THE SEIKO KINETIC WORKS?

The Seiko Kinetic mechanism works in a very simple way. The movement of your hand actually rotates a rotor which after going through a series of tiny gears drives the main motor. Inside the Seiko Kinetic watch, the motor converts this movement (kinetic energy) into electricity which is thereafter stored into a very small capacitor. This capacitor is like a rechargeable battery.

Amazingly, there will never be a change in battery in Seiko Kinetic watches as the capacitor will continuously charge itself with the kinetic energy from your moving hands.

1. Oscillating weight in Seiko kinetic watches.

The everyday movement of your wrist rotates the oscillating weight in Seiko kinetic watches.

2. Gear train in Seiko kinetic watches.

This amplifies the rotational movement of oscillating weight in Seiko kinetic watches 100 fold and transfers it to the rotor.

3. Seiko kinetic watch rotor.

This is where the magic of kinetic watches begins. Every movement of the oscillating rotor in the kinetic watch is turned in to a magnetic charge. The rotors in kinetic watches can spin 100,000 RPM’s faster then a formula one race car.

4. Seiko kinetic watches Generating coil block.

The extremely high density coil in kinetic watches transforms the magnetic charge created by the kinetic watches rotor in to electricity to power the watch.

5. Seiko kinetic energy unit.

The electrical energy that is created by a Seiko kinetic watches generating coil block is stored in this tiny technological marvel.

6. Kinetic watches Circuit block.

A very vital piece in a kinetic watch is the circuit block. The block controls the voltage, amps, and by quartz oscillation, produces a precise watch signal.

7. Quartz crystal oscillator.

This oscillator oscillates at a highly stable rate of 32,768 time per second.

8. Step motor in Seiko kinetic watches.

The step motor converts the electrical signal in to a precise rotational motion that is transmitted to the hands through the gear train.

9. The step motor converts electric signal into rotation motion

10. Gear train transmits the rotational motion to hands

11. Hands move to indicate time

About Seiko

Japanese company Seiko pioneered the technique which it unveiled at the Baselworld 1986 under the trial name AGM. The first such watch was released in Germany in January 1988 and April of the same year in Japan (under the name Auto-Quartz). The watches had an average monthly rate of ±15 sec and provided 75 hours of continuous operation when fully powered. Early automatic quartz movements were called AGS (Automatic Generating System); in 1991 the company introduced the Kinetic brand name. Today Seiko offers a wide range of watches with various different Kinetic movements. The top of the line is the caliber 9T82, included in Sportura (international brand) and PROSPEX (only marketed in Japan) Collection. It's sold in limited volume at a price range of about US$3000 which makes it one of the most expensive automatic quartz watches. Kinetic technology has also been used in some of Seiko's Pulsar and Lorus watches. As of 2007, Seiko has sold more than eight million automatic quartz watches.

The different calibres of Kinetic watches currently are relatively large and heavy, weighing in at 1/3rd of a pound (150 grams) or more on many models. Therefore, most Seiko Kinetic watches are only available in a men's size.

FAQ

Q: What is Kinetic?
A: Kinetic is Seiko's name for a category of watches that differ from standard quartz watches in that they never need a battery change. That's because a Kinetic watch generates its own electrical power. It uses the simple motion of the wearer's arm to create electricity to run the watch.

Q: Are Kinetic watches as accurate as normal quartz watches?
A: Yes. A Kinetic watch has the same, extremely high accuracy as a standard quartz watch, accurate to within 15 seconds per month. Both use a paper-thin piece of synthetic quartz crystal as an oscillator in the watch movement. (The movement is the internal engine that powers a watch.) The quartz oscillator receives an electrical charge from an integrated circuit. The electricity makes the quartz oscillate, or vibrate, 32,768 times per second, which accounts for the extreme accuracy.

Q: So what's the advantage of a Kinetic watch over standard quartz watches?
A: Kinetic represents the newest, most technologically advanced energy generation and storage technology available for watches. It has three major advantages over standard quartz technology.

For most people, the greatest advantage is convenience. The biggest problem with standard quartz watches is that the battery runs down every few years and the watch stops. That's a nuisance because to get the watch running again you have to take it to a jeweller or watch repair centre and have the battery replaced. That never happens with a Kinetic watch. Worn regularly, a Kinetic watch will never stop; it continually generates and stores electricity. Consequently, it is virtually maintenance free. Since the battery never needs to be changed, there's little need to open the case. That eliminates problems that can occur when the case is opened, like dust or dirt getting into the mechanism or damage to the water-resistant seal when a battery is changed.

Another major advantage of Kinetic technology is that it is environmentally friendly. Kinetic watches use clean, natural energy - the motion of the wearer's arm - to generate electricity. Consequently, there are no polluting watch batteries to dispose of, as there are with standard quartz watches.

Finally, Kinetic is the only quartz watch technology that generates its own electric power. Solar watches, for example, which Seiko also manufactures, use an older technology, which relies on an external source - the sun or artificial light - to power the watch. Without an external light source, solar watches can't work. Kinetic watches rely only on their own inner, independent power source that works rain or shine.

Q: Kinetic watches seem similar to automatic mechanical watches in that they both generate power by the motion of the wrist. Plus, automatic watches don't have batteries. Does that make automatics better?
A: It's true that automatic watches generate their own power. Both use arm motion to spin a rotating weight that creates energy to make the movement work. However, an automatic mechanical watch cannot compare to an electronic quartz watch in terms of accuracy. A mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring (not electricity), using an oscillating balance wheel (rather than a vibrating quartz crystal) to measure the time. In general, a mechanical watch is accurate to within five minutes per month versus quartz watch accuracy of +/- 15 seconds per month, so there really is no contest!

Q: How do Kinetic watches create electricity from simple arm movements?
A: Through an engineering feat that many people consider the greatest advance in quartz watch technology since Seiko launched the world's first quartz in 1969.

What Seiko has done is, in effect, to install a miniature power plant in each Kinetic watch. What the Kinetic movement does is capture natural energy from the movements of the wearer's arm, amplify it, store it and use it to power the timekeeping mechanism. It is a triumph of microminiaturization. Seiko filed more than 50 patents for the Kinetic project.
The heart of the Kinetic system is the rotor. A tiny thing, just 2.66 mm in diameter and 0.4 mm thick, the rotor (technically, a samarium cobalt microrotor) spins at astonishing speed - 10,000 to 100,000 revolutions per minute, five times faster than a racing car engine.
The wearer's arm movement causes an oscillating weight to rotate. Gear trains transfer this movement to the rotor, whose spinning generates voltage across a coil block. That's electricity. The electrical current is stored in a tiny component called the ESU ('electrical storage unit') and is released when needed to power the watch.
Electricity stored in the ESU powers the watch even when it is not worn.

Q: What happens when the watch is off the wrist and just sitting on a dresser or in a drawer?
A: Then the oscillating weight stops and no electricity is generated. The watch continues to run on the energy in the Energy Storage Unit. When that energy is depleted, the watch stops.

Q: How do you get the watch running again?
A: You recharge it. It's a simple process. You gently swing the watch from side to side in a small arc. As you swing the watch, the oscillating weight in the storage unit rotates; it may make a small sound as it does.

When the second hand begins to move in 1-second intervals, the watch has stored at least three hours of power and is ready to be set and worn. Normal arm motion will gradually generate a full charge. By wearing the watch consistently, you will never have to recharge it, since it recharges itself.

Q: How long do Kinetic watches run when off the wrist?
A: It varies depending on the model. Fully charged, standard Kinetic watches run for six months off the wrist. The Sportura Kinetic Chronograph watch Seiko launched a few years ago uses more energy, but even it runs for a month on a single full charge. The new Arctura Kinetic Chronograph runs for five months. Kinetic Auto Relay watches continue to tell time for an astonishing four years off the wrist.

Q: How can the Auto Relay run for so long off the wrist?
A: The Kinetic Auto Relay watch has a patented Power Save Function, which puts it into a 'sleep mode' in order to save energy. If the watch is stationary for 72 hours, it automatically kicks in to a 'power save mode', which prevents excess energy consumption if the watch is unused for a long period.
In that mode, the hands stop moving but the watch's inner circuits constantly keep track of the time for as long as the watch is stationary, literally for years. If the watch is fully charged when it becomes stationary, it will continue to track the time for four years.
If you pick up the watch and shake it once or twice at any time within the four-year period, the watch 'wakes up' and the watch's hands are reactivated. The shaking motion triggers a Time Relay function, in which the watch's timekeeping 'brain', which has been continually keeping time, relays the exact time automatically to the hands, hence the name Auto Relay.
The hour and minute hands, driven by a high-speed step motor, spin around until they display the exact current time. The second hand, driven by its own separate step motor, does the same thing. The watch recognises A.M. and P.M., so that it returns to the exact current time, even if it has been in the 'sleep mode' for years. Day-date adjustments, however, must be made manually.
The Auto Relay watch also has a 'manual power save' mode. This enables the wearer to activate the Power Save Function instantly and not have to wait 72 hours for the watch to put itself into the power save mode automatically. The wearer activates the 'manual power save' mode simply by pulling the crown out one step from its regular position. With that, the watch goes to sleep on the spot.

Q: How does a Kinetic watch store the electricity it generates?
A: Kinetic watches store energy in a Kinetic Electricity Storage System that is unique to Seiko. The explanation of how it works is a bit complicated, unless you are an electrical engineer. Here it is, in a nutshell:
The system consists of a Kinetic Energy Storage Unit (ESU), a controlling IC (integrated circuit), and four micro-capacitors. All Seiko Kinetic calibres use this system, which incorporates numerous examples of patented technology developed by Seiko.
The Kinetic Electricity Storage System monitors constantly fluctuating voltage every two seconds. Using four micro-capacitors, the ESU regulates and supplies extremely stable electrical pressure. For example, when the stored energy level is low, the electricity inside the ESU is distributed among three micro-capacitors. An additional micro-capacitor consolidates the voltage in these three capacitors and delivers a voltage boost sufficient to power the quartz movement. On the other hand, when the supply of energy is too great, this system blocks the excess energy and prevents overcharging.
In 2000, Seiko replaced the outside capacitor in the ESU with a rechargeable lithium ion cell. This cell, sometimes called a 'secondary battery', enabled the ESU to store more energy for a longer period of time. It also eliminated some capacitor related issues in some Kinetic models in the mid and late 1990s.

Q: Is there a way to find out when the watch is low on power?
A: Yes. When the power runs down to a very low level in a Kinetic watch, the second hand begins to move at two-second intervals instead of the normal one-second interval. This indicates that the watch has only a few hours' worth of power remaining and needs recharging.

Some Kinetic models have a power reserve indicator on the dial. To check how long the watch can operate on its current charge, wait until the second hand reaches the 12 o'clock position and push the button located at 2 o'clock on the watch case. The second hand moves along the scale and stops at the number of hours of power remaining. The second hand automatically resumes normal operation in 30 seconds or less.

Q: How can the Auto Relay watch maintain its charge for so long?
A: The key is the ability to put the hands 'to sleep'. In a Kinetic watch, the actual timekeeping function uses only 15% of the watch's energy. The other 85% is used to drive the hands. By devising a way to put the watch into a sleep mode and continue to tell time without using the hands to display it, Seiko's engineers were able to eliminate the biggest drain on the ESU (energy storage unit).

The result is that the watch uses all of its energy strictly for timekeeping. By eliminating power drain from the hands, the engineers were able to extend the timekeeping function for an extraordinarily long period.

Q: If it takes so much power to drive the hands, how is it possible to have Kinetic chronograph models, which have twice as many hands as a normal watch?
A: The introduction of Seiko Kinetic chronographs marked a major leap in Kinetic technology. It was made possible by a Kinetic movement developed in 1998 by Seiko engineers, Calibre 9T82A, which generates three times more electricity than any previous Kinetic movement. This extra electric power made a Kinetic chronograph (or stopwatch) possible. Calibre 9T82 is able to drive four chronograph hands in addition to the three hands for actual time.

Seiko introduced the first Kinetic chronograph in 1999 in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces. It featured an unusual dashboard-like dial with four independent dials. The actual time dial had three hands (hours, minutes and seconds). That dial was surrounded by three subdials for the chronograph time: one for hours and minutes up to 12 hours, one for seconds, and one for 1/10 seconds. Considering that it has to power motors for seven hands on four different dials, the power-generating capacity of the 9T82 calibre is remarkable. Even if the chronograph functions are used for three hours each day, a fully charged Kinetic chronograph has enough power to run for a month without any further charge.

Regular production of the Kinetic chronograph began in 2000. Subsequently Seiko issued a Kinetic chronograph with the same dashboard design in a tonneau-shaped case in its Sportura collection.
Seiko's new Arctura Kinetic chronograph, unveiled in 2003, contains a new chronograph movement, Calibre 7L22, with a much larger power reserve than 9T82. Fully charged the 7L runs for five months off the wrist, a major advance over the 9T's one month.

Q: Do other watch companies make Kinetic watches?
A: Very few watch companies are capable of producing quartz watch movements that generate their own electric power. Seiko was the first to do it and is the leader in the field, manufacturing more motion-powered quartz movements than any other watch company.
After Seiko introduced its Kinetic technology, two other watch producers followed with quartz watch movements that generate their own electricity via arm motion. However, these movements do not contain Seiko's extremely sophisticated proprietary Kinetic technology.