There are many watches out there and everyone has a style that they consider to be their favorite. Some people like flashy watches that have faces surrounded in diamonds, while other choose watches with plain faces that just show the time and date. There are watches that keep track of international time and watches that you can wear underwater without worrying about any damage being done to the time piece. Ways to tell time have been around for centuries. There are still sundials available that you can place in your yard to keep track of time.



There's a whole new generation of watches being offered and they do not require batteries or winding. Two such watches are the Citizen Eco Drive that uses solar energy to run and the Kinetic line of watches that are manufactured by Seiko. It should be no surprise that the two biggest names in watches should create an entire new time keeping technology.

Citizen's solar powered watches, such as the Eco-Drive will never have to have the battery replaced. The line doesn't just run from solar power. Any light source will do. They also have watches that are suitable for diving and aviation and they come in fashionable styles for both men and women. Pulsar attempted to produce watches with solar technology, but they did not have the same quality.

There is also another type of battery free watch put out by Seiko. These are called Kinetic watches. They were introduced during the late 1980s, in Germany. They are now sought after by people all over the world. It will never need batteries because of innovative technology that allows it to be powered by the movement of the wearer. The technology is so advanced that Seiko holds over 50 patents on it.

The watch contains small capacitors that the generator charges. These capacitors can store up to 6 months of power to keep the watch running even if the wearer takes it off. The watch has a pendulum that rotates. The pendulum is connected to a large gear and the gear is meshed with a small pinion. Movement from the wearer causes the pendulum to turn which in turn makes the pinion spin. The high speed that the pinion turns at, actually powers a tiny generator, which in turn charges the capacitors.

The Kinetic watches also offer a feature called the Kinetic Auto Relay. This feature saves power by causing the watch to "sleep", if it doesn't sense movement for over 72 hours. Other features include a perpetual colander that is accurate until 2100.

The next time you're in the market for a new watch, consider one these new innovations. They're stylish, low maintenance and friendly to the environment.