SEIKO Solar Watch Review
Wednesday - 15 February 2012
True solar-powered watches have been a goal of the watchmaking industry for quite some time now. With the new SEIKO Solar line, that dream is officially a reality.
A problem that plagued the industry for a long time was the fact that the dials were forced to be semi-transparent in order to allow the transmittance of light. That’s not the case anymore. SEIKO proudly states that black or blue dials truly assume that colour. While the saturation of the colour is a remarkable aesthetic advancement, the science behind the Solar is even more powerful.
For an entire day of power, a Solar piece requires only one or two minutes of exposure to any kind of light; it doesn’t have to be sunlight. Moreover, a full charge can be achieved within just three hours. Keep in mind that all this is achieved with advanced solar technology. Solar cells store the energy; thus, there’s no need for batteries and the harmful environmental processes that characterise their creation and disposal. As an added bonus to the consumer, the watch is basically maintenance-free. Remember: there aren’t any batteries to change (or pay for, for that matter).
The power reserves of these pieces are yet another tremendous technological leap forward. SEIKO points out that if the watches are fully charged, they will continue to function for six to twelve months. Even if enveloped in complete and total darkness, enough energy is stored in the cells to keep the piece running for this extensive period of time. If the cells are entirely drained, normal functionality will return in as little as eight minutes once exposed to light (thirty minutes in some models).
Essentially, SEIKO has taken the disadvantages out of owning a solar-powered watch and replaced them with advantages and cost savings. They’ve made it so easy, you’ll never notice the difference...but the environment will!
