Seiko Kinetic Watches offer a very unique selling point in that they don’t require a battery.  The concept behind this particular range of Seiko watches is that kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy using the natural movement on your hand.
This may sound like an extremely complicated processes, however it is actually very simple.  The movement of your hand oscillates a weight inside the watch and through the gear train drives the main motor by amplifying the rotational movement.  The inner workings of the Seiko Kinetic watch then converts this movement (kinetic energy) into electricity which is then stored using a capacitor, which is essentially acts as a small regargable battery.

Because this capacitor will continuously charge and recharge itself there is no need for a change in battery.  Because the Seiko Kinetic watch will never need to be opened, it is vacuum sealed to preserve the integrity of the inner workings.  The essential difference between batter, kinetic and solar powered watches is the means by which energy is drawn from and how it is transferred.

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• Case size:  44mm (including crown)
• Thickness: ~14mm
• Weight:  ~156g
• Crown:  push-pull, non-screw down
• Crystal:  sapphire
• Water Resistance: 100m

  

The Seiko Arctura is a sharp and stylish looking watch whose unorthodox design certainly works in it’s favour.  The dials exhibit a high clarity of visual arrangement, which makes for uncomplicated time reading.  The main dial has machined cut outs for the sub dials.  All the markings appear to be extremely precisly positioned too, though it could be argued that the ‘min’ and ’sec’ subdials are perhaps unecessary.  Seiko has moved the date window on the newer Arcturas and have dropped the ’sec’ label.

The Arcturas has a real quality finish and fit thanks to it’s unique arc design (hence ‘Arcturas’) and brushed stainless steel.  Despite it’s size, the gently arced case wears very well on the wrist.

This Seiko watch may be let down a little by it’s Chrono features, or rather lack thereof.  It operates well and the pushers work with a more than adequate amount of resistance however there is no lap time facility which is a surprising omission for such a quality watch that has been crafted with such attention to detail.

In conclusion, the Seiko Arctura an unconventional looking watch that is certainly eye catching and has a comfortable fit and amazing finish.  If the lack of lap time facility isn’t a dealbreaker then this is certainly a watch worthy of your consideration.

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