What do you need to know about solar watches?

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What do you need to know about solar watches?

Asher Brown

Asher follows the latest trends and fashions. He is fond of luxury clothing and accessories, especially watches. Asher’s interests include tennis and travel.

19 Jan 2021

Solar watch. Does it sound interesting to you? A timepiece powered by solar energy is really useful and convenient. Are you wondering if that’s a good option for you? Read the article below and find out!

How does a solar watch work?

Not that long ago, we could find watches with only three kinds of movement in shops. There were mechanical, automatic, and quartz mechanisms. The first two types require a mainspring that releases energy when it unwinds and quartz movement utilizes a battery as its power source. All of them have some advantages and some drawbacks.

Mechanical watches don’t require regular check-ups and battery replacement. However, they need to be used frequently due to short power reserve - usually around 40 hours.

Watches with quartz movement, which are the most popular choice, unfortunately require battery replacement every few years. To mix those two kinds, producers came up with a new, solar movement.

Solar watch

At first, solar watches were supposed to be reliable without any need for repairs, which is typical for mechanical and automatic movements. On the other hand, models with solar mechanism have longer power reserve, which makes them more similar to quartz ones.

To understand how solar movement works, you don’t need any specific knowledge. Sunlight or any other source of light shines on solar cells located under the dial of the watch. Later, the cells convert light into electricity. Power goes to a built-in capacitor, which stores the energy and provides it to the “engine” of the watch. Fully charged movement works for around 6 months, although there are models in which this time is even longer. Precision of the mechanism should be comparable to quartz watches, however, some high-end models have some extra modules like Bluetooth, GPS, or radio waves synchronization, which constantly improve the time measurement.

The best solar watches

Timex

The solar-powered watches offered by Timex are characterised by masculine style. They are very durable and perfect for outdoor activities. Solar-powered technology is now featured in two Expedition models: The Expedition Solar Gallatin and the Expedition Solar Ranger.

Our suggestion: TIMEX Expedition Ranger Solar TW4B14900

Seiko Solar

Seiko is another manufacturer who creates solar-powered watches. Its latest watch line is Seiko Solar. The batteries of Seiko are powered by solar cells units located under the dial of the timepieces. Seiko offers mostly versatile models that combine the advantages of sports, elegant and luxury watches. They are adapted to extreme conditions.

Our suggestion: Seiko Astron GPS Solar SSE147J1

Casio Protrek

Our last suggestion is Casio, which also willingly uses solar-powered technology in its watches. The Japanese company has released its own line of sports watches, Tough Solar. In addition, the brand’s other collections, including Edifice, G-Shock and Protrek have built-in solar cells..

Our proposition: PROTREK Premium Radio-Controlled Solar PRW-3100YB-1ER

You definitely should consider watches with solar movement while picking a model for yourself. They’re durable, reliable and almost maintenance-free - they don’t require any battery replacement, power reserve lasts for a very long time and they are extremely precise. This technology is constantly evolving, so we think that solar watches will be more popular, less expensive and even more efficient in the future.


Asher Brown

Asher follows the latest trends and fashions. He is fond of luxury clothing and accessories, especially watches. Asher’s interests include tennis and travel.