| Based in Tokyo, Japan, the multi-national corporation, Citizen Watch Company Limited ranks among the world’s largest manufacturers of watches. The latest product from its stables is the popular Eco-Drive, a series of solar energy powered wrist watches. The series is designed to generate electrical energy using the solar panel and continuously recharge the in-built special Lithium-Ion battery for prolonged usage. The solar panel can derive energy from any light source such as fluorescent lights or even the Sun. The watches are claimed to run for a period ranging between 180 days to 8.7 years on a single charge, depending on the model.
The watches have a layer of amorphous silicon solar cell substrate that generates electrical energy from any incandescent source of light energy. The electric current is then relayed to a small rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery specially constructed to last for many years. The batteries, in a standard model, are tested and confirmatively run for at least 6 months on a single charge, with the higher end models lasting up to 10 years using the Power Save feature. The technology is highly efficient with the lowest charge cycle of 3 minutes, required to power a watch for 1 day. A certain model, the A413 Eco-Drive, can last for 8.7 years on a single complete battery charging.
The series has a special feature to inform the users of any battery depletion occurring due to non-charging at regular intervals. This can be observed in the time difference resulting due to the slow-down of the second hand. In such a situation, the special mechanism slows down the second hand to move at two second intervals instead of one second intervals, thereby displaying incorrect time in place of a warning system. Upon subjecting the watch to a sufficient enough light source and resetting the watch to the correct time, the watch immediately returns the second hand movement to one second intervals while recharging the battery. The Eco-Drive is specially constructed out of materials devoid of any pollution-causing elements such as detrimental metals like mercury, lead, and cadmium commonly found in rechargeable batteries. |
