There are many kinds of watches out there; some have classic elegance, while others are trendy and flashy. The styles, shapes and brands are too numerous to count but there's a watch on the market that is so innovative that it's begun a whole new generation of watches. Kinetic watches are becoming all the rage. They are truly new age watches in that they don't run off of batteries, but rather the movement of the wearer's wrist. They were first introduced as Auto Quartz watches in Germany, in 1988 by the well known Japanese company Seiko.

The system used to run them was called the Automatic Generating System. They re-dubbed the watch "Kinetic", in 1997. Aside from the fascinating fact that the watches do not require batteries or winding, they also feature what Seiko calls the Kinetic Auto Relay, which will conserve power if the watch does not move for 72 hours. The watch will also keep an accurate, four year record of the time.

Other watch companies, such as Critique and Swatch, have made attempts to put out such watches, but they were unsuccessful doing so. Inventing a watch that runs solely by human movement is a huge advancement in technology. The way it works is 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. The watch also 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.

This technology is so advanced and innovative that Seiko holds over fifty patents on it. Most of the watches only come in men's sizes, due to the calibers being both large and heavy. Some of the models that Seiko offers include the Kinetic Perpetual.

This watch contains a perpetual calendar that goes all the way to the year 2100. It even adjusts for leap years. Another very cool feature is that it will "sleep" after 24 for hours where no movement has passed. This conserves the energy in the watch. After putting the watch back on the wrist a mere shake will cause it to reset and reactivate it. You don't have to worry about resetting the time because that's done automatically.

Another model that Seiko offers is the Kinetic Chronograph. This particular watch offers features such as holding a charge for 5 months, overcharge prevention technology and energy depletion forewarning functions. It has four times as many wheels than normal quartz watches and reduces power consumption.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as One Stop Watches at http://www.onestopwatches.com