A pretty good solution if you own a kinetic watch
After wearing my dad's old Seiko Kinetic watch fairly regularly for weeks, I thought the battery was charged enough so that it would still run for a while. But after about two months in the watch case, I found that it was dead. 😬
So I shook it, wore it, and shook it some more. Despite my best efforts, I could never get the battery charged enough. I'd set it down for the night, and I'd find it the following morning either dead or close to it as the seconds hand would tick at two-second intervals. I did some searching online for some solutions, and I came across this watch winder on Amazon. The winder is pretty affordable at about $20, and I was able to get it for even less with points from my card, so I took a flyer.
After letting it run for a few hours, the battery was more than sufficiently charged. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked. I'd recommend this winder for kinetic watches. I am, though, skeptical about winding an automatic watch with it because there is a magnet in the base. Maybe I'd try it for something like a Seiko 5 but not anything much pricier than that, especially if you're not sure about its magnetic resistance.
I hope this post is helpful for someone out there.
Nice idea ! Usually kinetics don't charge very well on winders as they are said to need more momentum on the rotor, given by wearing, I've read. The easiest thing that I now use is a Philips led candle charger base. The one I use has three induction coils which is nice for the three kinetics I have ! Place the watches in there for a couple of days and hey presto 6 months of power reserve! Love the bracelet on that Seiko btw 👌
I have the same watch. And it doesn't hold a charge either. I have a watch winder but haven't tried it. Will have to give it a go, see if it works.
Fun fact: I found the watch in my front yard of all places while living in Japan almost 30 years ago. No idea who it belonged to or how it found its way to my yard. Wore it for several years. Eventually it found dresser drawer and went unworn for nearly 20 years. Only to wind up running as you describe.
Interesting… I gave up on my old Kinetic like ~5y ago due to frustration (I still have it cus I’m sentimental) and I didn’t know much about watches. Too bad Seiko also basically abandoned Kinetic, it was such a neat affordable tech.
Nice idea ! Usually kinetics don't charge very well on winders as they are said to need more momentum on the rotor, given by wearing, I've read. The easiest thing that I now use is a Philips led candle charger base. The one I use has three induction coils which is nice for the three kinetics I have ! Place the watches in there for a couple of days and hey presto 6 months of power reserve! Love the bracelet on that Seiko btw 👌
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for the compliment about the bracelet. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the bracelet at first, but it's growing on me.
I have the same watch. And it doesn't hold a charge either. I have a watch winder but haven't tried it. Will have to give it a go, see if it works.
Fun fact: I found the watch in my front yard of all places while living in Japan almost 30 years ago. No idea who it belonged to or how it found its way to my yard. Wore it for several years. Eventually it found dresser drawer and went unworn for nearly 20 years. Only to wind up running as you describe.
Wow. Lucky find. 😮 And, yes, I've been told that watch winders typically aren't very helpful with kinetic watches. But this one is different in that it rocks back and forth rather than slowly rotating. I probably should have mentioned that in the post.
Interesting… I gave up on my old Kinetic like ~5y ago due to frustration (I still have it cus I’m sentimental) and I didn’t know much about watches. Too bad Seiko also basically abandoned Kinetic, it was such a neat affordable tech.
Kinetic is a quirky tech, for sure. Yours is a nice-looking one. 👍
you can also replace the capacitor in the watch. I believe you can pick up a new one for around 20-30$.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for the compliment about the bracelet. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the bracelet at first, but it's growing on me.
Bracelet is rather like the Tag link style I think, bit different to say the least!
you can also replace the capacitor in the watch. I believe you can pick up a new one for around 20-30$.
I did have the capacitor replaced a few months ago. Before that, it sat in my dad’s dresser for like 2 decades. The old capacitor wasn’t holding a charge at all.
Wow. Lucky find. 😮 And, yes, I've been told that watch winders typically aren't very helpful with kinetic watches. But this one is different in that it rocks back and forth rather than slowly rotating. I probably should have mentioned that in the post.
Thanks for the update, yes I can see that being a better winder for Kinetics, beats strapping them to your windshield wipers !