The mining giant also wants to offload its platinum business as part of an overhaul designed to “unlock significant value.”
Proper Care & Feeding of Kinetic, Eco-Drive, Solar Watches
In his latest column, National Jeweler’s ‘Watch Guy’ Jess Gendron advises on the repair and maintenance of these types of timepieces.
I know for some of you the headline of this story might seem weird but having repaired Citizen Eco-Drive and Seiko Kinetic watches for a long time now, I can tell you that there are things that need to be covered.
It seems to me that the end user customers have no idea how their watch generates power. This is evidenced by their telling you that the watch was running when they put in the jewelry box or in their underwear drawer.
Kinetic watches act like automatic watches in that it is the motion of the arm while wearing the watch that powers the watch. In an automatic watch, this motion winds the mainspring. In a Kinetic watch, the motion charges the storage capacitor. Regular watch batteries cannot be recharged. Storage capacitors act like a battery; however, they can be recharged.
Like all rechargeable batteries, if we run the battery down too often and do not fully charge the storage capacitor it will fail prematurely. Replacing a storage capacitor is much more costly than replacing a simple watch battery. With that said, you can see why a jewelry box or underwear drawer is not the optimum place to keep this type of watch.
Eco-Drive/solar watches, on the other hand, generate power from ambient light in order to recharge their storage capacitors.
All solar, Kinetic and Eco-Drive watches have a symptom that lets you know when the storage capacitor needs to be charged--the second hand begins to trip. What is meant by “trip” is that the second hand will skip two seconds for every second it ticks.
Often, we receive these types of watches for repair with the instruction for a new storage capacitor. The first thing we do is put a Kinetic on the watch winder to recharge the capacitor or an Eco-Drive or other solar watch under an incandescent light bulb for a few hours (mine is a 40-watt LED that is as bright as a 100-watt incandescent light.)
An Eco-Drive/solar watch will be fully charged in about four hours. If after 10 minutes it is still tripping, the watch will in fact need the storage capacitor replaced. In our experience, seven out of 10 need only the storage capacitor charged.
Do yourself and your customers a favor and try recharging the capacitor before going through the process of sending the watch to your watchmaker.
If
Too often I--not the salesperson--was the one to explain to the customer that their watch needed light to keep the storage capacitor charged. This information needs to be given to the customer at the point of sale to avoid problems later, such as an angry customer who thinks you sold them a faulty watch when all they need to do is keep the watch in a place where it can get some light or wear it more often (or at least shake it once in a while).
A side note: As I have told many of you, we are working on getting our videos into downloadable format. When we have them up, the watch battery replacement video will be free of charge and we invite all of you to download it for your staff. We’ll let you know as soon as they are ready.
Jess Gendron is a seventh generation watchmaker, having learned by his father Dan Gendron’s side since childhood. Jess Gendron is now the owner of Colorado Timeworks, a watch repair service center in Colorado Springs. He can be reached at talktothewatchguy@gmail.com, and his website is Timeworks.biz.
The Latest
Christie's is selling one of the diamonds, moving forward with its Geneva jewelry auction despite the cyberattack that took down its website.
The ad aims to position platinum jewelry as ideal for everyday wear.
Despite the rising prices, consumers continue to seek out the precious metal.
Retailers can customize and print the appraisal brochures from their store.
The move follows a price-drop test run in Q4 and comes with the addition of a “quality assurance card” from GIA for some loose diamonds.
The site has been down since Thursday evening, just ahead of its spring auctions.
Tradeshow risks are real. Get tips to protect yourself before, during and after and gain safety and security awareness for your business.
The late former U.S. Secretary’s collection went for quadruple the sale’s pre-sale estimate.
Three fifth graders’ winning designs were turned into custom jewelry pieces in time for Mother’s Day.
Kimberly Adams Russell is taking over the role from her father, David Adams, marking the third generation to hold the title.
As a token of womanhood, this necklace depicts when Venus was born from the sea.
The deal gives the retailer control over the distribution of Roberto Coin jewelry in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, and Central America.
Show your mother some love with a piece of fine jewelry.
The company’s Easton location will remain open.
Brian D. Fleming of Carla Corporation was elected to serve a one-year term in the role.
Sponsored by the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show
Tobak, author of “Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History,” shares how the exhibition came to be, and the pieces people may be surprised to see.
Stars adorned themselves in emeralds, platinum, and myriad bird motifs, writes Associate Editor Natalie Francisco.
M.S. Rau is set to open a seasonal gallery in the high-end resort town early next month.
The branded jewelry market is thriving, said Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert.
The six designers, all participants in the show’s Diversity Action Council mentorship program, will exhibit in Salon 634.
The highlight of his collection is the coveted Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, which could sell for up to $5 million.
The “Venetian Link” series modernizes the classic Veneziana box chain in its bracelets and necklaces.
The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship will provide tuition assistance to two low-income students.
The Swiss watchmaker said the company’s plans to use a new version of the Hallmark crown on jewelry would confuse consumers.
The executive talked about the importance of self-purchasers and how fuel cell electric vehicles are going to fuel demand for platinum.