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Press release
The Seiko-sponsored icaré 2 glider sets another new world record.
On September 10, the solar-powered glider “icaré 2” established a new world record for the distance covered by a glider on a three point course*. High over the Alpes Maritimes in southern France, Klaus Ohlmann, the German pilot, who already holds over 40 gliding records, guided icaré 2 over 439 km to establish the new mark. Just a few weeks earlier he had piloted icaré 2 to another record*, 384.4 km for an ‘out-and-return' flight, doubling his previous best.
Built by a team from the Institut für Flugzeugbau at the University of Stuttgart, icaré 2 is one of the world's most advanced gliders. Not only does it fly without the use of any fossil fuel, its self-generated solar power allows it to take off on its own, with no winch or other assistance. SEIKO is proud to support the project as part of its “Clean energy, Clear Thinking” initiative. SEIKO is the world leader in energy-efficient watchmaking and is determined to lead the watch industry towards a more sustainable future by creating energy-efficient products in the most energy-efficient facilities.
* pending ratification by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (aka The World Air Sports Federation)
SEIKO's environmentally-friendly watch technologies
SEIKO offers five watch technologies that, each in its different way, make a contribution to a ‘greener' future.
Spring Drive:
This revolutionary technology requires no battery or external power source. Driven by a mainspring, Spring Drive is a luxury mechanical watch with an entirely new type of regulator. As a result, there is no environmental impact of any kind.
Kinetic:
Only SEIKO has mastered the challenge of generating electricity from the kinetic movement of the wearer's wrist. This electricity is stored in a self-recharging battery that needs much less frequent replacement than the conventional cell battery in a quartz watch, a major advance in ‘green' watchmaking.
Quartz:
Since 1969 when SEIKO launched the world's first quartz watch, SEIKO has constantly improved the energy efficiency of its quartz movements so as to reduce the frequency of battery exchange. Today's SEIKO quartz watches use just 5% of the energy used by the 1969 Quartz Astron. Furthermore, all SEIKO watches contain batteries made by SEIKO at its own CFC** free facilities and, critically, these batteries are entirely mercury-free. SEIKO is, to date, the only watch company to produce its own mercury-free batteries.
Mechanical:
Of course, SEIKO mechanical watches need no external power source and the technology is inherently kind to the environment.
Solar:
By eliminating the need for battery change in a quartz watch, SEIKO Solar makes an obvious and important contribution to the cause of a healthier planet. SEIKO was an early pioneer in Solar technology, with its first Solar watch being launched in 1977.
** ChloroFluoroCarbon
A website tells the story: Clean energy, Clear thinking.
For further details on SEIKO's “Clean energy, www.seiko-cleanenergy.com Clear thinking” initiative, the website www.seiko-cleanenergy.com has been created. It explains SEIKO's green technologies in a way that will open some eyes towards the green dimension in watchmaking. Of course, watches are not major pollutants like cars or home appliances, but it is clear from the fast-growing sales of SEIKO's ‘no battery change' Solar and Kinetic watches that consumers are now taking the environment into account as they make watch choices, so the time is right to explain the facts, and this is exactly what www.seiko-cleanenergy.com seeks to do. And you can watch icaré 2 in flight!
The new SEIKO Solar Pilot Watch
SEIKO's new Solar Pilot watch sets a new standard in aviation watches. Not only does it deliver the rotary slide rule and chronograph functions that pilots require for navigation purposes, it operates on a solar cell that is powered by all kinds of light and will retain its charge for up to six months, even in complete darkness. The watch is fully charged after just five hours of exposure to sunlight in fine weather and never needs a battery change. The uniqueness of SEIKO's solar technology is immediately clear from the deep black color of the dial. Until this new generation of SEIKO technology, the dials on solar watches needed to be opaque to let the required amount of light through to the solar cell beneath. Now, thanks to a new generation of high-efficiency SEIKO Solar calibers, the dial can be pure black, allowing the pilot maximum visibility of the time data.
Specifications:
Ref. SSC009-1 Solar-powered Alarm Chronograph Caliber V172
- Hour, minute and small second hands with date calendar
- Chronograph minute and second counters
- Chronograph measurement up to 60 minutes in 1/5 second increments
- Split time measurement capability
- Single-time alarm function Energy depletion forewarning function
- Overcharge prevention function
- Power reserve: 6 months
Case:
- Stainless steel
- Rotary slide rule for instant calculations and conversion of various essential flight data
- 43.0 mm in diameter
Band:
- Stainless steel with three-fold clasp with push button release
Glass:
- Hardlex crystal
Water resistance:
- 10 bar
