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Summer is soon upon us and several watchmakers are leaning into the season with new solar watches, shining a light on this watchmaking niche.
Solar technology in timekeeping first appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s, championed by a new breed of watchmakers from Japan. These light-powered watches came in futuristic designs and the technology soon became popular in inexpensive children’s watches featuring the Transformers and GI Joe.
At the time, solar was seen as the antithesis to luxury Swiss timepieces. “[Solar was] the ultimate example of moving away from mechanical watchmaking,” says Tim Barber, a watch expert and co-host of the watchmaking podcast The Watch Enquiry. These products were “[at] the very opposite end of the scale to Swiss watchmaking”.
But several decades later, luxury watchmakers are embracing solar afresh.
Last month Tiffany & Co introduced Rope, its first solar-powered timepiece and among the first jewellery solar watches on the market (£20,500, tiffany.co.uk). With Rope’s solar movement, Tiffany is betting on convenience: there is no need to service the watch for a decade (a quartz battery needs replacing every two to three years), and just two minutes on a sunny day will power the watch to run sufficiently for 24 hours. A full charge delivers eight months of timekeeping, even if kept in a dark drawer that whole time.
Tiffany had initially intended to use its solar technology and dials in its sportier and more everyday Atlas collection, says Nicolas Beau, vice-president of Tiffany horlogerie. “But I thought, ‘Who says a jewellery watch shouldn’t have solar power?’” he recalls. “People tend to link solar with technology, and not really with a jewellery watch.”
Rope features an ultra-thin, semi-transparent dial, made from either mother-of-pearl or lacquer, that efficiently transmits light to a solar panel below. This is a new development allowing the use of state-of-the-art materials, as previous generations of solar watches featured tiny holes punched through specialist dials that allowed light to pass through and power the movement. Beau notes that it was difficult to craft the dials, however — “they’re so thin, like cigarette paper,” he says.
The Swiss watchmaker Tissot has long used solar for its sporty T-Touch connected watch, but in March it launched the 39mm PRC 100 Solar, a more pared back and everyday piece adorned with a cool, faceted bezel (from £410, tissotwatches.com).
The watch features Tissot’s new Lightmaster technology, which sets microscopic honeycomb-structured solar cells on the sapphire glass, rather than below the dial, enabling the use of any kind of material for the face, whether traditional brass or mother of pearl. Ten minutes of light exposure can run the watch for 24 hours, with the watch operating for 14 months on a full charge.
“We now really have the freedom in terms of aesthetics, which is the most important element,” says Tissot chief executive Sylvain Dolla.
Meanwhile Japanese watchmakers, the original pioneers of solar, continue to advance their offerings, bringing more precision, accuracy and power reserve to traditional solar watches. Seiko’s new Prospex GPS Solar Chronograph Speedtimer is among the watchmaker’s most advanced chronographs and comes with a six-month power reserve (from £1,960, seikoboutique.co.uk). The more entry-level Prospex Solar Diver, also new, has a 10-month power reserve and claims to be one the market’s most accurate diving watches (from £470, seikoboutique.co.uk).
In March, TAG Heuer introduced its first solar-powered model as parts of its Formula 1 sports watch collection, a design that comes in bright, eye-popping colourways and a slim 38mm profile alongside a 10-month power reserve (£1,650, tagheuer.com). I test drove the watch a few weekends ago and felt coolly modern knowing that the watch was being charged in the light while I was wearing it.
And that may well be the point. “Solar watches offer a more modern way of approaching Swiss watchmaking — where brands can say, ‘We can be more versatile in what we do, without having to be tied to the old-fashioned idea of what Swiss luxury watchmaking is,” explains Barber.
TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph comes with a five-year warranty and will not require servicing for at least 10 years — a level of convenience that has “huge client benefits”, says Carole Forestier-Kasapi, movements strategy and haute horlogerie director at TAG Heuer. Battery-free, solar technology is the way forward for quartz, she firmly believes. “Solar is not the future, it’s right now,” she says. “It’s the new normal.”
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