Battery Operated
Battery operated watches are the most common type of watch that will be encountered in today's market. This watch is also known as a quartz watch, as the watch keeps time by using an electronic oscillator (a circuit that produces a periodic impulse) that is regulated by a quartz crystal. These watches require periodic battery replacements to keep running. Quartz movements do not have any moving parts in them.
Solar
Solar watches are similar to quartz watches in that they use a quartz movement to operate, but differ in that they do not use a battery. Using the face of the watch, the watch gathers light from the sun/ other light sources and stores the energy in a capacitor. Two common kinds of Solar watches are Citizen and Seiko. The downside to these watches is they cannot be stored for long periods of time. if stored for too long without sunlight, the capacitor will die and must be replaced. The capacitor needs a minimum charge inorder to keep running.
Automatic Watch
Automatic Watches use an all mechanical movement. using the movement of the persons wrist, a weight winds up the watch, allowing it to run properly. Automatic watches do not require batteries, as the power is to run the watch is store by mechanical means. Automatic watches do require periodic servicing however due to the moving parts becoming damaged or the oil that lubricates the movement thickening up and turning into grease.Servicing should be done every 2 to 8 years depending on the type of movement it is. Automatic watches often
Automatic Quartz Watch (Kinetic)
Kinetic Watches combine the recharging method of automatic watches with elements from a quartz watch. Instead of storing the energy in a spring, the energy is converted from movement to electric with a generator and stored in a rechargeable capacitor. These watches often have quartz-style movements instead of mechanical components. The main aim of the watch is to provide the ease of maintenance and use that quartz movements provide, without the environmental impact of batteries.Much like the solar capacitors, if the capacitor goes for too long without a charge, it will die.
Mechanical Watch
Instead of using a weight to wind the movement, Mechanical watches must be wound up with the stem and crown. Much like there automatic counterparts, the energy is stored in a mainspring for the watch to run on. These watch movements are considered the most traditional out of all of the possible movements, being one of the oldest. This movement is also found in pocket watches. Much like there automatic counterparts, mechanical watches must be serviced in order for the moving parts to function properly.
