When you are like me, you have tried wearing a smartwatch at least once. While they have a lot going for them, their staying power remains limited once the novelty has worn off, at least in the collection of a watch enthusiast. The difficulty is similar to that of an electric car capturing the heart of the petrol head. While the performance and technology are captivating, the way that it is presented lacks emotion. One company set out to change that, at least for watches, is Sequent. And while they are at it, they also fix the biggest downside of smartwatches: power reserve.

Sequent’s SuperCharger (left) and Elektron.

The way that Sequent does that is by letting their watches generate their own power in a way very familiar to mechanical watch enthusiasts. The back of both the Electron 2.3 and the SuperCharger 2.3 features a beautiful oscillating weight made from Tungsten. The motion of your wrist makes it run over a black ring, which is a multi-polar magnet. This creates a magnetic field that is then is turned into energy and used to power the watch. While Sequent needed only eight parts to make this kinetic system, it not only looks amazing and works efficiently, but also adds a great deal of soul to the watch. On the wrist, you can really feel the oscillating weight moving, a sensation similar to that of an ETA/Valjoux 7750.
Another interesting fact is that the movement, developed by Sequent themselves, literally has a hole in the middle to fit the sensory...