Eco-Drive is a brand name owned by Citizen Watches. As the name suggests Eco-drive wristwatches are powered by light. Eco-Drive wrist watches never needs a battery because these watches take light as the source for power. Eco-Drive watches were introduced in the market in 1995 by the Citizen Watch company.

The history of solar powered watches can be traced back to 1972. The twenty-four years between 1972 to 1995 can be called period of solar watches. This span of twenty-four years has witnessed many historical collectible watches such as the Synchronar, Nepro and the Sicura LCD. This all changed after introduction of the Citizen Eco-Drive brand watches in 1995. This significantly changed our perceptions about light powered watches.

What Exactly Citizen Eco Drive Ladies Watches are? The Eco-Drive technology is geared with a titanium lithium battery, which gets charged by amorphous silicon made solar cell, which is located behind the dial of the wristwatch. This special battery type doesn’t get affected during charging / discharging cycles and is durable enough for a long life cycle. The Citizen watch company claims that even after 20 years of use, the secondary battery retains a power storage capacity of 80% . When the watch is exposed to the light whether sunlight or any type of light, the light passes via the dial of the watch and reaches to the solar cell underneath dial, charging the battery of the wristwatch.

Having said that, usually typical office light is not enough for these watches to get a fully charged battery. It is advisable and recommended to use natural outdoor light to achieve the full charge. However the office or home light conditions are good enough to keep these watches continually charged.