Orbita Quattro Chronographer Executive Watch Winder

Orbita Watch Winders For Watch Connoisseurs

Watch winders are a fast-growing market segment, and the reason behind this is a simple one: watch connoisseurs have discovered that an attractive, easy-to-use little machine can keep a collection of mechanical treasures ticking all the time. Gone are the days of having to reset a calendar watch after the weekend—the handy winder can now take over that function. Additionally, they make for attractive pieces of furniture. Commencing operations in 1996, Orbita Corporation was founded by Charles Agnoff at a time when watch winders were still pretty much an unknown species. Orbita’s reputation has grown through the years due to both the extreme reliability of the companys products and the diverse palette of winders, boxes, and patents that Agnoff has introduced to the market- Beyond the original, utilitarian single winders, Orbita now offers artisan winder boxes, winders for manually wound watches, and beautiful pieces of furniture for storage and winding in addition to other specialties.

Orbita Innovation

Agnoff never stops thinking about how to improve his products, and thus his attention recently turned to batteries—a staple for an effective watch winder. In virtually every industry where the use of lithium batteries—meaning a disposable battery containing lithium metal or lithium compounds, which can produce about twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc-carbon or alkaline cell—was being explored, their full potential was somewhat reduced by the need for these batteries to be fully rechargeable. Some design compromises had to be made to accommodate the end user’s need for quick recharging cycles, which could unfortunately result in high current flow into the battery and possible overheating. Nonetheless, the inherent advantages of lithium batteries have seen them come into their own as practical, albeit expensive, power sources for myriad applications in commerce and industry. New, non-rechargeable lithium batteries possess the highest energy capability of any known battery design; however they are only suitable for applications with minimal current draw. Agnoff realized that the extremely low battery drain properties of the Swiss-designed ironless core motors he employs in his company’s winders were perfectly matched for use with these superb batteries. ‘We decided to partner’ with a well-known lithium battery manufacturer and worked with them to develop a suitably sized D cell configuration that met our special watch winder needs,’ Agnoff reports.

Orbita Proprietary Engineering

The proprietary design of Orbita’s lithium batteries actually provides an output voltage of 3.6 volts, 240 percent higher than the 1.5 volts obtainable from normal alkaline batteries. Of course, that higher voltage necessitated a number of changes in Orbita’s watch winder circuitry, but, by coupling two of these batteries in parallel, the company was able to achieve a power source exhibiting more than ten times the battery life of the original winders powered with alkaline batteries. ‘We knew this would keep our watch collector customers happy, and so, at that point, we decided to supply factory-installed lithium batteries on all of our Sparta watch winders, the jovial Agnoff continues. ‘Now we happily offer a five-year battery service life guarantee on any winders so equipped. These lihthium batteries are installed at our factory and will require no attention for at least five years, and probably several years more.’ When these batteries are finally depleted, easy-to-install replacements are readily available from Orbita.

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