Electric watch, which commonly means any watch that is powered by electricity, has become a generic term for the first generation of electrically powered watches which appeared starting in 1957, before the invention of quartz watches in the 1970s. Their timekeeping element was either a traditional balance wheel or a tuning fork, driven electromagnetically by a solenoid powered by a battery. The hands were driven mechanically through a wheel train. They were superseded by quartz watches, which had greater accuracy and durability due to their lower parts count. Recent automatic quartz watches, which combine mechanical technology with quartz timekeeping, are not included in this classification.