A JAPANESE company has developed a fidget spinner that whirls for up to 12 minutes – longer than any rival on the market.

Most of the fidget spinners currently on the market can only rotate on their own for a few minutes at most.



But a subsidiary of the precision machinery maker NSK is using ball bearings which are normally used in space satellites and computer disks to make the “Rolls Royce of toys”.

The gadget is billed as a stress reliever but is banned in some schools as a distraction. It has a ball bearing in the centre and is designed to effortlessly spin with the flick of a finger.

“We’re confident that ours is the longest spinner around,” said Toshikazu Ishii, president of NSK Micro Precision.

The secret is all in the design, Ishii said.

The gadget is built at a pristine factory near Tokyo with a heavy brass frame and a light aluminium ball bearing to increase centrifugal force.

But they don’t come cheap at 17,280 yen (￡121) apiece, making them the preserve of only the most eager and cash-rich fidgeters. Most spinners cost around $12 or less.