Mar 22 , 2019

My take on Quartz Watch

If you’re like most average Joes, the watch on your wrist right now is probably a quartz watch. There’s a reason for that. Quartz watches are incredibly accurate and very affordable.

Instead of being powered by a wound mainspring, a quartz movement uses electricity from a small battery. The battery sends the electricity through a small quartz crystal, causing the crystal to vibrate 32,768 times per second. The vibrations are measured by a circuit, which converts the vibration into a pulse, which moves the second hand on the watch. Because quartz watches use electric pulses to move the second hand, they have a distinctive “tick tick tick” movement. It’s not as smooth as a mechanical or automatic watch.

Because quartz movements rely on electricity and fewer moving parts, they’re much more accurate and can withstand far more of a beating than mechanical or automatic watches. It’s for this reason that most “sport” and “field” watches use a quartz movement.

Quartz movements are also dirt-cheap. $4 can get you a watch that keeps time like a champ. Of course, if you want something with a bit more panache, you’ll need to spend more.

Pros of Quartz Watches:

• Accurate time. Quartz is by far the most accurate of all the movements. Will never lose or add seconds throughout the day.
• Less maintenance. Besides changing the battery every year or so, there’s little maintenance you have to perform on a quartz movement watch.
• Durable. Because they have few moving parts, a quartz watch can “take a licking and keep on ticking.” It’s not as susceptible to the Four Horsemen of the Watch Apocalypse. If you’re in a job that requires a lot of rough and dirty work, you might want to consider a quartz movement watch for everyday wear.
• Affordable. You can get quartz watches for as cheap as a few bucks. Though nicer looking ones can cost into the hundreds of dollars, they’re almost always cheaper than mechanical and automatic varieties.

Cons of Quartz Watches:

• No smooth movement. The staggered movement of the second hand on a quartz watch isn’t as smooth as that of a mechanical or automatic watch.
• Less romantic. The biggest con of quartz watches is that they lack the charm, character, and romance of mechanical watches because they lack the history, technical craftsmanship, and engineering such timepieces possess.