What are quartz watches and how do they differ from mechanical watches? Which watch is better - quartz or mechanical?

Features of the mechanism

The significant difference between automatic watches and quartz watches is the type of movement that is used. The movement of a watch refers to the general internal characteristics that make a watch capable of performing its primary function. If we draw an analogy with cars, the mechanism inside is the engine.

Automatic mechanism

The mechanism inside an automatic watch is similar to a mechanical watch - it does not use a battery, but is powered by a spring and a rotor. Only with self-winding watches there is no need to manually wind the watch; the watch works thanks to your movement throughout the day. This means that the spring winds on its own while the watch is on you. In automatic watches, the movement is as smooth as possible; you will not hear the characteristic ticking sound, which can be unnerving or distracting.

Quartz watches are distinguished by their resistance to environmental conditions, which no other mechanism can boast of. They are not afraid of moisture, dust, temperature changes. That is why sports models and items for active recreation are made exclusively using quartz.

3. Accuracy

4. Price

Automatic or quartz watch, which is better when it comes to price? Many people will say that automatic watches usually cost a fortune, and quartz is more affordable since its main components - quartz crystals - are abundant and readily available for mass production. And there is some truth in this.

Automatic or quartz, which is better?

There is only one answer - it's up to you. There is no pressure. Just consider the above information about different watches before you joyfully exclaim, “Yes! This is what I need!” and make a purchase. Besides, perhaps you already have your own pair, then we hope you have learned something new about your watch.

In this article we will not delve into the history of the creation of wristwatches and the details of their design, but we will try to analyze and compare such basic qualities of watches as: reliability, accuracy, cost and ease of use.

What is the difference and what are the main differences between quartz and mechanical watches?

Reliability

Compared to quartz watches, mechanical watches are more sensitive to all kinds of external influences and are easier to damage. Parts of quartz watches experience significantly less stress compared to mechanical watches. Due to the simplicity and reliability of the mechanism, quartz watches are more resistant to shocks and other damage.

Accuracy

In terms of accuracy, quartz watches are significantly superior to mechanical ones. Thus, the accuracy of a regular quartz watch is +20/-10 seconds per month, while for a good Swiss mechanical watch this error is +45/-20 seconds per day. The accuracy of quartz watches is ensured by a quartz crystal, the vibration frequency of which is precisely adjusted during its production. The pulse frequency of such a crystal is practically unchanged. The accuracy of a mechanical watch depends on many factors: operating temperature, degree of winding of the spring, hand position, temperature, degree of wear of the mechanism, adjustment, etc.

Cost of watches and their operation

The cost of mechanical watches is much higher than quartz ones. The higher cost of mechanical watches is due to the use of expensive materials and high labor costs in their production. However, often it is not so much the materials and complexity of watch movements that are the reason for the high prices of mechanical watches. The main component of prices for mechanical watches of elite brands is the fee for the opportunity to join the “history” and celebrities participating in advertising campaigns.

Ease of use

All you need to do with a quartz watch is change the battery on time, the capacity of which, on average, lasts for 1-2 years. Mechanical watches are much more complex than quartz watches and, accordingly, maintaining their performance is more difficult and expensive. In addition to the constant winding that mechanical watches require, it is important to take into account the fact that, in the event of a breakdown, repairing a mechanical watch will cost an order of magnitude more than repairing a quartz watch.

Quartz and mechanics – which is better? This age-old question still occupies us, despite the emergence and popularization of electronic watches, as well as smart watches that perform many functions in addition to showing the time. As practice shows, no smart devices will ever completely displace the classics from our lives.

What is the difference between mechanics and quartz?

The main difference is in the source of energy that powers the clock mechanism. Mechanical watches are powered by a coil spring that is wound by hand when winding the watch. Quartz clocks are powered by a battery, which powers the electronic unit and the clock's stepper motor.

How else do quartz watches differ from mechanical watches: accuracy, smooth movement of the hand, weight, method of maintenance, cost. And to understand what to choose between mechanics or quartz, you need to know a little more about them.

Lower accuracy of time display is the main disadvantage of mechanical watches. Uneven unwinding of the spring, dependence on the ambient temperature, the position of the watch, the degree of wear of parts - all these factors lead to a discrepancy with the exact time by -20/+60 seconds per day.

Quartz watches are more accurate, their discrepancy with the exact time is only 15-25 seconds per month. Such indicators are provided by a quartz crystal, which guarantees the highest stability of the pulse frequency and, accordingly, the accuracy of the hand and the operation of the entire mechanism.

It would seem that quartz watches are superior to mechanical ones in everything - they are lighter, easier to maintain, more accurate and no less durable than mechanical ones, and at the same time they cost much less. Nevertheless, there is a demand for mechanics, and a considerable one. What is this connected with? Probably due to the fact that mechanical watches are almost entirely made by hand and keep a piece of the master’s soul.

It is considered prestigious to wear a mechanical watch. The classics of watchmaking, the smooth movement of the hand, the pleasant heaviness on the hand - all this makes a mechanical watch desirable. And even when choosing, quartz or mechanics will always compete, leaving the future owner the right to choose depending on his personal preferences and taste.

Quartz or Mechanical

Thanks to advances in the modern watch industry, most watches you find on the market are of fairly good quality and come in a variety of shapes and designs. One of the main things that distinguishes all these wristwatches from each other is the type of power from which the watch movement is driven: quartz or mechanical.

Quartz watch.

Mid-level prestige watches usually use a quartz movement (quartz watch). The quartz movement elements do not move. Instead, a small quartz crystal is used in combination with a battery to generate signals at a specific frequency. This frequency is used to maintain the movement of the hands within a certain interval. Since the quartz movement is powered by a battery, quartz watches do not require winding.

The precision of electrical quartz signals makes quartz watches more accurate than mechanical watches. As a result, quartz watches will have to be adjusted less often than mechanical watches. Because of this advantage, quartz is still used in many luxury watches, especially in the lower end of the premium watch spectrum, particularly Tissot and Citizen.

In 1969, Seiko released the first Astron quartz watch for commercial use. Since then, quartz watches have become the predominant form of watch - affordable, lightweight, cheap to produce and extremely accurate.

Mechanical watch.

For expensive premium watches, from $1000 and above, a mechanical movement is the standard and the rule. This may seem counterintuitive since quartz watches are more accurate than mechanical watches. However, when it comes to watchmaking, tradition is much more important than the latest technology. The best luxury watchmakers have been practicing their craft for hundreds of years (for example, Vacheron Constantin, the oldest luxury watchmaker, was founded in 1755), and the mechanical movements used for these watches represent an important legacy.

Currently, mechanical technology still embodies traditional watchmaking methods, but the mechanisms of such watches have various complications and are ultra-complex. The main component of a mechanical watch is the mainspring. This spring stores the energy of the winding, which ultimately makes the hands of the watch move. Energy is replenished every time you wind the watch, turn the crown and thereby tighten the mainspring. The spring, when released, sets in motion the gears, which in turn set the hands of a mechanical watch in motion.

Most modern mechanical watches need to be wound every one or two days. Once the spring has fully opened, releasing all the potential energy, the clock will stop until it can be wound again. The best watchmakers try to come up with more efficient ways to use the energy of the spring in order to increase the time the watch lasts until the next winding.

One of the important innovations in mechanical watch technology is the invention of automatic mechanical watches. Automatic mechanical watches use energy generated by the natural swing of the wrist. Due to the complex design of the moving parts in these parts, owners should have their watch professionally serviced every 5 years. A well-maintained, well-designed mechanical watch can remain in excellent working order for generations.

Pros and cons: quartz or mechanical.

Now that we have understood what quartz and mechanical watches are, we need to look at the finer points of everyday use of these types of watches. On the one hand, if quartz watches are more accurate, why should I be interested in mechanical watches? Indeed, if you are interested in extremely precise timekeeping (for example, in scientific experiments), then the choice of quartz watches is obvious. However, technology is often not the final criterion when choosing what will be on your wrist for 12 hours every day. Mechanical watches today are an art that constantly comes into contact with you. A fine mechanical watch also imparts status to its owner. Such watches attract attention that mass watches cannot compete with. Another advantage of mechanical watches is that the winding mechanism does not require replacement, while quartz watches require battery replacement, which can happen at the most inopportune moment, on vacation or, even worse, on a work trip.

Final word

If we talk about which watches are the best (quartz or mechanical), then it is impossible to give a specific answer. Quartz watches are considered more practical to use, while mechanical watches are the classics of watchmaking. If you are considering a quartz or mechanical wristwatch, you will probably notice that there are many different types of luxury watches, both quartz and mechanical. To make the selection process easier, keep in mind that quartz watches can usually be found in the lower price range, while mechanical watches are found in the more expensive premium segment, thereby highlighting the watchmaker's unique craftsmanship.

In this article I want to tell you more about quartz movement in wristwatches, which is given to wristwatches from the cheapest to the most expensive.

A little history of quartz watches.

The first quartz movement in a watch saw the light of day in 1957. They were produced by Hamilton. Due to its small size and ease of manufacture, the quartz movement is widely used among inexpensive watches, as well as in miniature women's watches. Today, watches with quartz movements can be purchased for a very small amount of money.

How do quartz movements in watches work?

Let us examine in more detail the operation of the quartz mechanism. Quartz is a natural material that is part of sand. In order for it to be used in watches, it is thoroughly cleaned and shaped into a tuning fork. The tuning fork is placed in a special capsule. Why is everyone doing this? Quartz has the property of vibrating 32,768 times per second under the influence of an electrical impulse. Thanks to these vibrations, the quartz releases its electrical impulses, which control the running of the quartz watch.

Here is a video that clearly describes the operation of a quartz watch and its mechanism.

Briefly about the operation of the mechanism as a whole:

1. The battery powers an electronic unit that sends electrical impulses to the quartz.
2. From electrical impulses, quartz begins to vibrate 32,768 times per minute.
3. Each vibration is one impulse, which is immediately sent to the distribution block.
4. The distribution block distributes the quartz frequency to one pulse per second.
5. These pulses are not enough to rotate the second hand, so they are transmitted to the drive unit.
6. From the drive unit, the impulse is transmitted to the stepper motor, which is responsible for the movement of the hands.
7. Thanks to electrical impulses, a magnetic field is created in the engine, which, through a set of gears, rotates the second hand.

Use of quartz movement.

As I already said, quartz movement is used in cheap wristwatches. Branded Swiss companies use quartz movements only in miniature women's watches and rarely in men's watches. Quartz clocks can also be wall clocks or regular ones, which are usually on your shelves. We tend to think that quartz is only used in watches that have a visible second hand, but this is not true. It can also be used in electronic watches.

Pros and cons of quartz watches.

• Quartz watches keep time much more accurately than mechanical watches;
• They don't need daily planting;
• Quartz watches are much cheaper than mechanical and automatic watches;
• Quartz watches can be very compact in size;
• The service life of one battery can be up to three years.

• If these quartz watches are no longer produced, then repairing the mechanism will not be cheap;
• Batteries need to be changed;
• Over time, the quartz begins to age, and the watch itself begins to rush.

Where to buy quartz watches?

You can buy quartz watches at any online store that sells wristwatches. You can see all the ones I wrote reviews about on my website. All watches can be purchased in the VipTimeClub online store. Also, in each watch review I wrote what mechanism was installed in the watch.

I hope you liked the article, so don’t forget to rate it and share it with your friends. If you still have questions about the quartz movement, you can always ask them in the comments to the article.