Quartz vs mechanical watch

Watches have been an essential part of our lives for centuries. With the advancement of technology, two types of watches have emerged: quartz vs mechanical watch. Many people often wonder about their differences and which one is a better investment.One of the biggest difference between mechanical watch vs quartz is whether the watch has a battery. Mechanical watches are powered by a spring and adjusted by an escapement, so mechanical watches do not need a battery. A quartz movement,on the other hand, requires a battery to send an electric current through a small quartz crystal, which energizes the crystal to produce vibrations. To learn more about mechanical vs quartz watch, read on.

In this blog, we will explore the unique characteristics of quartz vs mechanical watch, comparing and contrasting the two timepieces. Whether you’re planning on buying a new watch or you are a start-up who wants to start a watch brand, this blog will provide you with all the information to help you make an educated decision.

What is a quartz watch

Quartz watches are battery-powered watch whose timekeeping is regulated by a quartz crystal that vibrates at a certain frequency.The frequency of the signal produced by the crystal oscillator is very stable, so quartz watches are more accurate than mechanical watches. Quartz watches offer a analog display in hours, minutes, and seconds. Quartz watches, powered by batteries, are stable and reliable. Therefore multi-functional watches like the Chronograph often use quartz movement.

If you want to learn more about quartz watch, you can refer to this articl named what is a quartz watch.

How does quartz watch work

.Battery sends an electrical current to a quartz crystal.

.Quartz crystal vibrates at a specific frequency.

.An electronic circuit counts the vibrations to measure time.

.The circuit then sends signals to the watch hands to move accordingly.

What is a mechanical watch

A mechanical watch is a watch that is powered by the internal movement’s clockwork, which drives the gears and pushes the hands to move.The combination of the watch hand and the watch face shows the time.Mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring, so the mainspring must be wound either manually or by movement of the wrist at regular intervals. The earliest pocket watches were also mechanical watches rather than quartz watches.

We usually divide mechanical watches into the following two types: manual mechanical(hand-winding) and automatic watches (AUTOMATIC).Mechanical watches dominate today’s world of luxury watch For example,Today all Rolex watches are mechanical and use an automatic (self-winding) movement.

If you want to learn more about mechanical watch, you can refer to this article name do mechanical watch have batteries.

How do mechanical watches work

A mechanical watch operates based on the energy provided by a mainspring that requires either manual winding or an automatic self-winding system. I channel this energy through a succession of gears, which then power the balance wheel. The balance wheel, a significant mechanical component, is a weighted wheel that vibrates back and forth at a steady pace.

How do I know if my watch is mechanical or quartz?

First,look at the text on dial or case cover

The watch dial or the back of the watch case have text. You can observe the text on the watch dial or the case cover. The text can tell you a lot of information including type of watch movement,water resistant rating,brand, etc. If we engrave it with AUTOMATIC, then it is automatic movement.If they engraved it with QUARTZ. It’s a quartz watch.

Second, see if there is a flywheel on the dial

If the flywheel is on the face, then it is a mechanical watch. If not, then see the other watch parts to check whether it is a mechanical or quartz watch.

Third, look at the hands

You can tell if a watch is quartz or mechanical by observing the movement of the second hand.

If you find that the second hand travels for two or four seconds at a time, this model is still a quartz watch.

Fourth,look at the watch cover

If the watch cover is made of glass. And you can see the mechanical movement through the glass.Then it is a mechanical watch. This is because many watch enthusiasts like to see the mechanical movement working through the glass back.

When you walk with the second hand in such a gait, that’s when it’s alerting you to change the battery. if you would like know how to change the battery, you can check this article.

Quartz vs mechanical watch

Accuracy((are quartz watches more accurate than mechanical？)

People will wonder quartz watch are more accurate than mechanical.

The quartz watch has a daily error of 0.5 seconds and keeps very accurate time.

The error of mechanical watches is a few seconds or even tens of seconds per day.

Hence, the error of the quartz watch is a few tenths of the mechanical watch

So the quartz movement is more accurate than any kind of mechanical watch

Movement Structure

The inside of a quartz watch is an electronic integrated board, while the inside of a mechanical watch comprises various mechanical parts. Therefore watch enthusiasts prefer mechanical watches.A well-made mechanical watch can be a feast for the eyes and show the owner’s taste.

So The internal structure of a quartz watch is much simpler than a mechanical watch movement

Battery(do quartz watches need batteries)

According to the different power sources of quartz watches and mechanical watches, we can know that quartz watches have batteries, while mechanical watches do not need batteries.

Lifetime

Quartz watches are easy to use and do not need to be wound, and a battery is available for 2-3 years. But some quartz watches with lithium batteries, long life, available for about 20–30 years as the electronic components of the watch will eventually wear out.

The lifetime of the mechanical watch depends mainly on the maintenance work.

A well-maintained mechanical watch has a longer life than the original buyer.High-end mechanical watches can become heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation.

Maintenance

The battery in a quartz watch needs to be replaced every 2 to 5 years. Other than that, it has very few moving parts, which means it requires less maintenance than a mechanical watch.

Taking care of a mechanical watch is a lifetime commitment. Mechanical watches need to be serviced in 2 to 3 years, replacing water resistant components, testing the timekeeping performance and power consumption of the movement, cleaning the movement and maintaining the appearance.

Price

The price of mechanical watches is much higher than quartz watches. This is because mechanical movements are more complicated to make and require a lot of labor and material resources.

Take, for example, a regular quartz watch, which comprises approximately 50-60 parts and requires around 500-600 steps in the manufacturing process.

For a mechanical watch without complications, the total number of parts is about 130, so the process is about 1300, which is double that of a quartz watch.

Weight

Speaking, based on the same size, mechanical watch is heavier than quartz watch.

This is because they compose quartz movement of very light objects such as resistors and capacitors. The mechanical watch movement has to be composed of metal. And the complex movement structure is difficult to miniaturize.

Conclusion-Mechanical VS Quartz watch

Ultimately, mechanical watch movement is driven by gears and springs. They are small autonomous machines that don’t need a power source, whereas batteries that vibrate small crystal power quartz watches. This is one of the important differences between quartz watch vs mechanical. In addition, the choice between quartz and mechanical watches depends on preference and budget. If you are looking for high accuracy and low maintenance, quartz watches are a good option. However, if you appreciate traditional watchmaking techniques and the artistry of mechanical watches, you may prefer them over quartz watches.

Whether you prefer quartz vs mechanical movement, our watch company can provide Swiss or Japanese movements to meet the needs of our customers, and the watch movement brands available are Japanese Miyota, Seiko, Swiss Sellia, Ronda, and so on.