Are you looking for a new watch? Obviously, you want a watch that meets all your requirements. There are so many watches on the market and choosing one can be tricky. We are here to help and tell you all about the state-of-the-art technology that rocked the entire watchmaking industry: the quartz watch. We tell you what a quartz watch is, how it works and what the pros and cons of quartz watches are.
What is a quartz watch?
The word ‘quartz’ indicates the movement the watch runs on. Simply said: a quartz watch is battery powered. The quartz movement was invented by Seiko in 1969. The state-of-the-art technology absolutely rocked the watchmaking industry! The revolutionary watch showed that the most effective and accurate way to tell time was with a crystal, battery and tiny motors. Before Seiko introduced the quartz watch, watches were primarily mechanical. These watches had to be wound by hand and were anything but accurate. Due to the revolutionary quartz technology, hand-wound timepieces belonged to the past! However, the quartz clockwork meant the end for lots of manufactures of mechanical watches since they could no longer compete with the precision of the quartz clockwork.
How does a quartz watch work?
Quartz means that the watch contains a small piece of quartz crystal, but most watches have synthetic quartz. Essentially, a quartz watch is battery powered and the quartz crystal serves as the oscillator. The battery sends electricity to the quartz crystal through an electronic circuit. The quartz crystals vibrate quickly and with precise frequency in response to the electronic charge. The circuit counts the vibrations and generates regular electric pulses of one per second. What if your quartz watch doesn’t have a seconds hand? Then the vibrations are saved to make the big hand move forward every 20 seconds.
Different kinds of quartz watches
Since Seiko invented the revolutionary quartz clockwork, developments have not stopped. There are two different types of quartz watches:
- Quartz battery: The most common quartz watches are the battery-operated ones. You only have to replace the battery every once in a while to make your watch last for decades.
- Quartz solar: A quartz solar watch has a solar cell that converts all forms of light, whether natural or unnatural, into energy. The battery stores the energy so that the watch keeps on running. With solar quartz, replacing batteries is history!
The pros of a quartz watch
Quartz watches come in all shapes and sizes and many brands carry at least one. But there are more pros.
- Quartz watches are affordable. They are not made of as many parts as a mechanical watch is, which makes quartz watches a lot more affordable.
- Extremely accurate at time-telling. Wherever you are, a quartz watch always runs on time, except when the battery is empty.
- Quartz watches require little service. Quartz watches contain fewer parts than mechanical and automatic watches. Actually, replacing your battery is the only maintenance the watch needs.
- Very wearable with all kinds of activities. Quartz watches are not sensitive to gravity and can easily be worn while you’re playing sports.
The cons of a quartz watch
Quartz watches have more pros than cons, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
- The battery needs to be changed occasionally. You need to open the case of the watch if you want to replace the battery, which will affect the lifespan of the watch.
- The battery may leak. That happens especially when you don’t wear your watch for a long time.
- Quartz watches are vulnerable. The quartz crystal may break during a fall or blow, which will irreparably damage the watch.
- Quartz watches consist of tiny parts. Repairing these small parts can be complicated.
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