Watches are split into two factions – quartz or automatic. Deciding which is better is a personal choice, but we thought we’d shed some light on the situation.
Quartz watches are battery powered, while a mechanical watch is powered by the energy stored in a wound spring.
Mechanical Watches
Mechanical watches run for around two days on average, though there are some that can last easily over a week like the IWC Portuguese Power Reserve. Within the area of automatic watches there are then two main forms, these watches come in a manual or a self-winding version. A self-winding watch automatically is charged by a rotor that spins when you move your watch on your wrist. If you hold an automatic watch close to your ear and shake it you will hear the swooshing sound of the rotor spinning, and the watch charging. Manual watches are wound by turning the crown and thus don’t have a rotor.
Quartz
The quartz alternative is a far more popular proposition and around 9/10s of all watches are battery powered. This watch uses a tiny, precisely cut piece of quartz crystal and a battery to drive the electronic stepper motor that then keeps the time and moves the watch’s hands.
Quartz watches cost less on average, but are also more accurate than the mechanical version. They require little maintenance and are fantastically hardwearing generally.
Mechanical watches characterise the highpoint of watchmaking and as such are seen as far more desirable than the quartz equivalent. Watchmaking is a revered art and the greatest watch makers in the world still spend years honing their skills and their machines. There is serious competition to have a more sophisticated and more inventive mechanical movement than that of your competitor. This makes the mechanical watch something to prize, cherish and adore. It also means that some of the world’s most expensive mechanical watches can stretch into millions of pounds.
Engineering
Quartz watches seem simple but are still fantastic feats of engineering and some offer amazing complications for their price. Many of these complications are equal in function to those of the highly acclaimed mechanical equivalent. Quartz watches can also be a lot slimmer than the mechanical alternative. There are also all sorts of other innovations out there too. From solar powered watches that use quartz to hybrid quartz and mechanical Spring Drive watches that offer the best of both worlds.
Of course, there are all sorts of other additions and complications. In a lot of ways, watch making is part science and part art. Take for example the Girard Peregaux Opera One, which plays operatic arias upon the hour. The Opera One took years to create, though the price reflects this.
Perpetual Calendars
There are many types of complications to mechanical movements. A “complication” is something the watch does apart from just tell the time. The Perpetual Calendar allows the watch to continually show the correct date, despite the fact it may be a leap year, or that there are certain numbers of days within certain months. To create a perpetual calendar from just cogs and mechanical elements involves hundreds of parts and is an impressive feat of mechanical memory.
We’ve only touched on the tip of the complexities and watches are amazing pieces of engineering whether they are mechanical or quartz. In essence, it’s a battle of accuracy over mechanical ingenuity. Either way, there are some real beauties out there for those lucky enough to afford them.
Thanks to James Coop for helping us with this post. He has a strong love of watches and writes for Iconic Watches.