ODM & OEM watch manufacturer - Custom your own design for quartz watch and mechanical watch.
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ODM & OEM watch manufacturer - Custom your own design for quartz watch and mechanical watch.
Quartz vs. Automatic Watches: Which Should I Choose?
If you are shopping for a new watch, you are likely to come across the terms quartz and automatic. Both types of watches have clear advantages and disadvantages. Of course, any watch you pick will need to meet your criteria for accuracy, reliability, and performance. It will also need to offer functionality that fits your specific needs and a design that you like. So which type of watch is best? While there is no easy answer to this, we hope this overview will help you make the right choice for your needs.
What is the difference between quartz and automatic watches?
How does quartz watch work?
In a quartz watch, an electric current from the battery is applied to a small, man-made quartz crystal. When an electric current is applied to it, its “piezoelectric” properties mean that the quartz crystal oscillates at a set frequency (32,768 Hz, or oscillations per second), this gives a highly accurate timing base.
The “brain” of the quartz watch is an IC chip, which counts the oscillations and records 1 second for every 32,768 oscillations.
The watch shows you the time on an analog display (a dial with an hour, minute and second hand), or digital display (numerical, usually LCD).
How Does Automatic Watch Work？
Automatic watch (also known as a self-winding watch) is a mechanical timepiece that doesn't require a battery or manual winding to keep it running. It relies on the natural motion of the wearer’s wrist to generate power and keep the watch ticking.
Do quartz watches need batteries?
Yes, the battery in a quartz watch is typically a silver oxide “button” cell, or sometimes a larger lithium cell. These batteries need regular replacement. Battery life can vary from 1-2 years on a smaller model with a smaller battery to as much as 8-10 years. (e.g. on our M50 watch with its Longlife lithium battery system.) Most quartz watches have a battery life of 2-5 years.
Do automatic watches need batteries?
No. Automatic watches do not require a battery. As mentioned, automatic watches are powered by a spring, which winds automatically as you move. Once the spring is wound up, a sophisticated combination of wheels, levers and springs releases the power of the mainspring at a steady rate. Most good quality automatic watches operate at 6 beats per second (referred to as 21,600 bph or beats per hour). More expensive movements have a higher beat rate, operating at 8 beats per second (28,800 bph), or more. Generally, an automatic movement with a higher beat rate is a little more accurate, consistent, and easier to tune.
Quartz vs Automatic: Watch Accuracy
Quartz watches - use a quartz crystal as a timing base, essentially translating 32,768 oscillations into 1 second, by sending a pulse to a stepping motor that moves the second hand forward one step every second.
Automatic watch - a combination of wheels, levers and a fine hair spring”combine to make an "escapement| mechanism, which releases the power in the wound mainspring at a steady rate of 6 or 8 beats per second.
Quartz watches with their timing base of over 32,000 beats per second are naturally more accurate than an automatic watch, with its timing base of 6 or 8 beats per second. An analogue quartz watch will typically be accurate to +/- 15 or 20 seconds per MONTH on the wrist, so might vary by around ½ second per day. A well-tuned and lubricated automatic watch will be accurate to between -20 to +40 seconds per DAY for a regular movement, or -10 to +30 seconds per day if it has a higher beat movement.
Quartz vs automatic: Performance
Quartz watch will keep time consistently and reliably for many years, requiring only an occasional battery replacement.
While less accurate than a quartz watch, an automatic watch will tend to be most accurate when it is new or freshly tuned, and all the moving parts are lubricated with a fine watchmaking oil. Unlike a quartz watch, which will maintain the same accuracy, as long as it is running, an automatic watch will tend to lose accuracy over time as the fine watchmaking oil used to lubricate it dries out and thickens.
Both quartz and automatic watches are widely considered to be accurate for most practical purposes. However, quartz watches offer more reliable accuracy, because they are consistently accurate to within approximately half a second per day, while automatic watches can be off by a few seconds per day. Accuracy on an automatic watch will also be affected by a variety of factors. E.g. How completely the mainspring is wound; how fresh the lubrication of the moving parts is; what angle the watch is at; and even by large temperature variations. Quartz watches generally run accurately and reliably until the battery runs out: then they stop. As it can be inconvenient if your watch stops suddenly, many new quartz movements feature a low battery indicator, to warn you 1-2 weeks before the battery dies. (This is usually done by making the second hand “stutter”, jumping 2 or 3 seconds every 2 or 3 seconds, instead of jumping at one beat per second. The watch will still keep time, but the second hand stopping, then jumping 2 or 3 seconds is visually very noticeable and lets you know you will need a new battery soon.)
Pros and Cons of Each Movement
Automatic Watch Movement:
Pros:
-Automatic movements are more accurate than quartz because they can be adjusted manually and do not require battery power.
-They are also more durable than quartz and can be used in all kinds of weather.
Cons:
-Automatic movements tend to be much more expensive than quartz movements, so they are a luxury item rather than an affordable option.
Quartz Watch Movement:
Pros:
-Quartz movements are less likely to malfunction or stop working over time than automatic movements. They also require less maintenance than mechanical watches and can be used in any environment without worrying about damage or malfunction.
Cons:
-Quartz watches tend to be less accurate than automatic watches because battery power fluctuations and temperature changes can affect the timekeeping mechanism inside the watch.
Maintenance costs for Quartz and Automatic watches
The technicalities behind the two types of watches mean that both have some distinctive pros and cons, with reliability, accuracy and performance being just some notable comparison points.
Let’s start with the battery replacement issue. Of course, this can become a nuisance, but apart from giving it some consideration every few years, quartz powered watches are relatively low maintenance.
Automatic watches on the other hand, need to be worn daily, or at least wound daily for them to keep ticking, if they are not worn for a few days, then they will need to be wound and reset to the correct time, whenever you decide to wear them.
Both watch types can be considered reliable in that sense. While batteries require little effort from the wearer, technological advancements in watchmaking have enabled automatic ones to benefit from days-long power reserves. And if you’ll be wearing your watch daily, winding really won’t be an issue.
Quartz watches are also incredibly accurate. Quartz crystals oscillate at a constant frequency when an electric current is run through them, allowing them to boast astonishing accuracy, losing only a few seconds each year.
That said, the extended time on the market of automatic watches has meant manufacturers have really been able to hone their accuracy. Nowadays, automatic watches can achieve an accuracy of within 4-6 seconds each day, though 10-20 seconds per day is more normal. (A professional service on an automatic starts at $150-$250, and can be significantly more, depending on the movement.)
The Collectible Value Of Quartz And Automatic Watches
An advantage with quartz watches is that, with more affordable movements, it is possible to find more affordable luxury watch models that are more accessible due to their more cost-effective manufacture and larger production volumes.
But automatic watches remain models of choice for collectors and watch enthusiasts due to the intricate detail that goes into making them tick. One key point that is often not raised is that, as automatic watches are purely mechanical, it is possible to manufacture a single pinion or wheel and make a watch work “like new”, even if the watch is very old, the movement is no longer being made, and no original parts are available. For a quartz watch, the electronics and IC chip are produced in volume, but if technology moves on, the quartz movement is discontinued and replaced by a newer version, and parts like the IC chip are no longer available, then if these parts malfunction or are damaged, it will simply not be possible to repair the watch.
In today's world, where almost everything is electronic, a product that is purely mechanical holds a special fascination for many people, with no batteries, no IC chip, no plugging it in every night to recharge it, and no software updates.
Key differences between quartz and automatic watches
| Feature | Quartz Watch | Automatic Watch |
| Movement Type | Powered by a battery and regulated by a quartz crystal. | Powered by mechanical energy generated by the movement of the wearer's wrist. |
| Power Source | Battery (typically lasts 1–2 years before needing replacement). | Self-winding (stores energy in a mainspring, wound by the movement of the rotor). |
| Accuracy | Highly accurate, typically within ±15-30 seconds per month. | Less accurate due to mechanical components, typically ±5-10 seconds per day |
| Battery Requirement | Requires battery replacement every 1-2 years. | No battery; uses a rotor to wind the mainspring. |
| Shock resistance | More shock resistant, with few moving parts | Modern calibres in a good casing are very shockproof, but have a lot more moving parts than quartz watches |
| Common Uses | Everyday, functional timepieces; often found in affordable watches. | High-end, luxury, and collector watches; often seen as a symbol of craftsmanship. |
Conclusion
Finally, Choosing between quartz, automatic and mechanical watches is more complicated than you might think. A lot depends on your preferences, what you use the watch for, how much you are willing to spend, etc. In the end, you need to find a watch that is right for you and strikes a balance between all your needs before making a final decision.
VDEAR Watches has all the watches you are looking for. Whether you are looking for an automatic watch or a quartz watch, we have it. We have watches for every occasion and we are sure you will find what you are looking for. You can find them all on our website and we are happy to answer any questions about our products or services.
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