What is a quartz watch?

Quartz watches and mechanical watches are difficult to tell apart just by looking at them. These are two types of watches that differ mechanically so it is in the inside of the watch that you will notice the differences. It is a personal choice as to which type of watch you prefer and nearly all watch brands will offer a quartz range to satisfy their customers.


What are the differences between Mechanical watches and Quartz watches?

Quartz watches differ to mechanical watches in various ways such as:
Price - The plastic materials used to make the inside of the quartz gear and movement is cheap and can be mass produced where as the mechanical watch is made from metal and takes more time to put together therefore will be more expensive.

Precision - A mechanical watch will loose time depending on temperature it could loose up to 45 seconds per day so you will have to adjust the time more often. The quartz watch is more precise loosing on 0.5 seconds per day.

Weight – The quartz watch is light weight materials. The gear wheel and movement are made from a light micro plastic. The mechanical type is made from metals and has a complex structure making it heavier to wear.

Maintenance
– The mechanical watch will last centuries if maintained regularly by a reputable watch maker. A quartz watch never needs to be wound and the only maintenance is to change the batteries annually.


What to choose Quartz or Mechanical?

The life span of the quartz watch is about 6 years, due to problems cause by the circuit board a quartz watch will not last forever. A mechanical watch on the other hand with proper care and maintenance will last centuries so this type of watch is the one that will be bought for emotional purposes maybe as an heirloom to be handed down through generations. Most people like to buy a mechanical watch if they are going to spend a lot of money as it will most defiantly stand the test of time.


Sportsmen and athletes will buy watches for there precision time keeping and multi functional capabilities so the quartz range rules in this market. It has everything that a sports or athletic type watch would need, light weight, precision and not expensive enough that it would cause a lot of upset if it was damaged during training.


Quartz has changed the face of the watch market by carving out a niche in the sports industry for its cheap production and expert precision that doesn’t need to last a life time, in other words it does what it says on the tin and fits this market like a glove.