Many, many times, we are rather eager to push quartz movements to the side as we quest for the perfect mechanical movement. And to be sure, mechanicals (manual or automatic) are miniature mechanical marvels. In my opinion, though, quartz movements do have a purpose – whether its in keeping prices down, helping a watch be truly robust for whatever the activity, or giving you a watch that is dead accurate.
Whatever the reason, we all likely have at least one quartz watch kicking around in the old watch box. So, to that end, it would behoove us to understand how, exactly, those work, right? The very quick summary is that you’ve got an electric pulse setting a quartz crystal to oscillating at a very predictable frequency – enabling accurate time keeping.
And you may even argue that these have no place in the Historical Horology section, given that quartz movements have only been around since the 1970s or so. I put forth, though, that they’re an integral part of the landscape, and have shaped the industry (for better or worse, you can decide for yourself).
You’ll definitely want to pop over to A Timely Perspective and check out their quick article on this topic (link).
All images courtest of A Timely Perspective.
