Difference Between a Quartz Watch and a Mechanical Watch

What’s the difference between a quartz watch and a mechanical watch?

The answer may seem obvious to those in the know, but I’m asked this question frequently—and it’s a reminder that there’s no need to slip into elitism.

One of the aims of this blog is to make the world of watchmaking more accessible, and it has to be said that a large part of the population doesn’t know the difference between a quartz movement and a mechanical movement—and there’s absolutely no reason to be embarrassed about it.

Let’s try to answer as simply and briefly as possible. You’re then welcome to subscribe to Montres-Passion.fr’s free newsletter to learn more about the fascinating world of watches by clicking here.

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Quartz watches

A quartz watch runs on a battery. A thin quartz crystal oscillates at a stable frequency under the electrical impulse from the battery, bringing the watch to life. See my article on how a quartz watch works.

Advantages:

Accuracy: formidable
Maintenance: limited to changing the battery about every two years.
Display: analogue (hands) but also digital (numeric).
Functions: backlight, altimeter, barometer, compass… The range of available functions is extensive.
Thickness: thinner movements (definition of a movement in watchmaking)
Price: more affordable pricing.

Disadvantages:

Durability: a shorter lifespan due to wear of electronic components.

Mechanical watches

There are two types of mechanical watches: manual-wind and automatic. Unlike quartz watches, they don’t draw their energy from a battery. An automatic watch is therefore, by definition, mechanical.

Manual-wind mechanical watch: the watch needs to be wound regularly by hand by turning the crown.
Automatic mechanical watch: the watch winds itself thanks to the movements of its owner’s wrist. A rotor or “oscillating weight” (half-disc) turns on its axis with each movement and winds the timepiece (a rotor in action in the video below). It is still possible to wind it manually.

Advantages

Case: Mechanical watches often reveal their inner workings through a transparent caseback… a feast for the eyes.
Display : Watch in the video below how smoothly the seconds hand of a mechanical watch moves compared with a quartz watch. The difference in frequency explains this phenomenon.
Durability: a well-maintained watch will last longer than a quartz watch.
… It’s a mechanical watch!

Disadvantages

Maintenance : servicing every 5 years is necessary, although most mechanical-watch owners wait for a breakdown before taking them to the watchmaker.
Price: prices are much higher.
Accuracy : mechanical watches are less accurate.
Shocks: they are more sensitive to impacts.

In conclusion, while the mechanical watch is more noble thanks to the beauty of its mechanics, the technological feat of complications and the miniaturisation of mechanical parts, the quartz watch offers undeniable advantages.

The low cost of quartz movements allows brands to focus their efforts on enhancing the dial, case or bracelet at an affordable retail price. What’s more, there are very high-quality quartz movements, and many traditionally “mechanical” brands routinely offer quartz models in their collections.

Mechanical watches come to life thanks to you; they carry an artisanal tradition, a history, a know-how that rivals in ingenuity in the face of constraints. Winding a watch by hand is almost a ritual.

Personally, I have to admit I prefer mechanical to quartz, but a watch isn’t just its movement: design and materials quickly remind us that the “engine” isn’t everything.

What we should remember is that buying a watch is about matching your needs (functions, characteristics, lifestyle, sporting activities, etc.), your budget and your purely subjective desires.

To each their own..

If you’d like to have some fun with an automatic mechanical movement—taking it apart or simply looking at it—I recommend buying one; it’s fascinating.

Here is a selection of automatic watches at accessible prices to start your collection.