Automatic vs Quartz Movement Watches: What's best?

The great debacle begins. Automatic vs. Quartz movements in watches. If you thought choosing a watch was hard, this just adds another element to your choices. But don't worry, we will break it down for you to make choosing watch movements easier. 

Quartz Movement Watches

Quartz movement watches was once upon a time the subject of cutting-edge technology. Quartz movement quickly established itself as reliable and the most accurate way to tell the time. It's a simple setup: a small crystal, a battery and a tiny motor. These watches need less servicing than their mechanical rivals (besides the occasional battery change which only takes a couple of minutes to do), and is more price friendly for limited budgets. These watches are so simple and so effective.

Any clock needs a regulating element to keep accurate time, so the watch doesn't slowly move out of time. Basically, the quartz crystal vibrates at a precise frequency and emits a tiny amount of electricity which turns the small motor, in turn moving the seconds hand. This also give the watch it's signature 'tick' every second. Most watches that have quartz movement are almost guaranteed to be accurate to around 15 seconds per month or so. The High Accuracy Quartz (HAQ) can do even better. This premium quartz movement are thermo-compensated and can change the time depending on how hot or cold the environment is. If you are seeking the ultimate quartz movement watch, then a HAQ is the one to go for.

The Quartz movement aspect can also be used in combination with hybrid smartwatches, as it's easy to incorporate the small and simple movement with other features such as heart rate monitors and step trackers. Basically, the quartz movement technology may be aging and seem ancient, but it is forever evolving to be developed with today's watch technologies. 

Now this may seem like a load of nonsense, so let's summarise this. Quartz movements are the simplest of form of watch movements, meaning reliability and quality are at the forefront of this technology. This watch movement is continually evolving to combine with modern technology, so you'll never feel outdated with a quartz movement watch.

Automatic Movement Watches

Automatic movement watches have actually been around since the 1770s, but is immensely popular in the modern world. The automatic movement contains a series of tiny components to move the hands on the clock. This mechanical movement comes from kinetic energy, which are wound up from a spring. Automatic movement watches harness the power of the movements from the wearer to slowly wind the spring as you wear the watch. Automatic watches are more known as the luxury type of watch movement as these watches require expert craftsmanship and quality to manufacture. 

These watches are technically different to a manual watch, but fall under the same category as a mechanical watch. Automatic watches (or self-winding watches if we want to get technical) are definitely the more practical choice as these will not need constant daily winding, instead will be charged by your own hand movement. It's definitely recommended to purchase an automatic watch if you intend on wearing it every single day. 

The only downfall of an automatic watch is that if you don't consistently wear the watch everyday or every 2 days, then you must wind the watch manually before it can keep the time again. Alternatively, you could purchase a watch winder to help keep the watch wound. This will prevent you from having to wind the watch back up with natural movement before the watch tells the time or date. However, unlike a quartz movement watch, there is no battery required to power the watch so you never have to worry about powering the watch. 

Again, this might seem confusing to those sane, so I'll break it down. Automatic watches are a more expensive but more desirable. They contain a winding spring that uses the individuals movement to wind up the watch, hence can keep the time and date.

So which one do I pick?

Honestly, it all comes down to personal preference. For a watch that you can put on your wrist and it will work flawlessly, choose a quartz movement watch. For a watch that has a bit of class and superb longevity, then go for an automatic watch. Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with your choice.

Still can't choose between the pair? Speak to our customer service team for more help here.