Inside the Movement 1: Quartz

Inside the Movement 1: Quartz

How does it work?

Quartz movements use a no or very few moving parts; a quartz crystal vibrates within the watch itself due to the piezoelectric effect - this effect uses the electrical charge accumulated by the crystal due to applied mechanical stress. The quartz crystals job is to act as an oscillator and resonates at a high stable frequency, perfect for accurately keeping time.

The movement was created to stop the need to wind the mainspring of a mechanical watch on a regular basis.

 

History

 

Original BETA 1 prototype

The creation of the first quartz wristwatch was initially investigated by Epson (a smaller, Seiko owned company) in 1959. By the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, a fully working portable prototype had been developed and was used to keep time over the course of the event. 1965 saw the beginning of a new era of developments at the CEH research laboratory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland toward the creation of the quartz wristwatch. A new 8192 Hz quartz oscillator was under development (much smaller than the previously seen version), a thermo-compensation module and an inhouse-made, dedicated assimilated circuit. By 1967 the BETA 1 prototype had been created and broke timekeeping records at the International Chronometric Competition hosted at the Observatory of Neuchâtel. As a result of this, in 1969, the first ever quartz wristwatch to be mass produced (Seiko 35 SQ Astron) entered production and thus the quartz watch was born.

 

Although this was the first quartz movement, it wasn’t the first time the addition of a battery was attempted by a watch manufacturer. The Hamilton Watch Company originally created a watch in 1957 called the Electric 500, a watch that replaced the mainspring of the movement with a battery, eliminating the need for the watch to be wound. Many regard this as the precursor to the quartz watch.

 

Kinetic

Seiko SKA369P1

Quartz watches have been produced that require the movement of the wrist to rotate a weight connected to a generator within the watch that supplies a charge to the rechargeable battery. The basic concept is not too dissimilar to that of an automatic or spring-winding movement, but instead of mechanical spring tension the watch is powered by an electrical current. These watches were called kinetic powered quartz watches. 

Solar

 

Omega Speedmaster Solar Impulse BH-SIA

Solar powered watches such as the Citizen Eco-Drive use photovoltaic/solar cells on the dial of the watch and are powered by converting light into electricity; the watch then uses electricity from the rechargeable battery or capacitor. As a result of the inclusion of solar cells many of the early watches produced during the 1970’s had to alter their designs to accommodate the large cells, however, the huge advancements in technology have enabled manufacturers to incorporate these features whilst maintaining unchanged, traditional designs. Due to the fact the movement is powered by light the battery is never needed to be replaced, the cells only need to exposed to strong light for small periods of time to provide a substantial charge lasting for days or weeks. 

Radio time signal watches

 

G-Shock GWA1000FC-5A

Modern watches with the inclusion of a radio receiver will automatically synchronise with the nearest atomic clock. The movement of the watch remains unaltered; it is only the inclusion of the radio receiver which differs. Once synchronised this makes the watch accurately to the time, date, leap year status of the current year. Some radio time signal watches are able to synchronise to time signals via GPS as well as linking to atomic clocks.

Notable watches

 

Many electric/quartz watches have come out since its invention, with few manufacturers staying away from it; here is a short list of some of my favourite quartz watches produced.

Rolex Oysterquartz Series

Rolex Oysterdate 17000 stainless steel

Introduced in the 1970’s the Oysterquartz was Rolex’s very first in-house quartz movement, (the 5035 and 5055) and the Datejust (5035) and Day-Date (5055). The 11 jewel movement was paired with a 32khz oscillator, new age CMOS circuitry and analog thermo compensation.  Some purists will argue that these weren’t the most accurate quartz watches around at the time; however, it is said that the Oysterquartz was finished to higher standard than the mechanical movements coming out of the factory at the time.

Citizen Eco-Drive Moon Phase AP1011-58A

As well as being a quartz watch the Eco-Drive uses solar cells, capable of being powered by either natural or artificial light. The original Eco-Drive used a caliber 7878 movement - the first light powered movement with the solar cells mounted under the dial by utilising amorphous silicon solar cells. The inclusion of titanium lithium-ion batteries in the 1990’s enable the Eco-Drive’s 7878 movement to run for 180 days without requiring any charge from the sun. Some of the watches in Citizen’s Eco-Drive series offered a hibernation setting in which the hands would stop rotating to save power whilst the quartz movement continued to track the correct time internally. Citizen state that over 80% of their current watch sales include the Eco-Drive movement and that over 320 different models are available.To view the Citizen range, click here.

Tag Heuer 1000 Professional

Over the years the 1000 Professional has built up quite a following due to its distinctive looks, high build quality and rugged resilience against most things thrown its way. This model was made between around 1980 and 1992 and was aimed at being a lower cost diver’s watch with a quartz movement as an option. Before earning its title as a 1000 Professional, Tag Heuer only called the watch by its reference number – ref.844. It contained a French Felsa movement (quartz and automatic options) and were built in France until production was moved back to Switzerland where the movement was swapped in favour of an swiss ETA. The 1000 Professional had a waterproof rating up to 200m, more than enough for the average user who likes a dip in the pool or sea; however, its bigger brother the 1000 Super Professional was able to withstand 1000m. To me it is instantly recognisable, but it is the interesting history behind the watch that makes it a classic to me. More information about the 1000 Professional by clicking here.

Quartz movements may be cheaper to produce but it's clear to me that it doesn't stop a watch from becoming a sort after timepiece, oozing with style and made to be used for generations.