Quartz, automatic, manual — do you know the differences between the main types of watch movements?
A watch movement, also called a caliber, is the mechanism that powers a watch. There are two main types of watch movements: mechanical and quartz movements. Quartz movements are battery powered, while mechanical movements are composed solely of mechanical components, including gears, springs, and wheels, and do not use batteries or other power sources. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and the best watch brands offer both types of watches. Learn the differences between the types of watch movements here. Interested in learning more about watch parts? Read our watch anatomy guide here.
The Different Types of Watch Movements
Mechanical Movements
There are two different types of mechanical watch movements: manual and automatic. Most pocket watches have manual movements, while mechanical wristwatches are split between the two. Mechanical movements are composed of a connected system of gears, springs, and wheels.
Manual Movement
The oldest type of watch movement is the manual movement. Sometimes you’ll hear them called hand-wound movements. These movements were invented in the 1600s and derive from clocks. Many collectors consider mechanical movements to be the pinnacle of watchmaking — therefore, watch brands use them in many of their most expensive and most complicated watches, such as minute repeaters (learn more by reading about why watches are so expensive). To power a manual movement, you wind the watch using the crown. This tightly coils the mainspring inside its barrel. The mainspring slowly uncoils over time, providing power to the movement.
The length of time it takes for the mainspring to unwind and stop powering the watch is called the power reserve. A watch’s power reserve ranges from 24 hours to several days, but the watches with the longest power reserves can run for weeks or months. The current record holder is Vacheron Constantin’s Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, which works for 65 days without winding. Of course, these watches are rare and expensive. A good rule of thumb for a luxury dress watch is to look for a watch with a power reserve longer than 62 hours, which means it will keep time over a weekend and you won’t have to wind it on Monday morning.
Automatic Movement
In automatic movements, in contrast, a weighted rotor spins as you move. The rotor is also called an oscillating weight or mass. This movement coils the mainspring, so you don’t need to wind the watch using the crown. Of course, if you need to quickly wind the watch, you can wind it through the crown, just as you do with a manual watch. Another name is a self-winding movement.
Abraham-Louis Perrelet, a Swiss horologist, invented an automatic movement for a pocket watch in the 18th century, but it fell out of favor because it was more complex and expensive than a manual movement. Automatic movements returned in the 20th century when British watchmaker John Harwood began designing an automatic watch in 1922. He earned a Swiss patent for the first automatic wristwatch in 1924. His design featured an oscillating weight that pivoted 270 degrees and hit buffer springs on each side, giving it the name “hammer automatic.” Rolex improved on this idea when it invented the first automatic movement with a perpetual rotor, which spun 360 degrees.
Today, there are three types of automatic movements, depending on the type of rotor. You can learn about the different types of rotors here. Most sports watches have automatic movements, but watchmakers have brought automatic movements to all types of watches, including complicated tourbillon watches and perpetual calendars.
Quartz Movements
On the other hand, a battery powers a quartz movement. Seiko, a Japanese watch company, invented quartz movements in the 1960s and introduced the first quartz watch in 1969. It sent shockwaves through the watch industry. Ultimately, these inexpensive and easy-to-produce movements took over the watch industry and led to the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, which decimated the mechanical watch industry.
The name “quartz” comes from the way the power moves through the movement. The battery sends an electric current through a miniature piece of quartz. The quartz crystal vibrates at a specific frequency, and these vibrations power movement to turn the watch hands. A quartz movement will run precisely until the battery dies and needs to be replaced.
All inexpensive watches use quartz movements because they are much more affordable than mechanical movements. However, many of the most expensive watches in the world — namely, high-jewelry watches and secret watches — also use quartz movements. These watches aren’t worn on a daily basis, so a mechanical movement would run out of power and need to be set every time the watch was worn. In addition, many watch brands use quartz movements in women’s watches, including dress watches, mother-of-pearl watches, and jewelry watches.
This is a point of contention for many female collectors, who prefer mechanical watch movements in time-only watches and feel they don’t have enough complicated women’s watches. Brands are beginning to answer this need by creating more women’s watches with automatic or mechanical movements. However, there’s certainly a market for quartz watches, and top brands, including Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, craft high-quality quartz watches with beautifully finished movements.
What Is an In-house Movement?
Most luxury watch brands create their own movements in their manufactures, the horological equivalent of a factory. If they create the majority of the components, they call it an in-house movement. Brands have different definitions of what constitutes an in-house movement. Many brands purchase individual components, such as screws. Other brands don’t have the technical expertise to create the most difficult components, such as the hairspring. Most of these mass-produced watches use existing movements purchased from large companies. While these movements can be just as precise, they aren’t considered as impressive as in-house movements.
Of course, few watch brands fall into the category of producing the majority of their watch parts in-house because of how costly it is.
Which Is Better: Quartz or Mechanical Movements?
Mechanical movements are part of the time-honored tradition of making watches by hand. They are created by expert watchmakers and decorated by artisans. They are more difficult to create than quartz movements. In addition, they have a higher level of finishings and craftsmanship. Mechanical movements can be miniature works of art and technical innovation.
Quartz-powered watches make up the vast majority of the watch market today. They are more affordable than mechanical ones, and they don’t need to be wound. In addition, quartz movements don’t need to be serviced as frequently as mechanical movements. Some collectors simply prefer the ease of quartz movements because the watch is always accurate, even if it hasn’t been worn in weeks.
It’s difficult to compare these types of movements. While they both power watches, they’re really different things, and there’s a place for both in the industry. You’re the one wearing the watch; pick what suits your lifestyle best.
