Quartz Watches have been titled as reliable, accurate, low-maintenance, and affordable watches of the current times. The combination of battery and crystal vibration has made the Quartz a renowned brand in the market. Last year, Quartz generated about USD 38.3 billion, which accounts for approximately 49% of the entire watch market. Quartz has brought a new revolution in the watch market. But have you ever considered the working mechanism and the contribution of the parts that make up the Quartz watch movement? How efficiently do they work in parallel to keep the time and other features accurate?
In today’s topic, we will overview the Quartz Watch Movement Parts in detail. We will also overview how these parts function together to serve the final purpose, “showing the time”. Similarly, the benefits of Quartz watch movement will also be part of this topic.
A quartz watch movement (also known as a Quartz Calibre) is the mechanism that powers and operates the watch accordingly. Although this process involves contributions from several parts, the notable ones are the “power battery” and the “vibrating quartz crystal”. When power is delivered by the battery, the crystal vibrates at a specific frequency that pulses the other tiny parts to start functioning. Finally, the watch is able to display the time, date, chronograph, and alarms with utmost accuracy.
A battery is used in the quartz watch movement to power or electrical energy to “IC” and “crystal”. The battery in quartz watches usually lasts for 3 to 5 years, while modern batteries are available in a relatively small size (button cell). Similarly, the solar ones (rechargeable) feature a longer lifespan compared to normal ones.
Without a quartz crystal oscillator, a watch would not be able to show the time accurately. So, it can be considered an important part of quartz watch movement. When the battery passes the electric power, the crystal starts vibrating at an approximate frequency of 32,768 times per second. This crystal is composed of silicon dioxide and exhibits a fork-like shape.
The IC (integrated circuit) in the quartz watch movement plays a critical role. It receives vibration signals from the quartz crystal and then converts the high-frequency signals into low-frequency signals and distributes them accordingly. This conversion, in technical terms, is known as timekeeping pulses, offering one pulse per second.
The stepper motor (coil), as a part or component in the quartz watch movement, receives and converts the electrical pulses from the IC into magnetic energy. This energy is then utilized by the gear train to continue operations. The stepper motor (coil) part is mostly found in analog quartz watches.
The gear train consists of multiple gears that act separately to manage tasks like the adjustment of the hour, minute, and second hands. The balanced ratio, movement, and adjustment are settled accordingly to ensure accuracy. The gear train lowers the speed of the motor as per the requirements with the hands.
The hands in the quartz watch movement work as per the indications from the coil and gears. It is an indicator responsible for showing the hour, minute, and second. The hour hand features one rotation every 12 hours, and the minute hand features one full rotation every 60 minutes. Similarly, the second hand ticks once per second.
The dial is the main face of the watch, located under the protective glass. It comes in simple, decent, and decorated shapes or forms. It shows time, date, calendar, and other watch features. At the backend, the whole process completes its cycle from battery energy to hands, to be able to show or display the time on the dial.
The glass is a transparent material typically composed of mineral glass, sapphire, or acrylic. Glass protects the dial of the watch, ensuring durability and preventing damage to the dial. Similarly, the case serves to protect internal components from damage and is manufactured from pure stainless steel, titanium, and ceramic.
The quartz watch movement can be considered a reliable mechanism due to the efficient performance of its parts and components. Taking from simple to advanced, the quartz watches feature maximum performance. The start of generating energy from a battery, the vibration of a crystal at a constant frequency, and the accurate performance of the gear train to display exact time on the dial are all just amazing. It’s not over yet, but it also highlights the charm of perfect engineering behind it. Low maintenance costs, easy-to-understand components, and a long-lasting battery make quartz movements the choice of many.
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A: The only reason to prefer quartz over mechanical movement is the utmost time accuracy and low maintenance cost.
A: Yes, quartz watches are also reliable and durable like mechanical watches. It also depends on the type and quality of the watch one chooses.
A: Yes, the quartz watch movements can be repaired. One can attempt to repair it at home with watch repair tools or can seek professional assistance.