# Jewelled Quartz Movement



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

I can understand a 2 jewel quartz movement, and would think would be one at each end of the stepping motor, but I don't understand a 1 jewel movement.

Where would that 1 jewel be placed in the movement??


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

[IMG alt="3831086662_3982315fff.jpg...ickr.com/2562/3831086662_3982315fff.jpg[/IMG]

Looks like metal gears with plastic bearings, dunno where the jewel bearing might be!


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Well that was a stunning thread wannit :closedeyes:


----------



## mjolnir (Jan 3, 2006)

Sorry Griff, I would have replied but I have no knowledge on the subject really. I'd like to know myself.

I would assume that a 1 jewel quartz would have the jewel seated beneath the stem/pivot where the hands are attached(probably completely wrong) and that more jewels would be inserted along the way through the drivetrain.

Surely Paul would be the guy to speak to.


----------



## dazaa (Feb 28, 2009)

My Swatch Irony has 4 jewels. Why have jewels in questz movements at all?

dazaa


----------



## mjolnir (Jan 3, 2006)

dazaa said:


> Why have jewels in questz movements at all?


They still have moving parts and so are still used as bearings

A quick quote I found on a website somewhere:



> Jewels have two important properties that help reduce friction. First, they can be made to be very smooth, and therefore they let the metal parts slide easily. Secondly, they are very hard and therefore don't wear down very quickly.


Same principles as in an auto/manual really.


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

What Rob said, but also, if a manufacturer has gone to the bother of making a quartz movement with jewelled bearings, they may well have upgraded the electronics and shell.

Cheap quartz movements are like the old pin pallet (non- jewelled) mechanical movements as fitted to Timex and other brands; they work well but are not the pinnacle of watch technology (Iâ€™m a firm Timex fan).

What disturbs me is that we find expensive (often designer brand) watches with very mediocre quartz movements installed. A good second generation quartz movement (with jewels for bearings) can be had for less than $15, retail.

If anyone still makes a third generation, thermo- compensated movement, it might cost much more than a 2824/2. But if such a movement had been developed and people were really interested in timing accuracy rather than â€œblingâ€ and â€œfashionâ€, and ignored the advertising hype, we could all have been wearing watches accurate to +10 seconds a year with a ten year battery for two hundred quid, or less.

If anyone wants to send me a free Oyster Quartz, Iâ€™d be honoured to wear it.


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

The CWC G10 has the same 7 jewel quartz movement as a Tag, so be honoured wearing that instead, but dont get it wet as they have dodgy water resistance


----------



## watchnutz (Jan 18, 2008)

"Cheap quartz movements are like the old pin pallet (non- jewelled) mechanical movements as fitted to Timex and other brands; they work well but are not the pinnacle of watch technology (Iâ€™m a firm Timex fan)."

Stan,this reply may be slightly off topic but..... The reason 60 year old Timex mechanicals seldom wear out pivots is that Timex developed the V-conic with Armolloy bearings process in war production. Some of those old Timex have seen more hours use than most other watches ever will.

As for quartz analog movements, I just replaced a movement with a bent seconds shaft in a $500 Bulova chronograph with complications for $25!! The crystal had shattered and the impact bent the seconds shaft.

I am no expert on quartz watches (have no use for their lifeless souls :bored: ) but I would suspect the 1 jewel on a quartz analog would be on the main shaft. IMO jewels in a quartz are a selling point. Nobody really works on quartz movements since it is cheaper to just replace them and the pivots are not really what causes most of their problems. That probably also accounts for why the watch houses love to have you send one back to them for service. With modern quartz Timex watches, when you send one back under warranty, they don't even bother to test them. They just bin the entire watch and send a replacement. I have seen large cartons full of binned Timexes with very minor problems such as a pusher spring misplaced.

I suspect the jewel count is strictly because the buying public has been trained to believe that the more jewel count the better the watch. Why else would there be mechanical watches with jewel counts of 25 and up when there is absolutely no need for them? How many jewels are there in watches over 100 years old and still working? 1? 7? They had MUCH more torque on the wheels with their large mainsprings than any modern quartz with a stepper motor.


----------



## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

Some watches are made to last only as long as they are fashionable.

Some watches simply arenâ€™t made to last.

Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion.

Some day, perhaps, all watches will be made this way.

See:






Seiko 7A38 series. *Quartz* Analogue Chronograph. 4 stepper motors; All metal gear train; *15 jewels*.

A nice example of the 7A38-7120 featured in that 1986 Seiko TV advert recently sold on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250486529464


----------



## watchnutz (Jan 18, 2008)

Nice gimmicky commercial! :lol:

LMK if your Seiko is still going 100 years from now.










1886 Elgin, 0 jewels running strong, keeping time. :clap:


----------



## SEIKO7A38 (Feb 12, 2009)

I was under the impression this thread was on the subject of 'Jewelled Quartz Movements' :huh: ....

.... fftopic: *not .... **The Antiques Roadshow*. :lol:


----------



## watchnutz (Jan 18, 2008)

Actually we are both fftopic: . :blush:

Here was the original ?

"Where would that 1 jewel be placed in the movement??"

Maybe we should give the thread back. :cheers:


----------

