# Quartz movements -which ones are best?



## bridgeman

If you buy a Quartz watch, what do you consider when it comes to the movement.?,number of jewels? Maker?

I know next to nothing about the quality of these movements and have avoided them but now find a strange attraction.

what about the older Quartz ones?


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## Guest

i like the upmarket ETA's 252.262 for example and the Ronda Startech's [5030/5040 etc] both can be repaired and serviced and IMO not that expensive for what you are getting, japanese are a different story in that they seem to use a lot of plastic components like gears and bridges etc, but seem to be just as reliable as anything else..just not fun to repair :thumbdown: they are totally different animals though so hard to compare, but move on to the Seiko 9F movement and they may as well be alien tech :yes:


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## xellos99

Apparently when Seiko first started making quartz watches they made totally over engineered ones with an all metal or very near all metal design, 5 or 7 jewels and magnetic shields etc. Then they learnt what they could make cheaper and cheaper with plastic and new solutions. You should probably go vintage for a 7 jewel one or look for high end ETA ones.


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## PC-Magician

Citizen A660

Older Quartz

Omega Megaquartz (Cal. 1310) I have one.


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## Peixian

I am new to this matter. as for this question, I also want to learn more. haha ...

maybe some experienced person would provide the information.


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## Bluehase284

Quartz? I thought real watches used Ruby? :laugh:


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## Badger

The Bulova Precisionist and Accutron II are rather good. I love the sweeping seconds hands - much smoother than anything else out there, and that includes mech watches.

Egdas

Dave


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## BondandBigM

I think about it along the lines of both a Skoda and a Rolls Royce have engines with pistons that go up and down but are worlds apart. I don't doubt even in the quartz watch world it will be along the same lines.


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## tixntox

BondandBigM said:


> I think about it along the lines of both a Skoda and a Rolls Royce have engines with pistons that go up and down but are worlds apart. I don't doubt even in the quartz watch world it will be along the same lines.


 They run on lines? Like trains? :biggrin:


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## BondandBigM

tixntox said:


> They run on lines? Like trains? :biggrin:


 :laugh: :laugh:










:biggrin:


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## Always"watching"

I have been collecting quartz watches avidly for quite some time and opening cases of quartz watches can be quite an eye-opener. Some watches that look fine on the outside sometimes have crappy plastic movements of the no-name variety, while others that seem to be as cheap as chips will be found sporting a perfectly good Miyota metal movement. I agree with xellos99 about the early Seiko quartz movements, which have a number of jewels and seem to be of good quality, and the upmarket ETA quartz movements. I must also just reply to Bluehaze284 here, to confirm that many quartz movements contain rubies, some of them containing a considerable number of jewels.

It is sometimes said that quartz movements are somehow "soulless" when compared to mechanical movements, but I am not sure that I agree with this. It is true that there are certain "workhorse" quartz movements that seem to turn up time after time in all sorts of watches, but there are other movements which give one a little lift when they are encountered in a watch. Certainly, at the top of the quartz movement tree, there are some real beauties, and these include hand-made movements that are a genuine part of the watchmaker's art.

For me, one of the real "victories" of the quartz era has been the ability to produce inexpensive yet effective analogue chronograph movements that can be used on watches down to a tenth of a second or so. These movements have been widely used to produce many very nice watches, and the cost difference between a perfectly good quartz analogue chronograph and a mechanical example is very high.

I have met so many different quartz movements in watches, including the various examples from Seiko Group, Casio, Miyota/Citizen, Ronda, ETA, etc.. that I cannot say that I have particular favourites among the cheaper varieties from these firms. I do have certain watches that contain upmarket quartz movements, and these I jokingly call my "deep quartz" watches because although they are powered by quartz movements, they still have "soul".

I have mentioned analogue quartz chronographs, but one must not forget the digital revolution that went hand-in-=hand with the development of quartz movements. Some of the best quartz movements are to be found in digital watches, or combination analogue/digital watches.

So finally, what do I look for in a quartz movement. Well, I like to find movements with metal casings and with company and calibre details impressed on them as well as country of origin. Also, being old-fashioned and having a mechanical heritage, I do like to see jewels in my analogue quartz movements, preferably 5 or more. Having said that, my experience of quartz watches seems to confirm the idea that some of the cheaper no-jewel quartz movements are surprisingly reliable and accurate, and as long as battery leakage, water-ingress, and overt damage is prevented, even cheap quartz watches can go on working fine for many years.

So I would say to collectors, never pass up a good quartz watch at the right price, even if like myself, mechanical watches are somehow always at the heart of your collection.


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## Dave955i

Hello

My story.

I have only started my watch collection a couple of years ago after I lost a watch while riding my motorcycle, and decided to look for a fairly decent watch.

After buying a rotary Quartz and seeing the other watches in the jewellers, I became interested in mechanical watches as they seemed to be ones to buy. I bought a vintage Royce winder and then a Bulova automatic with a 2824/2 movement.

I realised that if I wanted the best Swiss made watches, it would cost a small fortune so I set out checking Quartz movements.

I spoke with a very good jeweller and he was kind enough to let me see a few of the top Quartz watches when I paid him a visit.

I looked at Tag heuer , longines, ebel and a few other really nice watches but the watch I settled on was a Grand Seiko Quartz with the 9F movement. I had read about the movement in the watch forums and the great reviews.

It was not just the movement accuracy that made me pick the Grand Seiko but the superb quality of the finish seemed to be a step up from the other watches. Having now owned the watch for a year, the only fault I can find is that the polished finish is so good, it shows up any finger marks. With an accuracy of +/- 4 seconds for the year , I am very pleased with my purchase and although I cannot afford the mechanical watches I like .I feel that I have possibly bought one of the best Quartz watches.

thanks for reading

Dave


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## gimli

Here is the movement of a beautiful Seiko Chronograph with moonphase that I wanted to buy but it was a little too expensive. It's an 80s watch (7a48-7000 movement 15 jewels!!!).

Also keep in mind that Seiko made the first quartz watches in 1969. So they're (or used to be, at least) good stuff. This is what a quartz should look like.


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## bridgeman

gimli said:


> Here is the movement of a beautiful Seiko Chronograph with moonphase that I wanted to buy but it was a little too expensive. It's an 80s watch (7a48-7000 movement 15 jewels!!!).
> 
> Also keep in mind that Seiko made the first quartz watches in 1969. So they're (or used to be, at least) good stuff. This is what a quartz should look like.


 It looks like a lot of metal rather than plastic,so very solid but under the plate must be cogs that turn around the 15 jewels .

good post ,will look up that movement.


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## xellos99

After a little reading up, there is super accurate thermo compensated ones that can be within 5 seconds a year.

One of them being the A660 by Citizen, another is Seiko 9F62.

I don't know if there best but to me thermo compensation seems like a super quartz.


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## gimli

Here's a pic of it without the main metal plate (whatever you'd call it...). Definitely the type of movement that can be restored/repaired.










And a pic of the watch I wanted to get.


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## Gonville Bromhead

Hi chaps,

No debate about the quality of the Grand Seiko Quartz 9F movement or the early Seiko movements. Great pieces of kit.

However, if it were me I would look at any of the ETA 955 series 7 jewel movements (ie the 955.112) In my experience they are extremely accurate (+ 1 second a month) and incredibly good value for the money. The 955.112 was the ebauche for Omega, Sinn, Tutima and CWC back in the day. They are still available for a reasonably modest price.

The key is to find out 'what's inside.'

Unfortunately most modern Swiss quartz watches contain a Ronda (ie the 715LI). They do have the advantage of a 5 year (as opposed to a 2-3 year) battery life. However, in all other respects that are not a patch on the ETA 955s in this chap's opinion. Another example - applied to technology - of Gresham's Law in operation.


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## gimli

I'd like to get more into (quality) quartz movements. And yeah, probably the swiss ETAs and rondas are much higher quality. Can you post some accessible movements for us ? I'd like to see some. Been thinking of getting a quartz omega but haven't found any good looking (and affordable) vintages yet. What about Longines, are the vintage quartzes any good ?

I'd also like to know what are the usualy problems that such quartzes have ? My father is an electrician/engineer and he could help out if I would ever need. Of course if parts replacing is required, that would be a different story, I guess.


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