Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

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teestech
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by teestech »

missF wrote:my obsession levels don't yet seem to be wired to my credit card...... :lol:
Please explain to the rest of us how you've managed this!!!
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by spacebrother »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: 1514: "What hour sheweth thy new-fangled clock-watch, sirrah?" "Marry, my lady, 'tis some three hours since noon."

1714: "Have you the correct Time, Sir?" "Indeed, Madam, it wants some ten Minutes to three o' the Clock"

2014: "Got the time, please, mate?" "Yeah, love, two-forty-nine and thirty-eight seconds."
2214: "Time?" "7718598584"
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missF
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by missF »

teestech wrote:
missF wrote:my obsession levels don't yet seem to be wired to my credit card...... :lol:
Please explain to the rest of us how you've managed this!!!

hmmmm.......tell you what - i'll figure it out and get back to you - then sell you it in a bottle!
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by smegwina »

missF wrote:
teestech wrote:
missF wrote:my obsession levels don't yet seem to be wired to my credit card...... :lol:
Please explain to the rest of us how you've managed this!!!

hmmmm.......tell you what - i'll figure it out and get back to you - then sell you it in a bottle!
Mine have to go through a wife. That seems to be a pretty effective firewall! :)
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by hughesyn »

missF wrote::oops:

Why the need for Chronometer certification for quartz watches? I thought that quartz watches were 'very' accurate anyway?

Can you regulate a quartz watch? The quartz crystal has its own resonating frequency in-built - I thought it was for this reason that quartz was used in watches in the first place?

Sorry - i'm more WI than WIS, as you know......
Normal quartz watches are not 'very' accurate: 15 seconds / month is pretty poor in my opinion.

My personal rule of thumb is that I don't mind my watch being up to 2 minutes out, but ideally less than 1 minute.

With a decent mechanical watch at 6 sec / day this means adjusting the time every couple of weeks - tolerable but still a pain.
A bog standard quartz at 15 sec / month requires adjusting twice a year.
A high end quartz at 5 or 10 sec / year means adjusting every few years.

'Normal' quartz is ok, but not as good as thermocompensated quartz.

There is something magical about a watch that hits the time perfectly. My cars have GPS sync time display in them, and I find myself checking my watch against it when driving (safely). With mechanical watches I daily check how far out they are, but with my HAQ Citizen it is so far bang on, which is nice.
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by missF »

hughesyn wrote: There is something magical about a watch that hits the time perfectly.
i hear you. i've just never really considered it that way before because i felt the drive for accuracy was more obsessive than i could ever lay claim to! i've never seen 'magic' and 'accuracy' in the same sentence before! but having read the article that downer linked to i can now understand a bit of the incredible workings behind the 'magic', and why that might be fascinating for some (and an absolute requirement for others!).
hughesyn wrote:My personal rule of thumb.....
there's the thing i guess - v personal 'settings' for everyone! my automatic drifts 'a bit fast', which causes me no great pain. then - every time i adjust the date i reset the time! this sort of behaviour may unhinge some people!
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by Lavaine »

downer wrote:When we did the "quartz challenge", I was quite surprised about the relative inaccuracy of a lot of quartz watches. I always assumed they were all very accurate, but a gain/loss of 10 seconds/month was not unheard of...
I'd have been ok with 10 seconds / month. My C4 was -29 seconds! I still don't see a need for ANY COSC certified movement. A piece of paper doesn't add any value to a properly regulated quality movement. Having said that, my SM mid is COSC certified, and I'm ok with that, as all SM's are COSC. However, I would not pay extra for it if a non-COSC 'top' movement was available.
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by Boydesian »

The Accutron II Precisionist movement is a viable alternative to a COSC certified movement. Highly accurate at a fraction of the cost. Personally, despite my bias towards mechanical and automatic movements, a quartz chronograph makes perfect sense.
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by downer »

^^ One of these days, they will put a Precisionist movement in an attractive, decently-sized case. Hasn't happened so far IMO.
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by Galton321 »

Thank you Downer, the article has completely changed my views about quartz watches. :)
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Re: Quartz Chronometer? a WI question......

Post by hughesyn »

downer wrote:^^ One of these days, they will put a Precisionist movement in an attractive, decently-sized case. Hasn't happened so far IMO.
Citizen will not sell them outside the group. Eddie at Time Factors asked them if they will sell the P102 movement and they said no. Also they would not sell the A660 high accuracy movement (presumably not the newer A010 either).
He is going to use the ISA 9500-1010 'sweep second' movement instead. Not high accuracy and battery life is not fantastic due to the extra movement of the second hand (4 steps per second).
C8 Pilot Mk II Vintage; C5 Quartz Mk II; C4 'Phoenix', C5 MMXV FLE, C7 Automatic Chronograph
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