Why buy a Quartz watch?

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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DISJT
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by DISJT »

gaf1958 wrote:
gaf1958 wrote:I'm glad to see that most here have been sticking to the subject, answering the question in a reasoned manner and - most importantly - not feeding the troll...
mischaman wrote:Who exactly is this troll you speak of? The one who decided to breathe some life into this forum and spark this conversation? I'm sure you're used to the CW circle jerk but you need to anticipate some people having open and unconventional views.
You've merely confirmed my opinion with this post. I've tried to help you in the past in your other thread (as have many others who you ignored), but you call me a jerk.

Read the forum rules, don't be offensive or abusive. "Open and unconventional views" are actually quite welcome as long as you're civil in the delivery of those views, not dripping with disdain and vitriol.
I think, judging by the lack of a comma only, he wasn't calling you a jerk directly but implying we all sit in a circle and manually pleasure each other? So we're all jerks / jerkers? as well as morons.
I'm still contemplating the irony of being called a moron by this particular poster.

However, he has started an interesting thread, unintentionally, I'm sure.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by DISJT »

Back on topic. I wear a quartz, digital g shock every single day to work because its practical and Bomb proof.
I own numerous analogue quartz watches because I liked the aesthetics of that particular model and prefer hands to digital.
I do however own a Tag Kirium in quartz and spent a long time contemplating why a watch should be soo expensive when its got a £5? piece of electronics under the case.
Mind you, what does an ETA movement actually cost compared to the overall cost of a watch?
So my only real issue with quartz is that they're, imo, over priced in the "luxury brand" market.
Mechanical watches will always astound me, from a purely engineering feat and will therefore always be my purchases that are done with my heart rather than my head.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by Caller »

I have concluded that quartz watches aren't for me.

But that wasn't always the case.

My first watch, bought for me by my father was hand wound, as were all watches at that time. It would have been at the end of my school years that the quartz thing kicked in and everyone was wearing those little watches with brightly lit digits. Probably casio. Feeling left out I bought one, wore it a few times, really didn't like it and went back to my first watch. I never really thought about watches at the time, but I recall when starting work I bought myself a blue dialled hand winding Cronel. One of those Swiss brands that didn't survive the quartz revolution. At some stage I also acquired a blue dialled ????? (cant think of the brand off the top of my head), which was also hand wound and I wore those two watches watches for a long time. They both became battered and bruised. Then I had problems with both and whilst I was considering buying another, Christmas came around and my mother bought me a Pulsar quartz. And I loved it and it lasted me for years. Somewhere, I still have it.

At some stage, I found myself becoming more and more interested in watches but price was a factor and what I really wanted, I couldn't afford. But when I sold my flat I decided to treat myself to a new watch, I bought the Swiss Army Delta from Mappin & Webb, which back in about 1997, cost over £300. It was quartz and I loved it. Then I started looking at Tag and Omega, but both were out of my price range, so I considered a quartz Tag F1. It would have been the most I had ever spent on a watch, but then on a flight from Japan to Australia in 2005, guess what was a duty free special offer? The Tag F1 with a massive discount on the UK price, so I bought it. And those two watches were worn over many years for both work and leisure until I retired.

My retirement present to myself was the orange bezel PO, a watch I had been drooling over for some time - still do - and it was my first automatic and that was that, I got into the whole watch thing and a few more watches came and went, all autos or hand wound until I bought the CW Bluebird. A quartz. In hindsight, I blame this purchase on a visit to the CW showroom. I went there to specifically view the then new Trident and walked out with the Bluebird. Go figure? I loved it, or so I thought, raved about it on here as well. But it soon became an ignored watch and the reason is twofold. I hated the tick-tick-tick and I think I had, still am probably, so lets say I have become a quartz snob / hater - there you go, I admit it. I sold the watch via this forum.

Since then I have bought 3-more quartz watches. :roll:

But I dont like them, really, I think? The first was the Victorinox inox which I would truly love if it was automatic. The next was a Seiko chrono for gym use and walking, but I mainly swim now. The 3rd was a bright yellow dialled, resin cased, tritium lumed watch from a Thai brand called Wise.

I don't wear them. Although as I damaged my Armida that I use to swim in, I have been using the inox as a replacement until I finally get the Armida repaired.

So that's my watch journey - mechanical - digital quartz (and I still really dislike digital watches) - mechanical - quartz (for many years) - mechanical / autos.

I have found my watch nirvana. I appreciate quartz watches and they were very useful to me for many years and it's great that other people love them. But not me. And when I hear of them being described as grab and go beaters, I shudder. How hard is it to grab and go with an auto? My heart just isn't into quartz watches anymore. They're the watch version of a robot while an auto has the beating heart of a human and I will never buy another. I Promise.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by Thegreyman »

mischaman wrote:No offense to anyone here but I think most people that are knowledgeable of watches that see someone with an expensive brand in Quartz on their wrist will think that person is quite frankly a moron. I would go as far as to say they would even pass judgement on them as a person. I would choose to wear a $20 Casio digital watch over anything Quartz, makes you look like much less of a doofus.
Am I missing something here, digital watches are quartz :?
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by DISJT »

Thegreyman wrote:
mischaman wrote:No offense to anyone here but I think most people that are knowledgeable of watches that see someone with an expensive brand in Quartz on their wrist will think that person is quite frankly a moron. I would go as far as to say they would even pass judgement on them as a person. I would choose to wear a $20 Casio digital watch over anything Quartz, makes you look like much less of a doofus.
Am I missing something here, digital watches are quartz :?
Someone's clearly missing something but its certainly not you.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by hughesyn »

Anyone who buys the £ 50,000 Grand Seiko SBGD202 is quite frankly a moron.
I pass judgement on them as a person.
Only a doofus buys an expensive watch with a quartz oscillator.

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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by DISJT »

anyone who has £50,000 to spend on a watch would have my undivided attention as they could definitely teach me a thing or two about finance.

Curious why the watch costs that much tho. Does anyone have an "idiots guide" to Grand Seiko's?
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Post by nordwulf »

hughesyn wrote:Anyone who buys the £ 50,000 Grand Seiko SBGD202 is quite frankly a moron.
I pass judgement on them as a person.
Only a doofus buys an expensive watch with a quartz oscillator.
Anyone who buys any expensive watch is a doofus. The average Rolex is probably 25% actual cost to make, distribute and sell and the other 75% is brand image, store experience and luxury status. The luxury Swiss watch industry created this image of mechanical is good and quartz is cheap. Chr Ward marketing agency was under the same impression.

The transistor radio replaced the tube radio, electronic fuel injection replaced carburettors, Compact Discs replaced records and MP3 replaced the CD. Not many people want to go back using old technology and the luxury watch industry appears an excepetion. It is very enjoyable to drive an old car with carburettors and ignition using a distributor. But they are less efficient, not as powereful and require more regular maintenance. Great to have as a toy for the weekend but not practical in every day use anymore. Same goes for mechanical watches. They are not as accurate and need more expensive regular maintenance. Older techology is often easier to understand by the average person.

If the luxury Swiss watch industry would have perfected quartz technology and the Japanese hadn't, most affluent buyers and enthusiasts would probably drool over the latest solar, atomic-sync and high accuracy quartz watches from Rolex and Omega. And the mechanical watch would be considered old and outdated technology, not really worth considering except as something interesting to wear occasionally.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by MarkingTime »

There's a lot of snobbery in this hobby isn't there?
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by Thegreyman »

^^^well you got me figured...doofus #1

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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by nordwulf »

^^^ nice!

Does it come in quartz with solar charging, atomic-time sync, perputual calendar and automatic hand positioning, scratch resistant titanium case and bracelet all weighing under 100 gr? I would buy one of those for $1000. If not, I'll probably stick with my advanced high-tech Oceanus for half the price.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by Thermexman »

^^^^ Nope. It don't have none of dose tings. But... according to the info on the dial, ya get ta eat oysters forever! Ergo, it feeds the world!!
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by nbg »

scooter wrote:My dislike of quartz watches has been well documented over the past 7 years.

Watches are a bit like people to me.

It's whats on the inside that counts and I prefer automatics because I love the mechanical side of things.

I understand however that many like those powered by other sources and am happy for the pleasure they derive from that.

It's quite a contentious thread and bound to polarise opinion.

scooter
Well scooter you did say the thread was quite contentious. It now seems to be developing into a thread in which anyone who buys an expensive watch is a doofus! :shock:

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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by scooter »

scooter, smiling.
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Re: Why buy a Quartz watch?

Post by ProfGlenn »

This is a great thread! I said before on a different thread.....mechanical is romantic. Like a bottle of wine. With a cork. A quartz is like a screwcap wine or a bottle of beer. They both have their place, although I drink neither now.

After advice on this forum telling me of the importance of quartz and helping me to realise my turning my nose up at quartz was just not sensible, as I would miss out on good watches, I bought the old C7 in the sale. I tried, I really really tried. For days. In the end I had to take it off and send it back and get an auto back on. I've got 16 winders so my grab and go is usually an auto.

I bought a cheap Fossil quartz for the gym. I tried for days. In the end, I gave up and reverted to my "beater" which is a hand wound mechanical alarm Poljot, which I had regulated recently for a fiver and which I think is a fantastic watch - so much so that it is like an extension of my personal self. It's great when you get a watch (and mechanical at that) that you can throw anything at and it never lets you down.

I've tried. Mechanical watches are like, alive. Like a heartbeat. A quartz is like a pacemaker. Sometimes they are needed too, of course.

Where is the romance in a quartz? I mean, there just isn't any.

A mechanical watch is a romantic piece of art and a scientific piece of engineering. Says a very unromantic divorced professor of engineering.

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