Quartz vs Mechanical

The first quartz watch was released in 1969 and introduced a fundamental change to the watch market. People quickly came to favour quartz watches over traditional mechanical watchmaking for several reasons: because they have fewer moving parts, they are more durable and experience less wear and tear. Similarly, they are also 100% reliable, take up significantly less space (allowing for a smaller watch case) and cheaper to produce. 

In the 70s and 80s, when traditional Swiss watchmaking was still in its heyday, the continued rise of quartz watches posed a very real threat. The focus began shifting to big Asian names like Seiko and Casio, who were at the forefront of the new frontier. Digital watch faces came hand-in-hand with this development and the general hyper-digital trend taking place in the 80s.

 

 

So why does anyone still use mechanical movements? Well, for the same reason people still listen to records - appreciation for the craft. Watch enthusiasts love their mechanical watches and love the ins and outs of how they are made, what makes them work, and keeping them in great shape.

 

Our latest watch, the Neo, is also an automatic mechanical watch, one of the many things our watch-enthusiast customers love about it. It’s only our second foray into mechanical watchmaking, following the Automatic version of our beloved Commuter, a series that normally sports a quartz movement. Our quartz watches continue to delight with their reliability, size, great design, and accessible prices.

Speaking of quartz, expect to see something exciting soon...