Quartz Watch Movement Basics

In most swiss made watches, a quartz watch movement or an electronic technology is used in the making of analogue quartz watches, which are sometimes combined with a digital display.

These watches are battery operated, and make up the majority of all watches produced (around 90% of Swiss exports). In an analogue quartz watch, the heart lies in the integrated circuit. This is made up of various electronic components, which have been grouped together on a base which is only a few millimetres in size.

A good analogue quartz watch will run off a battery that will last for several years. The time is divided by a quartz oscillator (an electronic circuit designed to produce a stable alternating voltage or current).

This is made to vibrate by the energy supplied by the battery. This means that analogue quartz watch movements are very accurate due to the high frequency they pulsate at.

In fact, their annual variation is only about one minute per year – that’s less than a second a day! There are two main styles of Swiss electronic watch: a watch with an analogue display (hands), and a watch with a digital display.

Watches with digital displays are fitted with liquid crystals which receive impulses from the integrated system so that they can display the time in numbers.

There are many companies who manufacture electronic watches (which are mainly machine made). In fact, these types of watches are becoming evermore popular in the modern day. One mass-producer of these watches is Casio, which, although not a Swiss watch manufacturer, does manufacture watches for sale in this country, along with many others.

Their watches, while not top of the range, are of a good price and sturdy quality. You can expect to pay anything from $20 to a couple of hundred dollars for a Casio watch. If you are looking for an affordable swiss watch, Wenger better known for their swiss army knife is always a good choice, as the average watch price is around $200.

As always, the watch makers with good quartz watch movement that outstrip all others in their field are Breitling, Rolex, and Tag Heuer. Much of the time, you are paying for the brand name and the superficial appearance of the watch, as opposed to the accuracy of the timekeeping.

If you are you ready to buy watches online, let us tell you where and how to buy.