Lets talk about watches…

Manufacturers have committed their efforts to developing watches specialised for a variety of environments. When it comes to watches, there are three main types of movement: mechanical, automatic, and quartz.

Although mechanical and automatic watches are much more expensive than quartz watches, shockingly, they are also much less accurate than quartz movement. Mechanical and automatic watches have been known to lose up to 15 seconds per day.

BaselWorld is a yearly event where watch manufacturers showcase their latest technology and design.

Mechanical Movement

The second hand sweeps across the dial.

They have to be manually wound at least once daily on average. This type of watch is constantly being improved; it represents an intricate balance that is a true culmination of art and science. A well-made mechanical timepiece will last a number of generations, often cherished as a family heirloom, being handed down by a father to his child.

Hardcore watch collectors love this movement.

This year, Omega’s limited edition entry to BaselWorld is a mechanical movement watch known as the “Moon Watch.” It commemorates the watch worn by Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission – the first watch on the moon.

Automatic Movement

The second hand also sweeps across the dial.

Automatic movement is similar to mechanical movement but with one very important exception: it does not require manual winding.

These watches employ a weighted, off-centre rotor that spins as you move your wrist, which in turn, operates a mechanism that winds the watch automatically.

In addition to the classic automatic watches, there are also automatic quartz watches which utilize kinetic energy and, in some cases, solar energy to operate. Mr Ku’s Seiko Kinetic is one such example.

Automatic quartz is a collective term describing watch movements that combine a self-winding rotor mechanism (as used in automatic mechanical watches) to generate electricity with a piezoelectric quartz crystal as its timing element. Such movements aim to provide the advantages of quartz without the environmental impact of batteries.

This would be the ideal watch to be stranded on a deserted island with, as the automatic movement will not stop running unless you stop wearing it.

The most iconic automatic movement watch, known popularly as the “James Bond Watch”, the Rolex Submariner.

Quartz Movement

You can easily spot a quartz movement by its ticking second hand.

Unlike mechanical and automatic watches, quartz watches generally have very few moving parts. They were invented by Seiko in 1959. Seiko is the only watch brand that creates every detail of its watches in-house.

Using a replaceable battery as its source of power, the quartz movement is primarily used in less-expensive timepieces.

Oddly enough, even the cheapest children’s watches that use quartz movements are still on average ten times more accurate than that of a mechanical watch.

Watch collectors usually despise Quartz movements, but Seiko has a range of really good quality watches using this particular movement.

The Seiko 7C46 is also known as “The Tuna” due to its resemblance to the tinned fish.

Isn't the 7c46 just another quartz movement? Absolutely not.

Its movement is extremely reliable and very ruggedly built using all metal components.

The movement allows the watch to be perfectly synchronized for extreme accuracy.

They contain the best quartz movement in the world.