What is a Quartz Movement?
Quartz watches are essentially battery powered watches. The battery sends an electrical current through a small quartz crystal, which electrifies it and creates vibrations. The vibrating crystal drives a motor that moves the hands and powers any additional functions such as dual time or a chronograph.
History of the Swiss Quartz Watch
During the 16th century, Western European refugees entered Switzerland to escape religious persecution and brought their clock and watchmaking skills with them. The Swiss watch industry slowly gained traction and Geneva earned a reputation for high-quality watchmaking.
Prior to the 1970S, the Swiss watch industry had a claim on 50% of the world watch market, until Seiko, a Japanese watch company, introduced the first quartz wristwatch and called it “the Astron”.
Quartz movements became increasingly popular, and, by 1978 the Swiss watchmaking industry was in a period of what is now known as the “Quartz Crisis”. Swiss brands began going out of business, and finally in 1983, ETA SA movement company developed an incredibly inexpensive Swiss quartz movement, under the direction of Nicholas G. Hayek. Within two years, Swiss watch brands were offering quartz watches, alongside their mechanical pieces.
Swiss vs. Japanese Movements
Japanese movements can offer lower prices, but Swiss-made watches have centuries of heritage to back them up. The Swiss have been creating clocks and timepieces since the 16thcentury, whereas the Japanese movement gain traction until the 20th century. The Japanese have found a solution for lower-priced watches; however, Swiss movements are still considered to be the highest standard of quality.
Suivos movements come from ETA, the largest and most recognized manufacturer of Swiss movements in Switzerland. Our movements are energy efficient and allow the battery life of our watches to last 10 years.
Benefits of a Swiss Quartz Watch Movement
Superior Accuracy
A quartz crystal always oscillates at the same frequency, resulting in exceptional accuracy. Some Swiss quartz movements boast several times more accuracy than standard quartz movements.
More Affordable
Quartz watches are battery powered and therefore require less parts, resulting in a more affordable product.
Minimal Maintenance
There’s no need to worry about winding or solar exposure, quartz movements only require battery replacements. In our case, battery replacements are required every 10 years compared to other normal watches that require baterry replacements after one or two years.
More Durable
Quartz watches have fewer moving parts compared to mechanical watches, which mitigates the number of things that could require repair. A quartz watch can run for a lifetime.
Ultra-long Battery Life
Automatic watches have an autonomy of 40 hours to 7 days. Smart watches need to be recharged every few days. Quartz watches normally require a new battery after two years compared to Suivos timepieces that have 10 years of autonomy without any battery change.
