The Difference Between Automatic & Quartz Watches

Automatic

Quartz

Many articles can be found via google on the difference between mechanical and quartz watches. The basics are:

1. Mechanical watches either need hand winding or movement (automatic movements) to keep them running while Quartz uses batteries which need to be swapped every 3-10 years depending on the model

2. Accuracy of mechanicals tend to be no better then +6/-4 seconds per day (for a very good COSC certified watch) whereas your average wal-mart quartz will do +/- 1 second a day and your superquartz Breitling (or any other thermocompensated quartz watch) will be good within 15 seconds annually.

3. Cost: Mechanical watches tend to require more maintenance every 4-6 years, this is complicated and involves taking the entire movement (watch mechanism) apart and reassembling it with new oil, most quartz will run for decades with battery changes (some expensive quartz watches need more care).

4. Value: Quartz watches tend to lose value more quickly than mechanical, however, most mid-tiered luxury mechanicals (tag heuer, Breitling, omega) tend to have a resale value of 1/3 their retail price.

There's a lot more to this by the way.