Fashion watch and accessories

Mechanical, Quartz Movements and Parallel Technologies

Oct 09, 2006

Timepieces definitely play a great role in our lives. As time flies by, people whether enjoy having all the time they need or are frustrated because of its lack. Nevertheless to follow the minutes and hours of our time we need to wear watches.

Surely some prefer having their time displayed on cell phones or iPods but there is a special category that consists of various enthusiasts and collectors that enjoy the marvelous works of art manufactured by the talented watchmakers that studied the art of creating timepieces in accordance with the strict Swiss standards.

Swiss Standards

Swiss standards refer mainly to precise timekeeping and high quality materials that ensure durability of a watch as well as resistance under high pressure. Switzerland is the home of various watch artists like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Franck Muller and many more.

Besides the Swiss brands there are such well-known watch manufacturers like Glashutte Original and Bvlgari which are situated in Germany and Italy respectively but which create their timepieces taking into consideration the strict rules of the Swiss watchmaking industry.

All in all the companies that design their timepieces using the Swiss standards are highly appreciated thanks to the complicated movements, modern designs, various innovations and exclusive designs of their creations. For several centuries Switzerland was the home of mechanical movements but times changed and in 1980s the mechanical watch industry was at the edge of its collapse when the cheap and precise quartz movements from Asian countries invaded the market.

Flexibility

Several companies strived to adapt to the new market. Besides creating mechanical timepieces, they started new lines of quartz watches. The main companies that made this decision were those that have much in common with the world of sports. Some examples are: TAG Heuer and Porsche Design. The watchmaking industry was divided into companies that created quartz watches, those that remained dedicated to the Swiss mechanical movement tradition and those that started creating both types of movements.

Mechanical Movements Production

The production of mechanical movements started several centuries ago in Switzerland. Watches that included this particular movement work with the help of various small component parts and spring that interact inside a small case. Their interaction allows the mechanical watch to show time. Although the production of mechanical watches continue today their creators design these watches for wealthy people their prices being quite high.

The mechanical movements can be powered by the kinetic power or power of the spring. The former works with the help of the wearer's motions, thus when the wearer moves the arm, it turns a rotating weight which then is the one that supplies the watch generator with power. The latter was invented back in the 18th century by Breguet and it works with the help of the mainspring.

Mechanical Watches

There are a lot of famous brands that manufacture purely mechanical movements but the most remarkable from the historical point of view are Vacheron Constantin, which is not only the oldest watch brand, the roots of which date back to 1755, but also the author of the most complicated wristwatches in the world entitled Tour De l'Ile having 16 different complications made of 834 component parts and having the price of 1.5 million dollars.

Patek Philippe – is a company that created the first wristwatch, but which was only designed for women, and also the most complicated pocket watch which included 1,728 parts and 33 complications and Cartier – the creator of the first man's wristwatch and the designer of the most magnificent lines of timepieces for women.

The Girard-Perregaux tourbillon movements stand out due to their quality and rarity, especially those with the matchless layout under three golden bridges.

Besides simple mechanical watches there are timepieces that are called complications because they not only display the time but also include other functions like the chronograph, which is a feature that allows the timepiece to work as a stop watch, and moon phase indicator - a feature which allows the timepiece to show the position of the moon.

Quartz Watches

As for the quartz watches then these are the timepiece the mechanism of which is powered by a battery. Thus the watch does not need to be winded since the energy for its work is provided by the battery. The tiny battery supplies the mechanism of the watch with energy for about a year, and then it needs to be changed. The most commonly used types of batteries are silver-oxide and lithium.

Today not only the Japanese create quartz watches like it was during the period of 1970s and 1980s. The Swiss manufacturers design the battery powered watches as well. One of the most famous Swiss producers of quartz timepieces is TAG Heuer. Its Formula 1 collection of quartz timepieces is very famous among collectors and sportsmen.

Meca-Quartz

Besides the mechanical and quartz movement there is another revolutionary type of movement which is created using the two technologies at the same time. It is so-called parallel technology movement or meca-quartz. The latter represents a quartz movement that includes many mechanical parts. Today the Swiss watch manufacturers create a number of timepieces in which the parallel technology was applied among them being Jaeger Le Coultre with its Caliber 631, which is a movement that uses the electric power of the battery to display the hours, minutes and seconds and at the same time mechanically allows the timepiece to display the chronograph function.

Although the mechanical timepieces are not created mainly to achieve ultimate accuracy, they represent a work of art which was accurately hand-crafted by several people. These watches represent the tradition of watchmaking and the history of mechanical evolution.

Example of a Timepiece with a Meca-Quartz Movement

A full characteristic of a meca-quartz Titanium Porsche Design Moonphase Chronograph is given below in order to understand how it works and what it includes.

The watch was created by the International Watchmaking Company. The timepiece was created in way so it could combine the style of a mechanical watch with the precision timekeeping of a quartz one. The design of the watch is universal and it can be worn at any occasion. The meca-quartz movement of the watch is manufactured by Jaeger LeCoultre.

The case and the bracelet of the watch are made of titanium. The bracelet itself has a safety clasp. You may also find a sapphire crystal on the watch.

The functions of the watch include: a moonphase and 3 subregisters. The timepiece is also six atmospheres water resistant.

The innovative JLC Calibre 631 movement represents a mechanical chrono module combined with a quartz movement with the help of stepper motors.

The watch includes 222 mechanical component parts as well as 25 jewels. This means that the Titanium Porsche Design Moonphase Chronograph has more parts that any other automatic timepiece.

The two applied parallel technologies allowed the construction of the watch to reduce its thickness twice than any other automatic watch. The meca-quartz movement makes the watch so precise that its deviation is only one second per month.

This watch is a perfect example of the breakthrough in the industry of watchmaking.

Parallel Analysis

In order to understand the advantages and disadvantages of quartz and mechanical timepieces there is a need of a comparative analysis.

A quartz watch is certainly more precise and shock resistant than a mechanical watch but it is still vulnerable. The main thing that protects quartz watches from damage is their small number of components inside the case. The less protected spots of a quartz watch are the stepper motor and the quartz crystal package.

As for the mechanical watch then there are much more vulnerable spots like: the cap jewels of the balance wheel, the balance staff, and also there are some parts that refer to the timepiece's escapement. The common vulnerabilities in both types of watches are in the case and crystal.

Other advantages of quartz watches are: a better maintenance of water resistance; a resistance to the magnetic field, which in its turn can seriously damage a mechanical timepiece. The magnetic field mainly damages the permanent magnets that are situated in the stepper motor. It can depolarize or partly reorient them.

However the mechanical watch is resistant to strong electrostatic discharges as well as RF electromagnetic fields. The CMOS logic chip which is present at the quartz watches as well as the stepper drivers can be easily damaged. Any existing microcircuit can have serious problems if affected by the Electromagnetic Pulse effect together with nuclear detonations. But you shouldn't worry about that because any watch would rather be broken by a rough treatment than be hit by EMP.

As concerning the age of the watch - the mechanical one is much more durable than the quartz is. The mechanical timepiece has all its parts protected from moisture and chemical contaminants which provide a slower aging. Some mechanical watches today are over 200 years and are still running.

The quartz timepieces, however, include mechanisms that are not as durable as the parts of a mechanical watch. Batteries inside, when deteriorating, are damaging the electrical components inside the quartz watch.

But it doesn't mean that these watches are not durable, the fact is that they cannot last as long as the mechanical ones, they can run 20, 30 years or even for a longer period of time. In the end: quartz timepieces are more precise and less complicated – thus more resistant; the mechanical have their advantages that refer to the electromagnetic resistance and slower aging.