Know Your Watch: The Case for Quartz - Augustman
Augustman Logo
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
E-Magazine
Most Trending
Know Your Watch: The Case for Quartz
Most Recent
Know Your Watch: The Case for Quartz
Most Trending
Inspired By The Royal Albert Hall, The Mido Belluna Royal Is A Classic Timepiece With A British Twist
Most Recent
Garmin Launches A New Wearable Tailored For Esports Gamers
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Grooming
Most Trending
The Lowdown On Zack Snyder’s Justice League And Where To Watch It On 18 March
Most Recent
Where To Find Upcycled Furniture And Homeware In Singapore
  • Design
  • Events
  • Art
  • Music
  • Film & TV
Most Trending
The Helicopter Celebrates 100 Years, Here’s How It Helped Change The World
Most Recent
What’s New In The 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  • Tech
  • Motoring
Most Trending
The Best Vintages Of Brunello di Montalcino To Add To Your Cellar
Most Recent
Could This Be The World’s Oldest Mass Production Brewery? Egypt Thinks So
  • Dining
  • Drinks
Most Trending
These Are Asia’s Most Stunning Mangrove Forests
Most Recent
The New Air France In-Flight Safety Video Will Make You Miss Paris And Flying
  • Travel Guides
  • Hotels & Resorts
Most Trending
Nourishing Superfoods To Add To Your Diet This 2021
Most Recent
Amp Up Your Home Gym With These Designer Fitness Equipment
  • Fitness
  • Health
Most Trending
Uncover Mindful Living with AUGUSTMAN x LIFESTYLEASIA
Most Recent
Social Entrepreneur Josh Tetrick of Eat Just Talks Sustainability And The Future of Food
  • Men of the Year
  • MVMT
  • August Mentors
  • A-Listers
  • Hit List
  • sg
    • MY
    • SG
  • Search
Know Your Watch: The Case for Quartz
Sort & Filter
Close Filter
Sort By
Date
Relevance
Filter By Category
All Categories
All
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
Apply
Filter By Location
singapore
All Countries
Style
Garmin Launches A New Wearable Tailored For Esports Gamers
Style
Inspired By The Royal Albert Hall, The Mido Belluna Royal Is A Classic Timepiece With A British Twist
Style
Catch The Onitsuka Tiger FW21 Presentation at Milan Fashion Week
Augustman Logo
sg
Know Your Watch: The Case for Quartz
Back
All  Style
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Grooming
Back
All  Culture
  • Design
  • Events
  • Art
  • Music
  • Film & TV
Back
All  Gear
  • Tech
  • Motoring
Back
All  Food & Drink
  • Dining
  • Drinks
Back
All  Travel
  • Travel Guides
  • Hotels & Resorts
Back
All  Wellness
  • Fitness
  • Health
Back
All  AM Select
  • Men of the Year
  • MVMT
  • August Mentors
  • A-Listers
  • Hit List
E-Magazine
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Sort & Filter
Close Filter
Sort By
Date
Relevance
Filter By Category
All Categories
All
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
Apply
Filter By Location
singapore
All Countries
Style

Know Your Watch: The Case for Quartz

Sean Mossadeg
17 May 2017
Article Hero Image
Trending Now
The New Air France In-Flight Safety Video Will Make You Miss Paris And Flying
TravelRead More
Where To Find Upcycled Furniture And Homeware In Singapore
CultureRead More
What’s New In The 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
GearRead More
Garmin Launches A New Wearable Tailored For Esports Gamers
StyleRead More
What's up in the world of fashion, jewellery and watches? Sign up to receive it all.

I must confess – in my earlier days of learning about timepieces, I fell victim to the allure of the mechanical watch. Hard. I raved constantly to friends, “It’s not a real watch till it’s made by hand.” The militant-hipster in me loved the idea of the human touch in a watch and balked at the idea of quartz-powered timepieces, deeming them “too artificial.” It’s a completely naive mindset, of course. After a while, you learn that in the grand scheme of things, there is an occasion for every watch – mechanical or otherwise.

Take my recent reservist cycle for example. When you’re knee deep in the jungle and looking to tell the time, chances are a Breguet isn’t going to do much for you. Fortunately, my Casio G-Shock sat on my wrist, telling time like a champ while looking great. 

Around me, every other NSman had one version of a Casio or another. It’s not just the G-Shock’s ability to withstand shocks and resist anything you throw at it. It is the reliability. 

In a quartz-powered watch, function takes over form. While the traditional mechanical watch is a work of art and beauty, the quartz watch represents ingenuity and actual progress in the science of timekeeping. Since its inception in the ’70s, quartz timepieces have established themselves as the pinnacle of precision. While a COSC-certified mechanical watch keeps itself to an accuracy of +6/-4 seconds a day, the average quartz watch comes in at +/-2 seconds a day. 

Because of how precise these movements are, the race for more precision in quartz watches hasn’t quite been improved on much. A rare number of brands have been working on the niche progression of quartz.

A recent breakthrough in this realm has been the Longines Conquest VHP timepiece (pictured above). Its biggest selling point is obviously accuracy so while +/-2 a day is great, the Conquest VHP is promising +/-5 seconds in a year. Longines reworked the system and included temperature compensated crystal oscillators that help to regulate the temperature in order to keep the timepiece as accurate as possible. Other features include a gear position detection system that realigns the hands should they be displaced by a shock or a strong magnetic field, a perpetual calendar, and a five-year battery life. The watch marks Longines’ re-entry into the small world of high-end quartz, having been instrumental in pushing boundaries with partners Asulab back in the late ’70s and ’80s. 

The high-end quartz world isn’t large but one of our favourites from this segment was Omega’s Speedmaster Spacemaster Z-33 (above) that debuted a few years back. Because it was so reliable and offered a myriad of alarm functions, the Z-33 was the choice of a few astronauts. The timepiece also used a thermo-compensated quartz movement and featured two LCD screens for ease of reading. Omega’s initial line-up of high-end quartz timepieces actually mirrored Breitling’s own Superquartz movements. Both brands utilised thermo-compensated components and guarantee a +/-10 seconds difference in a year. Unfortunately, Omega has since cut down on its high-end quartz line to one or two novelties every two or three years, concentrating instead on integrating its Master Chronometer mechanical movements.

On the other hand, Breitling recently released the new Colt Skyracer (above) that uses the Breitling 74 SuperQuartz movement. While we love the calibre powering the piece, we think its biggest strength is the crisp modern look – a black, red and white colour scheme. Beyond visual aesthetics, the case material for the Colt Skyracer is in Breitling’s own proprietary Breitlight, making the watch super lightweight and sturdy. 

If you’re still balking at the idea of quartz timepieces after this, you’re honestly missing out. If innovation is a driving factor in your love for timepieces, quartz movements are great additions to any serious watch collection.

This article was first featured in the April issue of AUGUSTMAN

Longines
Watches
Omega
Breitling
Watch Industry
Sean Mossadeg
Talk to Me About:

Up Next For You

Laying Rubber: The Nike SB Dunk Gulf Is Perfect For Motorsports Fans
Richard Augustin
Style
"Escape" Into The Animal Kingdom Digitally With The Burberry Fall/Winter 2021 Collection
Amos Chin
Style
Livestream The Burberry Fall/Winter 2021 Menswear Presentation
Richard Augustin
Style
President Obama’s Nike Hyperdunk Sneakers And Other Ultra-Rare Kicks You Probably Can’t Buy
Richard Augustin
Style
What's up in the world of fashion, jewellery and watches? Sign up to receive it all.
×
Where are you?
Tell us so we can display what you want to see.
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
Malaysia Singapore
Advertise About Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions
© 2021 Copyright Augustman