Ever since the advent of quartz watches, people have been asking themselves which is better. To answer that question depends on what you prize in a watch, more accurate time keeping ability, or a more solid, heirloom like piece.
Whichever you prefer, take a moment to learn a little about both types of watches and see for yourself which type is best for you or the person you are buying a watch for.
Why Buy a Watch? Don’t All Cell Phones Keep the Time?
Yeah, they do, till the battery dies, and you are stuck somewhere without any idea of time. Divers need quality watches, hikers should always keep one, no self-respecting business man ever catches himself watch less, and farriers (that would be a person who shoes horses) always keep one hand as you always need to know if you are on schedule, so that you can let your appointments know if you will be on time or not or even if you are going to make it. You may have to take an injured animal’s pulse, and you can’t do that with a cell phone. Cell phones can be unbelievably fickle, and I can think of good reasons for everyone to have a watch handy, so ask yourself which side of the watch war you are on.
Quartz Watches: Pros and Cons
The pros to keeping a quartz watch are mainly the time is more accurate, with quartz watches losing as little as a second a week. They are said to be over sixty times as accurate as a mechanical watch, and require significantly less maintenance and care. They are much cheaper that the average mechanical watches, and you barely have to think about owning one at all. They can be found almost everywhere and have very few moving parts for things to go wrong with or for time to wear down.
The downside to quartz watches is that in the end, they are a cheap product and are simply not going to last the way a properly maintained mechanical watch is going to. No one hands a quartz watch down to their children in a will after they die, and even if they do know one is going to fight over dad’s old cheap watch. They are not an heirloom piece and no matter what you pay for one they never will be.
Swiss Mechanical Watches: Pros and Cons
The big plus to owning a Swiss mechanical watch is that they are items of exquisite quality and beauty. Not just any bozo can make a mechanical watch, and the craftsmanship is really impressive. These are heirloom pieces, real works of art, and anyone who leaves one to a favored relative or friend is leaving behind a real treasure, something that if properly maintained, can last for generations. If anything does go wrong with one, they are all moving parts, and one can usually be replaced with relative ease should it fail. They also stand cold much better than does quartz.
The cons to purchasing a mechanical watch is that they have to be wound, a lot, they are also expensive, and there are fewer of them due to quartz taking over the lower end watch market. In short, there are no cheap mechanical watches. They also have to be maintained regularly, at minimum every four years, and more if you do any sort of outdoor activity with the watch. Get ready to be on first name terms with your jeweler, because if you own a mechanical Swiss watch you will be seeing a lot of the guy.
