I don’t understand why most quartz watches are stuck with ticking second hands rather than smooth sweep second hands. I prefer quartz movements for their dramatically superior accuracy, but I also prefer the look of a smooth sweep second hand. I have yet to see a convincing explanation for why quartz second hands must tick beyond vague gesturing at power saving, but not only that, I have seen sweeping second hands on inexpensive quartz wall clocks from IKEA, so it’s clearly possible.
I regret to say I’ve started to think that ticking second hands on quartz watches are essentially cartelized marketing on the part of watchmakers to easily distinguish less expensive but technologically superior quartz movements from luxury-branded mechanical movements. Can anybody talk me out of this conspiratorial thinking, or confirm it?
I guess I just don’t find that answer very persuasive. I mean, I’m no engineer, but it seems like it wouldn’t be that hard to do. I mean, if it’s really only a factor of two, couldn’t you just fit a second battery in there?
But even setting that aside, mechanical movements translate the stepped movement of a governor through a series of interlocking gears to achieve a smooth motion, I don’t see why something similar can’t be added to a quartz movement.
Those things are technically possible, but they increase complexity and cost. The battery takes up a huge amount of space in most quartz movements - it’s by far the largest part - so it’s not trivial to just add a second one. Also, running batteries in a series causes difficulty…what happens if one battery dies prematurely? Most people wouldn’t be willing to pay double or more for their watch just to get a sweeping second hand.
Hybrid electronic movements that used battery power to drive a mechanical geartrain existed briefly in the early 1970s, but they were quickly replaced by quartz movements because they were inferior in every objective way.
Idk, it seems like some people are willing to pay quite a bit for watches, including ones that have features that add complexity without clear timekeeping benefit
you know honestly, i’ve pondered everything you’ve said many, many times as i also have an ikea quartz wall clock that sweeps perfectly. can they do it? i’m willing to bet that yes, it can be done. ffs, we can send things to mars.
the problem would seem that no one would want to spend the r&d to make this happen because the rewards likely will outweigh the risks. but in my opinion, im personally getting tired of reading about watch movements and how companies have spend so much time and money on developing their own in-house movement, blah blah blah and charging $10K and more for it.
at a certain point, it’s all about looks for me. if i can get a watch that has a smooth quartz sweeping hand similar to the spring drive but for a fraction of the cost, i’m all for it. i don’t care about the history behind the movement. i’m also willing to bet that a good many others would also buy it. i mean ffs look at the plastic omega speedmasters that are selling like crazy. i dunno, it’s late for me here…/rant over
Your understanding of mechanical watches is incorrect. They aren’t somehow up-sampling the stepped movement of the ‘governor’ to make a more smooth movement. The balance of the watch ticks at a rate higher than 1Hz (4Hz is a very common beat rate.)
Oh that’s interesting. So most mechanical watches don’t have smooth motion, just smoother motion? What about music box movements, are those the same?
Music boxes don’t have escapements