Popularized in the 70s, quartz clocks replaced, for the most part, mechanical clocks – which operated using spring and winding. With a unique and particular precision, these watches are the most used nowadays and have a quartz crystal, making them even more precise than the others. For those who don’t want a good watch, those made of quartz crystal are excellent options!
But do you know how a quartz watch such as Rolex oyster perpetual works and the particulars that make it so special? Learn a little more about this amazing watch!
High Precision
The great difference of watches made with quartz crystal is its precision. While other watches are delayed by a tenth of a second a day, quartz watches are only out of adjustment, at most, a thousandth of a second a day. It may seem like little, but this added up over the years is a considerable “waste of time”!
These types of watches have the high precision capability on account of quartz crystals. Generally shaped like a tuning fork, these crystals sit inside the watch and generate electrical pulses when they receive physical pressure (for example, when you move your wrist). This is when the crystals send exactly 32,768 electrical pulses through metallic conductors of electricity, called electrodes, to a microchip installed inside the watch. Experts call this process piezoelectric.
Upon receiving this information, digital watches reveal the time on digital displays, called LCDs. Analog watches, on the other hand, have their gear driven by the vibrations of the crystal, making the seconds, minutes, and hours hands move and record the time.
The Battery Powers The Entire Circuit
The watch batteries Quartz feed the crystal, which is still vibrating and providing pulses to the microchip, whose power is also generated by the battery. Quartz digital watches, which have an LCD, also need battery power to function. The battery life is usually 3 to 5 years, depending, of course, on how each is used.
Quartz Watch Peculiarities
The first quartz watch hit the market in 1972, although it had been in development since the late 1920s, by telecommunications engineer Warren Marrison. The shape of the quartz crystal is that of a fork. The objective is to increase its capacity to generate more and more electrical pulses. Not for nothing, quartz watches are delayed by only one-thousandth of a second a day. In other words, they are only 10 seconds late in 30 days!
