Are you among those who cannot tolerate the names "Haute Horlogerie" and "Quartz movements" in the same sentence? Well, come on in...
One of the top titles in the unwritten rules of the luxury watchmaking is that the watch must have a mechanical caliber. The movements in which high-level artisanship can be exhibited freely even to the finest detail are used more like a showcase for many brands.
The history of mechanical watches dates back much earlier than battery-operated movements. On the other hand, the adventure of the Quartz (or battery-powered) calibers starts just a few decades ago. In terms of pure functionality, it is impossible to bring any opponent against a Quartz movement. Imagine that you are driving on a road with a speed limit of 50km/h. You cannot surpass this limit. You’re in an insulated cabinet so your ear won’t hear the rumble coming out of the exhaust. You cannot exceed certain acceleration values for speeding up or slowing down. You have two options. In vehicle No.1, it is a zero-emission, environmentally friendly, highly economical electric motor, and in the vehicle No.2, a high displacement, supercharged, more cylinder, internal combustion gasoline monster. Let me add that you don’t have a chance to open the hood and watch the engine. Which vehicle would you choose under these circumstances? If you go for the second, let me take you into the world of mechanical watches.
Let’s face it; it’s not possible to get into a ruthless comparison as above, but when we discriminate between a Quartz and a mechanical watch, we are faced with some very confusing details. Under no circumstances, a mechanical timepiece can’t match or even get close to a battery-powered watch. No matter what you do, your mechanical watch, which you pay a car or even house money, doesn’t keep time as accurate as your Quartz watch, which is sold only for the price of a dinner. If you don’t have a very special model developed for extreme conditions, there is no possibility that a mechanical watch is as robust as Quartz, resistant to impacts and external factors. As if not all this is enough, even the best mechanical caliber needs maintenance at regular intervals, and these are not cheap at all. Not to mention the difficulty of creating complications in a system consisting only of wheels, springs, screws, and pins.
Somehow high watchmaking, despite all its disadvantages, does not give up mechanic movements, or rather it cannot. Because customers do not want practical watches, they want watches that appeal to emotions. I think there is a minority, which cannot be underestimated, that wants to see the above-mentioned battery-powered watches, in high-quality workmanship cases or under stunningly finished dials, and therefore some brands do not hesitate to put Quartz movements in their top models.
Blancpain’s simple strategy was summarized by the new slogan of the brand: "Since 1735, there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch.” And there never will be." Rolex has never thought of re-introducing the Oysterquartz series, one of the best battery powered movements ever. Players of the league of giants such as Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe never use Quartz calibers, except for models that are decorated with diamonds, which are more like jewelry than a timepiece, which are never likely to overshadow their main products. Perhaps they see the names of their brands being associated with battery-powered movements as a loss of prestige.
When we move away from the Swiss skies to the Far East, the situation becomes completely different. Seiko, the world giant, does not hesitate to use the world’s most advanced battery-powered calibers, which it calls Spring Drive in its sub-brand Grand Seiko. Moreover, this series has such fascinating artisanship and production quality that they can overshadow their European rivals.
At the end of the day, I am confused as well. I don’t think that there would be ever a battery-operated watch that can pleasure having a mechanical one designed and manufactured with superior engineering. On the other hand, I feel that models with higher quality, but available at an accessible price due to their battery-powered movements, are better than entry-level low-performance automatic or hand-wound watches.
