[Mee-Losh]

I know this topic has been beaten to a pulp on various occasions, but I don't think I've seen a POLL on it, and I'm genuinely curious if the consensus on "Automatic superiority" is really as high as it appears at first glance.

Now, I'm not ashamed to admit it - I PREFER QUARTZ!
There, I said it. I wish there were more quartz watches with the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail in the overall design as there are automatics/mechanical.
I believe this is not the case mostly because major companies know they can charge more for automatic pieces because of the romantic idea among the general watch-enthusiast population that automatic is inherently more valuable.

I prefer quartz watches because they are (mostly) more precise, easier to maintain, require no effort to keep accurate time, keep accurate time even when you don't wear them for days, you can just pick one up on your way out and it's already accurate and running, they are less prone to issues caused by stress, shock, magnetism and so on.

This is my opinion. I'm not judging either way, I do get why some people here prefer automatic watches. I just don't get it why most people here prefer automatic watches.

So let's see what the poll shows, are there really so few people here that prefer quartz?

Notes:
Automatic and mechanical are bundled together for the purpose of this poll, but if anybody feels the opportunity to choose one and denounce the other, feel free to mention it in a comment.
I didn't include the answer "I like both quartz and automatic/mechanical" cause I don't think it would be conducive to what we're trying to deduce here.

 

[roy.erlich36]

If you want to know the time just look at your phone. A mechanical watch is much more than that

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[roadcykler]

I prefer automatic watches simply because of the way they work but I have a couple of quartz watches and have no issue with them whatsoever. I'm not a snooty, watch snob.

 

[Munchie]

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say Mechanical/Automatic watches are going to win this poll

 

[Watchbreath]

Mechanical, I don't have much trust in new 'fangle' things, by cracky. The second hand is just too annoying.

 

[rdoder]

Traditionally, it's quite a neat trick to take mechanical upmarket and generate desire that way.

I feel Seiko has tried to, and to some extent, have succeeded in taking quartz upmarket as well, with GS quartz and Spring Drive. (Among other companies that offer expensive quartz.)

One could argue expensive quartz is the ultimate "I could afford it". If any electronic part could not be replaced, just buy another expensive quartz watch, I could afford it. LOL

But seriously, it is kind of the best of both worlds, in my mind, if one could pair (whatever other desirable attributes) with quartz, because it grounds the watch in good functional foundation. i.e. It not only looks good and confers prestige, but also works well.

Mechanical's drawbacks make it more of a toy to me, to look at and play with once in awhile, than an actual useful watch to be worn and used. Nothing wrong with playfulness of mechanical, but I don't prefer it as a functional thing.

 

[HoldMyWatch]

I prefer mechanical because of the technology being as old as it is and the inventors improving the mechanism over the centuries. Any given mechanical watch today features improvements made by big names. The modern mechanical watch is really a collaboration between many different people who’s inventions live on in our current watch mechanisms. Cliché or not, this could be the ‘soul’ people talk about when they say mechanical watches having one.

The idea that something can be so refined to keep time quite accurately while being driven by nothing but kinetic energy is just fascinating to me. For something that’s made out of cold steel, there’s something almost romantic about it.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Quartz is fine, but it’s more of a straight forward and logical approach to telling time. Mechanical watches may not do it quite as well but, they tell time by using more fascinating and history rich technologies.

 

[TimexSocialClub]

The dork in me prefers mechanical watches over quartz, but I do own some cool quartz watches.

 

[Rocket1991]

Quartz. Convenience, accuracy and function.
After 90 years of quartz tech been around winning the war, improving navigation, helping put people on the moon there is very little to talk about horology and new tech. It's been around more than enough to be exempt from fight for true pendulum clock vs pocket watch going on.

 

[Sam K]

Mechanical.

I don't really NEED to know the exact time, I wear watches as a sartorial thing (I don't consider my watches a "collection", I have a "wardrobe") and I suppose the style of watches I enjoy is mostly automatic. And given the choice, I would like my life to be less electronic if I could (he said, on a online forum...)

I just enjoy a lot of non-electronic things right now. Bespoke clothing, hand made shoes, fountain pens. I suppose it's the IT-workers mid life crisis.

 

[6R35]

I answered the poll.

 

[John MS]

I'm more focused on whether the watch as a package appeals rather than one component. I could enjoy a Citizen Chronmaster with an haq movement as much as a vintage Cyma Navy Star with a hand wind R488.2 movement.

I would answer your poll if I could pick both options.

 

[pickle puss]

50/50 here.
I like watches.

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[Mee-Losh]

Mechanical.

I don't really NEED to know the exact time, I wear watches as a sartorial thing (I don't consider my watches a "collection", I have a "wardrobe") and I suppose the style of watches I enjoy is mostly automatic.

And if watch companies made quartz watches with those same styles and same quality as the automatic pieces you enjoy, would that make any change in the quartz vs automatic debate in your opinion?

 

[Dan T.]

I like both equally, but own mechanicals/automatics over quartz at a 7:1 ratio.

 

[heffergm]

I couldn't give you a rational argument as to why I prefer mechanicals. It would be largely romantic drivel. But let's be honest, watches aren't rational purchases.

That said, Spring Drive I find interesting enough to consider buying one.

 

[plohmann]

You should include a third option here, "Makes no difference to me." That would be my vote.

 

[leadbelly2550]

I voted mechanical, but I like quartz a lot too. Quartz are easier and tend to be less expensive; mechanicals are more fun, and I think there are more good mechanical options (for dive watches, anyway, which is what I prefer) in the higher price ranges.

I flirted with a hybrid, Seiko prospex kinetic - self-winding movement that charges a capacitor, powering a quartz movement. really nice watch, but the movement didn't age well. replacing it was an expensive headache.

imagine most on this forum will prefer mechanical movements.

 

[wulfowitz]

The snob in me prefers mechanical, but the pragmatist in me keels a few quartz watches for grab and go purposes. I also use a quartz watch as reference when I need to set an automatic that has run down.

 

[osamu]

It's getting close and closer to be honest for me, but still mechanical wins out. Regardless of if it's a Seiko 7S26, Rolex 3135, or Patek 324, I became interested in watches because I was interested in the spring driven mechanics and how they're used to keep time. I know it's an antiquated technology, and maybe I'm romanticizing it a little bit, but it's still more interesting to me.

Quartz, in almost all measurable ways, makes more practical sense, especially when you get into solar and radio/GPS controlled technology. It has very little drawbacks, and I remember when I was a kid, I far preferred quartz watches. But these days, with clocks everywhere, wearing a watch in general is probably barely necessary. Especially these days with smart watches and all the features they can provide, sometimes quartz feels like a half step towards a smart watch.