The quartz watches movement made a significant change to the world of watches. Quartz watches are now the most common type of watch found around the world. It constitutes about 95% of the world’s market.
The technology behind this movement involves using quartz as the oscillator (just like the pendulum in a grandfather clock). The quartz oscillator vibrates in a very steady motion because it loses very little energy when vibrating.
When quartz is compressed or bent, it is able to generate a charge or voltage on its surface. This is known as the “piezoelectric effect”. Base on these two concepts of quartz, the quart watches movement was created.
When electrical charge (usually from a watch battery) is passed to the quartz oscillator, which nowadays are using low-frequency bar or tuning-fork-shaped crystal, it makes vibrates (oscillate) at a rate of 32,786 times per second.
This vibration creates a voltage on the quartz oscillator that sends it to integrated circuits and in turn helps to regulate the oscillator’s vibration.
The integrated circuit helps divide the electrical pulses from the oscillator and down-regulate to a single pulse per second.
This quartz watch movement is used in either an analog model or digital model. The single pulse is transmitted to tiny motors that drive the gears that move the watch hands of analog models.
For digital models, the pulses provide proper format of display like the time in numbers as well as help light up the display.
Quartz watches movement and mechanical watch movement are different in their oscillator and source of power. Mechanical watch movement uses a balance wheel to oscillate and a mainspring that unwinds to generate power to the watch hands movement.
Because quartz watches use lesser moving parts than mechanical ones so there is a much decreased chance of having defects or breaking down for quartz.
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