Never been a huge fan but somehow have managed to add these three over time. A cheap and cheerful way to collect watches with the added bonus of lower maintenance costs than mechanicals.
The Bulova moonwatch I got for my father in his last few months as a kind of replacement for an Omega speedy that he bought new in 1963.
Broadarrow Prs3 I bought a few months ago, just love it although second hand doesn't hit all the markers. Gorgeous grab and go anywhere watch.
Timex ironman, fabulously retro, nuff said.
So let's see yours..
I certainly don't go out of my way to collect quartz watches as I generally find them a bit boring compared to mechanicals but I have picked up a few on the way.
I have a few more but I haven't photographed them so far. I'll have to get round to it.
Left hand one of the twins here..
Cheers,
Neil.
I’m quite enjoying having a few quartz models at the moment
z
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Lower maintenance cost than mechanicals? I so wish that was true!Originally Posted by bobc
service on this little one was £448
Not entirely sure what the service cost for this one was (about the same) but Breitling refused to change the battery without doing a service
Which is why I did it myself
I've got 4 Casio/G-shock and a PRS-18Q too
Love a bit of quartz goodness; would really like to add a Sinn UX and Breitling Endurance Pro to these at some point :
GWS G10 Chrono:
Nothing wrong with quartz. I've got quite a few, but don't have photos of all on my tablet, here are some....
One of my favourite watches
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What was wrong with the GS which merited a service and one that was so expensive?! About half the value of the watch!
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Scarily that's the current standard price for a regular service on a quartz non-chrono GS that they recommend doing every 3 to 4 years.
On this one, the watch didn't come back to life after a battery change and, as it has been known to be problematic in the past (it's a bit of a TZ tart), I had no real option but to send it to Seiko.
They cleaned it all up and got it working.
For various reasons I only wore it once or twice in the year after that so I sold it. The buyer discovered that it was running slightly out of the 10 seconds a year spec so returned it.
Seiko offered to have another look at it despite it being outside of warranty, agreed there was an issue and replaced the 9F module.
On balance it was probably money well spent as now I have a working GS, and I've worn it a bit more recently :-)
Anyway, the idea that quartz watches are cheaper to run is a bit of a myth, at least if they are serviced in line with manufacturers recommendations.
Thanks, interesting, if a bit depressing. But good you got it working again and I agree worth spending the money in that scenario.
I have the same model and it works fine, so I certainly don't plan getting it serviced unless it dies like that!
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I have to say that's my preference with quartz - run it until it fails and then either bin it or get it serviced if it's worth it. That's what frustrated me with Breitling; they refused to do a battery change without a service. I don't want to pay £500 every 3-4 years for a service if the quartz movement is going to cost about the same to replace and is likely to last 30 to 40 years. Better to put the money away and buy a new watch every 20 years instead.
I sold a Seiko quartz this year that I'd had from new and hadn't been serviced in the 30 or so years that I had it.
Completely, they're just trying to generate revenue with a blanket policy like that.
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Some lovely pieces there.
Just two for me the oddball IWC 3741 and a recently serviced 1980 G10.
Pitch
My two
Last edited by Bonzodog; 20th June 2021 at 18:42.
A quick and dirty of my battery powered watches, I do have another somewhere but can’t find it anywhere
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
Some great watches on show here already and it's good to see some quartz appreciation.
90% of my 30+ watch collection are quartz and most of them are Seikos. Here's the Swiss ones.
Cheers
Neil
@jneds
that blue Oysterquartz is a real stunner
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
A great idea for a thread. I find quartz watches document the progress of human ingenuity and I find the history endlessly fascinating. Just thinking of the engineering and research that was necessary, the one-shot to get it right (no "fixed with a forthcoming firmware update") and all this largely happening during our lifetime.
I barely have a collection at all at the moment, but many quartz have stirred my interest. There's quite a long thread with fine contributions from many others somewhere too, so I'll add just a few here:
This was my original idea for an ideal 2-watch collection. I really should have stuck with it.
Both gone now, and for what purpose? I have no idea.
Another Grand Seiko Quartz I owned. Not sure how many of these I have had, but GS quartz are well worth seeking out.
This one has the earlier 8J movement, but I've had some 9Fs too...
These give nothing away to their mechanical cousins (of which I've owned a few too) and the movement is at least a work of art and science as anything available, regardless of technology deployed.
I barely get on with "smart" watches, but let's not overlook the low-power needs of oscillating quartz crystals in providing for the existence of such things (while they are not umbilically tied to their mother computer or wireless internet deity):
And of course, the tremendous ability to withstand shocks that makes quartz and solid-state such a reliable timekeeping companion. Makes me smile a little when I hear people describing any mechanical watch using words like "robust":
Or if you prefer showing more disposable income, one of these:
Not sure why I sold that one either.
Or...
My trusty Tag 2000
A few more...
Seiko SBMC023 Perpetual Calendar Diver's Watch
The elusive Seiko SNA139
A brace of CWC quartz watches
Another Landmaster
With some friends
Essential hipster wear
Not sure why I bought this. Flight attendant probably distracted me. Still, you don't see a lot of them.
Seiko Sawtooth. Big watch, wears well.
An old Omega, one of the first watches I ever stripped down and (eventually...) rebuilt. Inside it is all as very nicely finished as any Omega, with a familiar gear-train and quite easy to service.
Though the inside of this one was if anything even nicer than the outside, housing some technology perhaps never seen since:
As for "robust"...
I think that's enough nostalgia. Probably half of the (hundreds of?) watches I ever owned were quartz. The only ones I have left now are the Seiko SBMC023, the SNA139, the Tag 2000, and a Casio GW5000 - which I sometimes think is the best watch ever made and ever likely to be made. These now also make up half of my remaining watch "collection".
TT
Many thanks Ben and I should wear it more often really.
Cheers
Neil
Some very nice watches and photography skills that put me to shame.
My son came for fathers day lunch today, all the way down from Inverness so I was honoured and dropped this off for me to get serviced for him, an issued 1996 navigator.
Did he meet four and twenty virgins on the way?
Ha, don't think there's that many around these parts.
Probably known already but - to be fair to Breitling they have 2 levels of service - maintenance for a quartz is about £100 - every 2-3y and full for a quartz analog is currently £380 every other so 4-6y. I don't know if they enforce a full service or if you can insist on just a maintenance one. It's been a while since I have had a quartz Breitling serviced (the last was my B-1 - sadly long gone).
https://www.breitling.com/gb-en/service/all-prices/
OP: I don't know if I can call a singular quartz watch a collection - but here is my Omega X-33 MK2 from this very forum. I changed the battery this year so it should be good for another 3y or so. Then (unless there is some catastrophic failure) I'll replace the cell again for £3.00 or so. I don't plan to put it in water so water ingress is a non-issue. If it needs a service I'll send it to Omega but until then I will change the battery myself. Superb quartz tech and even better knowing they are in use in space.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
I have two although I rarely wear the G10. It looks great for a 32 year old watch so I hang onto it and change the battery every few years when it needs it. The diver is a great weekend watch.
The maintenance one (battery, seals and test) is now about £140 or so and, according to the jeweller that sent it to them, they wouldn't do it because it was due the full service. So basically each battery change, every 3 years or so, would cost £140, £380, £140, £380 etc
I did add a link - but quoting breitling official numbers - excuse formatting
Quartz
Analog
£100.00
Analog / Analog-Digital Chronograph
£140.00
UTC / CO-PILOT
£90.00
But yeh - dovetail with full service every other year does add money up. Time for home battery changing!
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 21st June 2021 at 17:01.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
This is a great idea for a thread - I love the wide range of watches it encompasses, from the rare and special to the indestructible everyday. I'll try and dig mine out for a proper post later this week, but thanks to the OP for the thread; it's great to see that quartz isn't the anathema here that it seems to be on some other forums.
Oh, and for me: the Omega 2.4MHz Megaquartz watches have enduring appeal. Lovely things.
Breitling Aerospace
Omega Chrono-Quartz
Omega Marine Chronometer
Lip Nautic Ski
Seiko something or other
My chronographs.
Cheers
Neil
These are my quartz watches (plus a kinetic I despise so much it didn't even make it to the photo shoot):
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