Why are quartz watches said to be more accurate?« Back to Questions List

Quartz watches are known to be accurate compared to wind-up watches. A quarts watch functions based on an electronic oscillator controlled by quartz crystals. Quartz is a chemical compound of silicon. It is basically silicon dioxide. This mineral is found in abundance on earth. It is very hard, resistant to both chemicals and heat.

The basic principle of working of watches depends on a device that oscillates at a particular frequency. Earlier pendulums and springs did the action of maintaining the fixed number of oscillations. Then the quartz crystals got widely used because of their property of piezoelectric effect. When quartz crystals are subjected to mechanical stress by bending or compressing, it produces electric charges that gets accumulated on its surface. This is called piezoelectric effect.

The piezoelectric effect helps in electronic frequency generation and that is why quartz crystal is better choice as a timing element. The crystal is made tiny and is made to oscillate at a low frequency of 32,000Hz. These oscillations generate small electrical signals which are 'divided down' by the circuit within the watch to the required frequency (usually seconds) and translated into pulses which are sent to the watch display or a motor to move the seconds hand.

Highly stable oscillation frequency, due to the purity is the main reason for the popularity of quartz crystals. It is stable at various temperatures. The frequency of the quartz crystal remains unaffected even in adverse environmental conditions. Hence, they are widely employed in electronic devices that must function with utmost precise frequencies. 

Warren Marrison and J. W. Horton at Bell Telephone Laboratories were behind the first quarts clock assembled in 1927. World began to witness the developments in the field of solid state digital electronics since early 1980’s. The technological boom in this segment reformed the watch industry. More compact and inexpensive watches and clocks began to be manufactured employing quarts based technology. Presently quarts technology is widely employed in watches, clocks, computers and other devices that display time.  

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