How does the precision of a mechanical watch compare to that of a quartz watch ?
Compared with a quartz watch, a mechanical watch definitely shows less precision in terms of its timekeeping. These are fundamentally two different approaches to timekeeping. The differences in precision between the two technologies are substantial : • A mechanical watch offers a degree of precision implying a variation of around 1 minute per week, 5 minutes per month, 1 hour per year. • A quartz movement varies by 1 second per week, 5 seconds per month and 1 minute per year. • Comparing these figures shows that an electronic movement offers a degree of precision 60 times superior to that of a mechanical movement. Electronics do indeed enable almost absolute precision. Nonetheless, on a human scale, the reliability and the exclusive nature of the mechanical watch certainly justify the trust that one can rightfully place in four centuries of horological tradition.
