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On Dec. 25, 1969, Seiko introduced its 35 SQ Astron, the world's first quartz watch.
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Pic and source: Capetown corp
Pic and source: Capetown corp
Confucius's Asian Watch Fact of the Knight-01/10/2008
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I don't like quartz! This forum belongs to you guys, however, not to me.And I thought you didn't like quartz...
I must not be selfish; probably next time I'll post a real watch!
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I love quartz!
Precision is to be admired regardless of how it is achieved.
I'd have a real atomic clock if I could afford one.
Precision is to be admired regardless of how it is achieved.
I'd have a real atomic clock if I could afford one.
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I would love to see you try and strap one onto your wrist! :lol:
:lol:
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I found this article from another forum quite enlightening. Enjoy!
(With a tip of the hat to James Dowling, whose "It's OK to Hate Rolex" article served as stylistic inspiration.)
It's OK to hate quartz ...
It's OK to hate quartz if you wish to ignore the fact that the pursuit of improved accuracy has been a (arguably the) central thrust of horological development for centuries.
It's OK to reject quartz, but it's a good bet that horological titans like Harrison, Earnshaw, Leroy, Berthoud, Ditisheim (etc. etc.) would have embraced it. It's an excellent bet that quartz would have been embraced by all who needed accurate time, from early explorers like Captain Cook to the nineteenth century railroads.
It's OK to feel that the one second ticks are low brow, but, at one time, making the second hand move this way was a difficult and sought after complication for mechanical movements.
It's OK to dismiss quartz movements as pedestrian, but, like mechanical movements, they're the incredibly refined end product of more than a century of discovery and development by some of the best scientists and engineers of their time.
It's OK to disdain inexpensive quartz movements, but they're miracles of modern manufacturing, and have made reliable timekeeping affordable to more people than any other horological development.
It's OK to feel that quartz movements have no soul, but, in the heart of every quartz movement beats one of the most perfect mechanical oscillators ever made (the quartz crystal tuning fork). More perfect than any pendulum, balance and hairspring (or, for that matter, any bell or musical instrument) ever made.
It's OK to look down on quartz as declasse, but, without quartz oscillators, there would be no digital electronics, which means no Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing that enabled the modern renaissance of ultra-complex mechanical watches. There would also be no internet talk sites to discuss them.
Is it OK to prefer mechanical watches? Sure -- their movements are mesmerizingly beautiful miniature kinetic sculptures. They evoke a different time in which the craftsman or profoundly skilled manual laborer played a more central and valued role in industry and society. They, or their ship's chronometer cousins, helped literally change the world by enabling exploration then regular commerce among the continents. As one Timezoner succinctly put it, they're a unique nexus of aesthetics, history and technology. Still, if you're tempted to look down on the humble quartz, think about all that it embodies. There's room in the inn for all the little miracles on our wrists.
Pax Aeternam,
Bruce Reding
(With a tip of the hat to James Dowling, whose "It's OK to Hate Rolex" article served as stylistic inspiration.)
It's OK to hate quartz ...
It's OK to hate quartz if you wish to ignore the fact that the pursuit of improved accuracy has been a (arguably the) central thrust of horological development for centuries.
It's OK to reject quartz, but it's a good bet that horological titans like Harrison, Earnshaw, Leroy, Berthoud, Ditisheim (etc. etc.) would have embraced it. It's an excellent bet that quartz would have been embraced by all who needed accurate time, from early explorers like Captain Cook to the nineteenth century railroads.
It's OK to feel that the one second ticks are low brow, but, at one time, making the second hand move this way was a difficult and sought after complication for mechanical movements.
It's OK to dismiss quartz movements as pedestrian, but, like mechanical movements, they're the incredibly refined end product of more than a century of discovery and development by some of the best scientists and engineers of their time.
It's OK to disdain inexpensive quartz movements, but they're miracles of modern manufacturing, and have made reliable timekeeping affordable to more people than any other horological development.
It's OK to feel that quartz movements have no soul, but, in the heart of every quartz movement beats one of the most perfect mechanical oscillators ever made (the quartz crystal tuning fork). More perfect than any pendulum, balance and hairspring (or, for that matter, any bell or musical instrument) ever made.
It's OK to look down on quartz as declasse, but, without quartz oscillators, there would be no digital electronics, which means no Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing that enabled the modern renaissance of ultra-complex mechanical watches. There would also be no internet talk sites to discuss them.
Is it OK to prefer mechanical watches? Sure -- their movements are mesmerizingly beautiful miniature kinetic sculptures. They evoke a different time in which the craftsman or profoundly skilled manual laborer played a more central and valued role in industry and society. They, or their ship's chronometer cousins, helped literally change the world by enabling exploration then regular commerce among the continents. As one Timezoner succinctly put it, they're a unique nexus of aesthetics, history and technology. Still, if you're tempted to look down on the humble quartz, think about all that it embodies. There's room in the inn for all the little miracles on our wrists.
Pax Aeternam,
Bruce Reding
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2,102 Posts
Such eloquence.I found this article from another forum quite enlightening. Enjoy!
It's OK to hate quartz ...[/I][/B]
Such profundity.
I'm in tears here.
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I would love to see you try and strap one onto your wrist!
I don't recommend this, but it has been done.
http://www.leapsecond.com/pages/atomic-bill/
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That is great Grady! I'll wait for them to
come down in size and price! :laugh:
come down in size and price! :laugh:
Sire
They actually introduced it on Christmas Day?
ZIN
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