Same as the title
I wonder how far quart technology has come,
Can they invent an quart that have a smooth movement of the second that if you do not open the case back you can not tell if it is quartz of automatic (Obviously NOT State on the Dial) !
Several Seiko chronographs have a sweeping seconds hand, like this Sportura I own:
The hand that sweeps in these models is the chronograph seconds hand (the big, central one). The small seconds hand doesn't sweep and behaves in the same way as regular quartz seconds hands.
Grand Seiko Spring Drive is a hybrid between quartz and an automatic. I believe it technically is a free spinning barrel so there is no "beats" per say. There's no stop and start (or ticks). However, the starting price tag for SD is higher than any typical quartz.
The smooth second hand is in some quartz models, like the Precisionist. But if what you're looking for isn't a smooth hand, but a quartz that is indistinguishable from a mechanical, I don't think that exists. You can identify a mechanical by the stuttering second hand, usually between 5 and 10 beats per second (more typically 6-8). I can't think of a quartz that ticks more than once per second, but not completely smoothly.
So you need to look at bph - beats per hour.
6 beats per second is 21600 bph - pretty typical for automatic watch.
1 beat per second - is quartz. But if you manage to find, quartz watch with higher rate - you cannot determine if it's quartz or mechanical anymore.
Many many threads on this very topic here on WUS. Please search. Yes the most affordable with a smooth sweeping seconds hand is Precisionist. Another would be an electronic tuning fork watch like the vintage Omega Constellation f300hz.
I'm not sure where you are located. If in the U.S. then a Macy's department store will have many of the Precisionist models to see in person.
I owned a Bulova Lunar Pilot which was a UHF Quartz. It had a smooth hand. It was a great watch but wasn't getting any wrist time so I traded it a couple weeks ago.
I owned a Bulova Lunar Pilot which was a UHF Quartz. It had a smooth hand. It was a great watch but wasn't getting any wrist time so I traded it a couple weeks ago.
The modern Bulova precisionist line ticks 16 times per second.
There are truly smooth sweep quartz watches. Seiko spring drive and piaget 700p use electromagnetic braking to create a hand notion that truly does not tick.
Less well known is probably the Seiko 5s21 and 5s42 movements. They have a 4hz stepper motor (that ticks 4 times per second). But also in the geartrain is a hairspring and a vial of viscous liquid. These damp the motion of the stepper motor resulting in a truly smooth sweep.
As far as I'm aware these are the only wristwatches in history with a truly smooth sweep. The next closest would be the Omega megasonic, which ticks 1440 times per second, the fastest ticking hand used for time-keeping (tag has a chronograph that ticks 2000 times per second, but that hand isn't used for main time-keeping).
Less well known is probably the Seiko 5s21 and 5s42 movements. They have a 4hz stepper motor (that ticks 4 times per second). But also in the geartrain is a hairspring and a vial of viscous liquid. These damp the motion of the stepper motor resulting in a truly smooth sweep.
Timex Dynabeat. Not quartz, but electric. The M254 caliber is a 28.8k vph movement developed originally by Laco, who sold the patent to Timex. This is a 1975 model, movement made in West Germany, case made in France. I think 1975 was the last year they made these b/c quartz was cheaper with better battery life. In good condition you can find a Dynabeat for $50-$75.
The movement makes a wonderfully weird noise, like a cricket having a heart attack.
Seiko (sadly) no longer make the 5S21 or 5S42 movements (and I am lucky enough to have had both!), but if anyone wanting a smooth sweeping seconds hand in a quartz watch was willing to go just a bit more vintage, then any Swiss watch with a Beta 21 movement would do the trick.
Seiko (sadly) no longer make the 5S21 or 5S42 movements (and I am lucky enough to have had both!), but if anyone wanting a smooth sweeping seconds hand in a quartz watch was willing to go just a bit more vintage, then any Swiss watch with a Beta 21 movement would do the trick.
Although if the standard for "smooth" is hundreds of ticks per second (rather than truly non-ticking), a Bulova 224 accuquartz will be much more accessible, price wise.
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