Quartz Watches – Modern Technology In Time Keeping
The quartz watches that were once worth US $500 can today be found as promotional gifts in cereal boxes. Yes, the quartz watches which were first launched in USA in the year 1970 were indeed priced at US $500. At that time the watches were running on wind-up mechanism which was okay but not as accurate as the quartz crystals could make it. The quartz crystal had brought about not only highest possible accuracy, but also the possibility to make the watches thinner and more attractive.
The Before and After Story
1. The Before Story
What was before the quartz crystal’s energy was harnessed for the watch movement? The watches were working on winding technology, which is quite amazing as well. This was a culmination of unrelenting research and development that continued over almost five centuries – since the 14th century until the 20th century when the quartz application to watch movement was discovered.
In the 1960s the mechanical (ticking) wind-up technology was replaced by the battery run technology where the oscillator base of the mechanical wind-up watch was swapped with a transistor oscillator. There were two major differences in the new way the watches run with the transistor oscillator:
(i) Runs on battery and is not dependent any longer on the daily winding up of the watch to have it run
(ii) The balance wheel and spring were no more required as they were replaced with a tuning fork type system which was a single-material resonator.
While searching for a better timing element the quartz became a hot favourite in watch companies R&D labs. It was obvious that this was much, much better for timing than any other material available including the tuning fork. The problem was to match it with the integrated circuit technology in such a manner that it could function at the lowest possible power.
Quartz has other advantages over previous materials – since it is silicon based (quartz is silicon dioxide) it is impervious to solvents or heat; it remains in crystal form even at hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit.
The After Story
As the very popular saying goes, ‘The rest is history.’ Today you will find quartz watches both in digital format and analogue format. The most commonly used quartz crystals are now chemically shaped and etched into the integrated circuit for best results. The accuracy of the watch would rather depend upon the accuracy of angle cutting precision against the axis of the crystal. The shape of the crystals operate either as a tuning fork or as a straight bar. As an aside, an interesting point is that when quartz is bent (or even compressed) it generates voltage on its surface – a phenomenon called the piezoelectric effect. Similarly, if voltage is applied to it, it would bend. After a lot of research it was found that quartz shaped as a disk or a straight bar were the best for this type of application.
The technology still searches for better ways and even more accurate time keeping and now the atomic watch has replaced the quartz movement. The quest has not ended – the technology of tomorrow will be ushering in something new and even better than what we know and have today.
Citizen are already the pioneer of a successor to the quartz watch with their Citizen Ecodrive Watches series.
The Before and After Story
1. The Before Story
What was before the quartz crystal’s energy was harnessed for the watch movement? The watches were working on winding technology, which is quite amazing as well. This was a culmination of unrelenting research and development that continued over almost five centuries – since the 14th century until the 20th century when the quartz application to watch movement was discovered.
In the 1960s the mechanical (ticking) wind-up technology was replaced by the battery run technology where the oscillator base of the mechanical wind-up watch was swapped with a transistor oscillator. There were two major differences in the new way the watches run with the transistor oscillator:
(i) Runs on battery and is not dependent any longer on the daily winding up of the watch to have it run
(ii) The balance wheel and spring were no more required as they were replaced with a tuning fork type system which was a single-material resonator.
While searching for a better timing element the quartz became a hot favourite in watch companies R&D labs. It was obvious that this was much, much better for timing than any other material available including the tuning fork. The problem was to match it with the integrated circuit technology in such a manner that it could function at the lowest possible power.
Quartz has other advantages over previous materials – since it is silicon based (quartz is silicon dioxide) it is impervious to solvents or heat; it remains in crystal form even at hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit.
The After Story
As the very popular saying goes, ‘The rest is history.’ Today you will find quartz watches both in digital format and analogue format. The most commonly used quartz crystals are now chemically shaped and etched into the integrated circuit for best results. The accuracy of the watch would rather depend upon the accuracy of angle cutting precision against the axis of the crystal. The shape of the crystals operate either as a tuning fork or as a straight bar. As an aside, an interesting point is that when quartz is bent (or even compressed) it generates voltage on its surface – a phenomenon called the piezoelectric effect. Similarly, if voltage is applied to it, it would bend. After a lot of research it was found that quartz shaped as a disk or a straight bar were the best for this type of application.
The technology still searches for better ways and even more accurate time keeping and now the atomic watch has replaced the quartz movement. The quest has not ended – the technology of tomorrow will be ushering in something new and even better than what we know and have today.
Citizen are already the pioneer of a successor to the quartz watch with their Citizen Ecodrive Watches series.
Posted by Watch Shop UK at
19:15
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