I know this is strange, but I prefer loud watches that I can occasionally hear audibly in quiet environments. I find that it’s kind of calming or grounding for me for some reason. One of my cheapest watches (Orient Bambino V2) has gotten tons of wrist time for me, just because I like how it sounds.
What are your loudest tickers?
I’ve owned Timex watches that ticked insanely loudly. My automatics are off course decently audible when put up against the ear (most of which have been Seiko 4R movements), and so is the Swiss Precidrive/HAQ (High Accuracy Quartz) movement in my Certina. The by far most quiet watches I’ve owned though, are Citizen Eco-Drives. More or less completely in-audible, even when held up against the ear. This is probably to save energy, and the movement is running more efficiently and more refined. I have an impression Citizen just knows what they’re doing with quartz. I’ve also found them to be more reliable than Swiss quartz, as I have just had that Precidrive movement start running way out of spec, failing me for the 2nd time already in 4 years now. While my Eco-Drives have been rock solid even with harsh use.