I don’t understand why most quartz watches are stuck with ticking second hands rather than smooth sweep second hands. I prefer quartz movements for their dramatically superior accuracy, but I also prefer the look of a smooth sweep second hand. I have yet to see a convincing explanation for why quartz second hands must tick beyond vague gesturing at power saving, but not only that, I have seen sweeping second hands on inexpensive quartz wall clocks from IKEA, so it’s clearly possible.
I regret to say I’ve started to think that ticking second hands on quartz watches are essentially cartelized marketing on the part of watchmakers to easily distinguish less expensive but technologically superior quartz movements from luxury-branded mechanical movements. Can anybody talk me out of this conspiratorial thinking, or confirm it?
you know honestly, i’ve pondered everything you’ve said many, many times as i also have an ikea quartz wall clock that sweeps perfectly. can they do it? i’m willing to bet that yes, it can be done. ffs, we can send things to mars.
the problem would seem that no one would want to spend the r&d to make this happen because the rewards likely will outweigh the risks. but in my opinion, im personally getting tired of reading about watch movements and how companies have spend so much time and money on developing their own in-house movement, blah blah blah and charging $10K and more for it.
at a certain point, it’s all about looks for me. if i can get a watch that has a smooth quartz sweeping hand similar to the spring drive but for a fraction of the cost, i’m all for it. i don’t care about the history behind the movement. i’m also willing to bet that a good many others would also buy it. i mean ffs look at the plastic omega speedmasters that are selling like crazy. i dunno, it’s late for me here…/rant over