Swiss Quartz Watches
If there is one thing the Swiss will always be known for, that’s for their contribution to the watch industry. Previously pioneers of Swiss mechanical watches, it has expanded to Swiss quartz watches to be at par with its competitors, Japan and Hong Kong. Decades after the technology of watches was pioneered by the Swiss watch industry, there is still no sign of that Swiss quartz watches are about to go out of style.
The Birth of an Industry
In the 16th century, a royal decree banning people from wearing jewelry threatened the jobs of many goldsmiths who made a living off it. In an almost miraculous turn, Jean Calving saw this an opportunity and created gold watches. These watches later on became popular across Europe for its unmistakable quality and style, not to mention its usefulness. This was the birth of the Swiss watch industry that will later yielded the now popular Swiss quartz watches.
By 19th century, the technology of Swiss watches developed, notably including the winding watches and the mechanical watches. Despite the breakthroughs in the technology of Swiss watches, however, the industry was hard hit by crises that persisted in the 1970s and in 2004. Because of this, many employees had to be laid off and drastic measures, such as the closing down of some companies in the industry, had to be done.
Swiss Mechanical Watches vs. Swiss Quartz Watches
Despite these undesirable measures, the Swiss watch industry still managed to prop itself up and come up with new innovations, not the least of which are quartz watches. With mechanical watches and quartz watches leading the Swiss watch industry, it has so far been importing 95% of the watches they produce. It is competing with the likes of Hong Kong and Japan, whose watches are primarily digital and electronic.
Many people planning to buy a Swiss watch still don’t understand the differences between Swiss quartz watches and mechanical watches. The difference lies primarily in its operating mechanism: a mainspring and gear train provides the power and the transmission of power respectively to the watch’s dial, whereas a battery and integrated circuit provides the power for quartz watches. Both have an analog display, which is precisely why people can easily confuse the two.
Mechanical watches account for about 10% of all the imported watch products of the Swiss industry, while quartz watches are made 90% of the time.