Watches
The 6 Best Quartz Watches for Unbeatable Accuracy
Many of us have heard of the quartz crisis—when mechanical watches largely took a back seat to their quartz counterparts in the early 1970s and 80s. Traditional Swiss watches were out, and Japanese electronic watches were in.
While luxury mechanical watches are still popular among watch-junkies and the wealthy, quartz watches have become the go-to option for many people looking to purchase a wristwatch.
Quartz watches are generally more accessible and produced in abundance, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good quality. While it may not be the most refined or sought-after movement type, they can still be extremely well built, as they are offered at a variety of different price points. If you need a hand identifying the good from the great, our list of the best quartz watches will do just that.
Table of Contents
A introduction to quartz movement
When it comes to watch movements, there are three varieties: mechanical, automatic and quartz.
Sure, a quartz watch isn’t as exclusive as a mechanical one, but they’re still extremely accurate and durable. They’re also much more affordable and easier to care for. While you might not be getting centuries-old craftsmanship with the purchase of a quartz watch, you don’t have to sacrifice style or function. It’s 2022 and quartz watches have kept up with the times.
The basic difference between a quartz watch and a mechanical watch is that quartz watches are battery-powered, whereas mechanical watches have to be wound, either manually or automatically. This simple difference doesn’t influence much besides the fact that quartz watch hands tick instead of sweep, and the watches themselves require less maintenance than their more intricate competitors.
If you have a budget that’s on the smaller side, there’s no shame in opting for a quartz watch. There are even benefits to quartz movement that more complex watches don’t have, such as increased accuracy, which makes them super dependable and convenient.
Some of the best quartz watches can be found from a variety of brands, such as Citizen, Seiko, and Casio. Read on to discover some of our favorite picks!
The 6 Best Quartz Watches
Citizen Men’s CA0649-14E Eco-Drive Watch
This Eco-Drive model from Citizen is as cool in function as it is aesthetically. Black and silver stainless steel and aluminum are front and center here, encasing the brand’s Eco-Drive technology that powers this wristwatch in an ultra-sustainable way—using light and storing it in a permanently rechargeable lithium-ion cell.
And by light, they don’t just mean solar power. They’re saying any form of natural or artificial light will do the trick! With unique and useful complications, this multifunctional watch is a solid option when it comes to selecting one of the best quartz watches.
Casio Men’s Edifice Quartz Watch with Stainless Steel Strap
If you like blue accents on a wristwatch, you’ll love this one from Casio. It’s black dial and flat bezel serve as the perfect background for the bright, contrasting designs on the face, and really allow the complications and various chronographs to shine.
Solar-powered and water-resistant up to 100 meters, this stainless steel quartz watch is professional enough for the office, but stylish enough for weekend escapades. The Edifice collection was designed by Casio with sophistication and a high-level of function in mind, so you can look good while making use of all of its special features we’ve all come to know and love in a watch.
Citizen Men’s Eco-Drive Nighthawk Watch
Another Eco-Drive watch from Citizen, this Nighthawk model is subtle yet sleek thanks to its black ion-plated stainless steel case and mineral glass crystal. It features its special Nighthawk 60-minute chronograph, along with a 1/5 second chronograph, 12 and 24 hour time, and 200 meters of water resistance.
While it might not be the most easy-to-read watch on the market, it is certainly one of the more casual and cool models of the best quartz watch options. If you’re seeking something sturdy and low-key, you can’t go wrong by adding this to your cart.
Bulova Men’s Special Edition Moon Watch Stainless Steel
Sporty and chic, this Bulova model is their special edition Moon watch. It’s a replica of the original Bulova timepiece worn by an Apollo 15 mission commander, but elevated thanks to its reliable quartz movement. Its high-quality stainless steel case and bracelet pair excellently with its black dial and luminous hands and markers.
The Bulova Moon watch is super readable due to its anti-reflective sapphire glass and packed with useful chronographs and complications such as its tachymeter and calendar. Shoot for the stars and invest in this unique wristwatch fit for an astronaut!
Braun Gents Prestige Chronograph Watch
If you’re into the best quartz watches that are on the more modern and minimalist end of the spectrum, this Braun watch is perfect for you. It is simple in both design and production, as it is actually constructed by being carved from a single block of steel. Because of this, the watch doesn’t have a case-back, and its stainless steel case and band are black plated, making it fashionable without compromising on strength and durability. Featuring sapphire crystal and an elegant, yellow hand, the Gents Prestige Chronograph isn’t a timepiece to pass up on.
Tissot Men’s Quartz Stainless Steel Link Bracelet Watch
Tissot is yet another brand with some of the best quartz watches. This stainless steel model has number of functions to take you through your day-to-day, such as its three prominent sub-dials: a 30 minute, 60 second, and 1/10th of a second. It also includes a tachymeter scale around its fixed bezel and a date display at the 4 o’clock position. With luminous, silver-tone hands and markers, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, and 100-meter water resistance, this snazzy Tissot watch is as good as quartz gets.
Frequently Asked Questions
A watch’s movement, sometimes referred to as its caliber, is the mechanism by which the watch is powered.
Quartz movement simply means that the watch is powered by battery rather than relying on manual or automatic winding. A current electrifies the quartz crystal and creates vibrations that, in turn, make the watch run.
Quartz watches took off during the early 1970s and 80s, but the first ever quartz watch was invented on Christmas day of 1969 when the Japanese watchmaking brand Seiko launched its Astron model. Eventually, this lead to the quartz crisis, and changed the landscape of the watch market forever.
To fix a quartz watch, you must first determine the problem, and then remove, repair, or replace the faulty part. You can attempt to do so yourself, or you can send your watch in to a repair service.
Luckily, some quartz watches are inexpensive enough that repairs tend to be fairly affordable, while some are even cheap enough to be worth replacing altogether.