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Quartz Clocks & Watches

Mechanical clocks and watches that use balances and springs lose several seconds of time every day, and stop working if the spring is not wound. Then, a convenient type of timepiece was invented that would keep working accurately for over a year. That was the quartz clock and watch!
Mechanical clocks and watches that use balances and springs lose several seconds of time every day, and stop working if the spring is not wound. Then, a convenient type of timepiece was invented that would keep working accurately for over a year. That was the quartz clock and watch!　Quartz clocks and watches use a quartz crystal in place of the balance, and a battery in place of the spring!　The fist quartz wristwatches only lost around five seconds over the course of a month, and the power of the battery kept them working properly for more than a whole year!
Quartz clocks and watches use a quartz crystal in place of the balance, and a battery in place of the spring!
The fist quartz wristwatches only lost around five seconds over the course of a month, and the power of the battery kept them working properly for more than a whole year!
Seiko Quartz Wall Clock “Spiral” (1968)
I’m a quartz clock too! So I work by battery power!
Quartz is a kind of crystal, isn’t it?!
I’m a quartz clock too! So I work by battery power! Quartz is a kind of crystal, isn’t it?!
Seiko Quartz Astron (1969)
Seiko of Japan was the first company in the world to sell quartz clocks and watches! Seiko launched the first quartz wall clock (top photograph) in 1968 and the first quartz wristwatch (bottom photograph) in 1969. It is said that around 97% of timepieces in use around the world today are quartz.
So Japan was the first country to make them? That’s amazing! By the way, are there any other kinds of timepieces that are newer than quartz?
Yes, they are called atomic clocks. They’re very accurate clocks that only lose a second over a period of tens of millions of years. Atomic clocks are now the standard for keeping time around the world. Clocks are still evolving even today!
Wow, that’s amazing! Unbelievable!
Go back to the beginning

History of Timepieces

Go back to the beginning

  • Sundials
  • Water clocks
  • Hourglasses
  • Combustion Clocks
  • The First Mechanical Clocks
  • Pendulum Clocks
  • Portable Mechanical Clocks & Watches
  • Quartz Clocks & Watches