Quartz Watch

A clock with a quartz movement is also called a quartz watch. It is a fully electronic or electromechanical clock in which an (oscillating) quartz provides the correct seconds beat. A quartz crystal is inserted into a small housing inside the clock. This crystal acts as a clock and ensures that the energy of the battery is passed on to the respective hands at a regulated rate. The battery and the quartz crystal are connected by the stepper motor, which ultimately sets the watch hands in motion. Quartz crystals are usually produced synthetically. The basis for this is so-called quartz sand, which is found and mined in Germany, among other places. The high-frequency pulse generators enable quartz movements to achieve a very high degree of accuracy. This is based on the piezoelectric effect, in which certain crystals change their shape when an electrical voltage is applied. The effect can be calculated very precisely, so that the deformation of the crystal is used to set the clock. In quartz crystals, this deformation is called oscillation. Watches with quartz movements were developed in connection with high-frequency research during the First World War. Around 1970, microelectronics made it possible to produce quartz watches for the general population. This watch became famous through the chronometer competition held in Neuchatel in 1967. Seiko and the Electronic Watch Research Centre (CEH) had submitted prototypes of quartz watches for the wrist that were superior to other mechanical watches.