Watch Buyers Guide
In horology, a movement is the internal mechanism of a clock or watch, as opposed to the case, which encloses and protects the movement, and the face which displays the time. The term originated with mechanical timepieces, whose movements are made of many moving parts. It is less frequently applied to modern electronic or quartz timepieces, where the word module is often used instead.
Quartz
Quartz crystal is produced synthetically for use within watches to avoid impurities. Quartz is trimmed by a laser to paper thin slivers and then suspended in a metal capsule within the watch mechanism.
The analogue quartz watch contains an intregrated circuit which consists of a large number of minute parts such as transistors, resistors and capacitors. The integrated circuit converts the battery power into impulses which keep the quartz crystal vibrating. When activated the quartz vibrates rapidly, dividing time into 32,768 equal parts per second - this is known as the frequency. This high frequency is what makes a quartz watch so accurate.
When the battery starts to wear out the watch will either stop immediately or the second hand will start jumping every few seconds.
Mechanical Movement
The most important feature of a mechanical movement is the main spring that must be manually wound to store potential energy. This spring unwinds slowly, releasing energy to move the gears that power the watch's timekeeping functions. Reflecting the talent and skill of gifted watchmakers, mechanical watches have an intricate composite of gears and springs and are crafted just as their predecessors were before the age of battery power.
Once wound, the average mechanical watch has a power reserve of 36-40 hours. The user must wind the crown on the watch case every time the energy is depleted and must also reset the time. Many users get into the habit of winding the movement every day to ensure the watch is working when they need it.
Automatic Movement
An automatic movement is mechanical movement with a self-winding design. An automatic watch harnesses the energy produced by motion to wind the spring. This movement features a rotor that spins when the watch is in motion as when the wearer moves their arm. The mechanism transfers the energy from the spinning rotor to the main spring of the winding system.
Automatic watches have all of the advantages of mechanical watches--detailed construction, durability--plus the owner does not need to manually wind the timepiece frequently. If you wear the watch every day, it will maintain its power reserve. It is impossible to over wind as the mechanism is fitted with a slipping device. As long as automatic watches are worn, the self-winding mechanism will keep them fully wound.