Quartz Watches?

Bigron100 · May 11, 2022

Ok, new to the form and this has no doubt been asked before.
With a quartz watch, would pulling the crown out to stop the watch, prolong the battery life and movement life.
Or is it not worth it?
These reason I is, suppose the watch is only worn occasionally.

Ron

josiahg52 · May 11, 2022

Sure. For a Ronda movement, for example, power consumption is reduced significantly. 75%, maybe.

blufinz52 · May 11, 2022

This article says no, pulling the crown out does not save battery life. Stopping the watch means you have to set the time (and date) every time you wear the watch. For me, it's not a big deal to replace the battery every 2-3 years.

https://www.timesticking.com/should-i-pull-out-the-stem-on-my-watch-to-save-battery/

josiahg52 · May 11, 2022

blufinz52
This article says no, pulling the crown out does not save battery life. Stopping the watch means you have to set the time (and date) every time you wear the watch. For me, it's not a big deal to replace the battery every 2-3 years.

https://www.timesticking.com/should-i-pull-out-the-stem-on-my-watch-to-save-battery/

Well, it's a feature of most Ronda movements. For the rest, it doesn't make sense that the same amount of power would used moving the hands versus stopping the watch. The only risk I see is an old cell leaking into the movement.

Like you, however, I don't bother as having to set the time every time I want to wear the watch is dumb and removes the very convenience of a quartz watch.

Canuck · May 11, 2022

B Bigron100
Ok, new to the form and this has no doubt been asked before.
With a quartz watch, would pulling the crown out to stop the watch, prolong the battery life and movement life.
Or is it not worth it?
These reason I is, suppose the watch is only worn occasionally.

Ron

Most quartz movements have a hack lever which moves to stop the gears from turning, when setting the hands. The circuitry continues to function as though the hands were still moving. Some watches (I suppose), may interrupt battery draw during setting of the hands, but off hand I am unable to think of a movement that does that. So I very much doubt you’d save battery life by leaving the stem in a setting position.

Bigron100 · May 11, 2022

Would prolong the movement life though?

lejaune · May 11, 2022

Not only Ronda, but other watches (miyota, ETA, etc) that I have measured also reduce the power consumption when the stem is pulled out. The background consumption (running the oscillator and counter) is almost unchanged, but the impulse current which occurs at every second is absent.

Omegafanman · May 11, 2022

B Bigron100
Would prolong the movement life though?

Taking the battery out for storage will prolong it even more. Although I just took a battery out of a 30 year old swatch and it was fine (no leaking thank goodness)

Archer · May 11, 2022

B Bigron100
Ok, new to the form and this has no doubt been asked before.
With a quartz watch, would pulling the crown out to stop the watch, prolong the battery life and movement life.
Or is it not worth it?
These reason I is, suppose the watch is only worn occasionally.

Ron

It is specific to the movement, so there’s no universal answer. Most newer movements hack the gear train, but also have a switch that cuts power to the motor, but leaves the circuit powered. On these, consumption will be greatly reduced.

Older watches (and some current models), only stop the wheel train, and leave the motor powered. This can actually increase consumption, so on those hacking the watch is worse than letting it run.

You would really have to know the specific movement to get the answer.

Cheers, Al

Bigron100 · May 12, 2022

The watch I'm talking about is an Aqua Terra 2015.
I'm more concerned about saving wear and tear on the movement, not that concerned about battery life, although it would be a plus.
Ron

Archer · May 12, 2022

B Bigron100
The watch I'm talking about is an Aqua Terra 2015.
I'm more concerned about saving wear and tear on the movement, not that concerned about battery life, although it would be a plus.
Ron

This would have an Omega 1538, and yes, pulling the crown out will save the battery. In terms of wear and tear, there’s very little in a quartz movement.

You can read more on this topic here:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/quartz-watches-some-information-some-may-find-interesting.5475/

Bigron100 · May 12, 2022

Thanks for that, very informative.
Most of my watches are automatic, so a quartz is fine by me I like automatics, but I'm not a purist. My concern is a what stage would it become a throwaway?
I won't be here in 20 years time the but the grandchildren will.

Ron

Archer · May 12, 2022

Not for a very long time. Parts are available as needed, just like the mechanical watches.

Quartz Watches?

Bigron100

josiahg52

blufinz52

josiahg52

Canuck

Bigron100

lejaune

Omegafanman

Archer

Bigron100

Archer

Bigron100

Archer

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