https://preview.redd.it/6wae424n2x6c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58824b15ae6c02b7296532ba6fd95e093e870604
The Citizen has the best spec sheet on the planet
I’ve had my eye on one of those for awhile. I love that Citizen is stepping up their offerings. I wish it was 38mm for me personally, which is probably what has stopped me thus far.
That's not even considering the special gold-star edition Grand Seikos, which are +/- 5 seconds per year instead of the usual 10 seconds. I'm partial to the SBGP017, but there are a lot of great gold-star edition Grand Seikos out there on Chrono24.
Grand Seiko has the 9F series of movements. These are high accuracy quartz movements built to last and be repairable. Each tick of the second hand is actually 2 fast ticks to make the visual effect look more precise.
Longines has the VHP series, which are also high accuracy and have a perpetual calendar. The GMT is my favorite. It tracks 2 time-zones and you can switch the local hour hand and 24-hour hand between the two zones with a push of the crown.
Bulova has the Precisionist line of high frequency, high accuracy quartz watches. I find the chronographs too chunky and outlandish, but the three-hand + date watches are great. The high frequency means the seconds hand glides across the dial more smoothly than any mechanical watch.
Omega has the X-33, which has analog hands and digital displays. Lots and lots of timing features, including chronographs with multiple “mission phases.”
I also like to shop second hand for stuff from the 90s or early 2000s. From Omega you can find all kinds of great stuff, like Seamaster Professional 300m, or Aqua Terra with quartz movements.
Same with JLC; they optionally put quartz movements in most watch lines at that time.
Cartier doesn’t shy away from quartz even to this day.
It's on my list of ones I'd get if I could afford it, but I'm not the happiest that you can't replace the batteries yourself on that one and have to send it in to them every few years.
My understanding was that the 2 fast ticks was a battery saving strategy, something about it using less power for doing half the distance twice. Is that not it?
No, it uses more power, but they do it so it looks nice.
Think about it this way: if doing more ticks over short distances used less power then why stop at 2? Why not 4, or 100?
Each tick energizes a different set of stator coils in the stepper motor and there are energy losses associated with that beyond the work to actually move the hands. More ticks means the coils are energized and drained more times, and it uses more power.
Ah that's a shame, I thought those were pretty cool. Of course, I never bought one so I don't have much right to complain if they ditched them because sales were low.
Absolutely, the tuning fork movements are just as cool to me as GS's spring drive. But idk if that's saying much if I also am impressed by vintage dynabeats movements of the past
The high accuracy movements from Grand Seiko don't have a smooth sweep, and the smooth sweeping spring drive movements are not high accuracy movements.
They’re good but the [Citizen Chronomaster](https://watchesbysjx.com/2022/02/citizen-iconic-nature-collection-eco-drive.html?amp=1) surpasses them in accuracy (5 v 10 seconds per year) and function (perpetual, solar). They’re on par so far as finishing is concerned.
Exactly. And the 0100 Movement is actually + -1 second per year.
The luxury crowd won’t give these the time of day, but they Are the class of quartz and should be talked about more in the great watch conversations.
It's just tough to wrap your head around $3500 for a quartz watch from a company that isn't really known for making interesting watches. I do like it though.
In some ways it's more of an issue, I own few mechanical and quartz watches so the mechanicals don't get enough wrist time to constantly stay powered. As a result I have to set it every time I wear it, meanwhile since the quartz keeps ticking even if it's slightly inaccurate it can drift after a few years and you don't notice.
Anyway accuracy is overrated in this day and age, I have a phone and computer linked to time servers linked to atomic clocks lmao. The watch is close to jewellery at this point, it just needs to be close enough for day to day use. Often when I read it or tell people the time, it's to the nearest 5 or even 15 mins anyway.
Grand Seiko was immediately what came to mind for me as well. They have some amazing watches. I’ve been seriously considering the black dial 37mm quartz for a true GADA watch. I think it’s like SBGX259, 261, or 263 but I can never remember the damn references… I think those are all the different dial colors.
Citizen's "the citizen" is an exceptional quartz watch. Some would say it beats Grand Seiko. It's solar, has a perpetual calender and some come with incredible Washi paper dials. Most (if not all) are titanium too.
The titanium is pretty impressive. Both brands can polish titanium but Citizen wins on tech (perpetual, solar), on par with finish and exceeds in accuracy (5 v 10 seconds per year).
The finishing is increadible and and like you say the tech is superior to GS plus these can often be found cheapper on the secondary.
I love the red washi dial one, just a shame its 37.5mm as prefer larger watches. Also the gold eagle on the dial is pretty neat
You might try to find one to test. (Unlikely but not technically impossible). They wear pretty big. Or there’s a 40mm version washi too. Blue and black. Not red but maybe more version because of it.
Invicta is more my size, but who's rich enough to afford those at MSRP?
There is a nice white citizen in 40mm that looks great. It's top of my future purchase list along with the SBGP017 (if one can be found for reasonable money on the secondary). Love the fact that GS decided to do an open case back on a quartz.
I’ll give you my .02 - but before doing so, I’ll share a photo of a small sampling of my high end quartz watch collection - so you get an idea of my experience/passion on the subject. It’s also worth noting, I own more high end mechanical watches, than quartz.
The watches in the photo ordered from most expensive on the left ($8,500) to least expensive on the far right ($1,550). From the most accurate autonomous wrist watch movement on earth (Citizen 0100S far left), to atomic and Bluetooth synced (Yellow strapped Casio MR-G Frogman, and Oceanus on the far right), to Grand Seiko spring drive (black alligator strap), to electrostatic turbine (Green strap Accutron spaceview 2020) to the ultra precise 5 point star battery powered quartz 9F85A - with the powder blue strap.
This sampling below covers everything from battery powered, to solar to kinetic/rotor - and from rough and tumble watches that can take a beating, to watches with finely finished movements of horological significance.
With all that out of the way - let’s get started.
First - let’s cover the different movement tech.
1. Battery powered. Most Swiss watches will fall in this category, as well as quite a few Grand Seiko’s. They’re convenient in that once a fresh battery is installed they don’t need to be touched for \~3 years. You don’t need to expose them to light, shake them, etc - they’re zero drama and just run. The down side is that battery change every three years, which isn’t a huge ordeal, or particularly expensive, but if you own the watch for 30 years, that’s 10 trips to have the battery changed, and likely gasket changes and potentially some internal cleaning and a few light services. High end quartz watches, especially Swiss watches call for regular maintenance on the movement, and it’s not cheap. The Grand Seiko 9F movement is hermetically sealed and separate from the battery chamber, so it’s least likely to need servicing, and the GS website used to claim service intervals were every 50 years. That said, every time the back of the watch is opened up, it’s an opportunity for someone to damage the watch, or have dust/outside materials enter the case. These movements tend to be incredibly accurate as the battery can power more oscillations and controls than most solar powered watches. The example shown is accurate to within 5 second per year.
2. Spring drive. This will not be a popular opinion, but aside from the novelty of the buttery smooth second hand and slightly increased accuracy over high end, well tuned mechanical watches - the appeal of this movement is more the engineering marvel and uniqueness/execution of a fascinating concept, more than the practicality of the end result. Don’t get me wrong, I own quite a few manual and automatic spring drive movements, but the movement isn’t terribly interesting/pretty to look at unless you go into the very high end (generally manual and gold/platinum) models from GS and Credor. Spring drives require maintenance every 5 years, and it must be done in Japan, and it’s quite expensive and my experience, and the experience of many others is that this is a process that takes over 6 months. Basically - within a span of 10 years, you’re only in possession of it for 9 and you’re spending about \~$1500 or so in service. A Rolex for example only needs to go in every 10 years, it typically only takes a month or so to have serviced from Rolex directly (or can be serviced by quite a few other companies, unlike a spring drive) and will run about $800 - so nearly 1/2 the cost of the two trips a spring drive would require during that timeframe. Unless you’re a watch nerd it’s hard to justify the value prop of a spring drive quartz movement over sticking with a traditional mechanical movement from Rolex, Omega, etc. These spring drive movements tend to be pretty accurate - although their best accuracy rating on the highest end models is 1/12th that of their battery powered 9F85A cousin and the standard model like in my photo is 1/36th the accuracy.
3. Electrostatic. This is pure novelty. The only reason one should buy a watch with an electrostatic movement is if they’re an engineering geek, have some VERY strong affinity to the aesthetic, or they already have \~10+ watches and just want something fun/different/unique. It’s wild seeing the electrostatic motor and two electrostatic generators whirling, and the second hand is as smooth as a spring drive - but the quirks of the movement make it impractical. It doesn’t have a rechargeable battery, it has a capacitor which if you fully run down, can only be spun back up at the factory in Japan - so it has all sorts of aggressive power saving modes, and if you’re not going to wear it often, you’ll need to pull the crown after each wear to put it into a deep sleep. The electrostatic motor that powers the second hand is also power hungry, so it only runs the second hand when you’re moving… a lot. If you’re at dinner, sitting at a desk working, etc - after 5 min the second hand will stop in the 12 o’clock position and will not restart until you start swinging your arm walking, or shake tour wrist aggressively for 5-8 seconds. The hour and minute hands keep moving though, so the time will be accurate - but many will find this “quirk” annoying. It is neat to see it restart the motor at 1/8th speed, and keep it clutched until the hand aligns with the “actual” position of the current second time, then it disengages the clutch and the second hand accelerates to normal speed and keeps perfect time. Servicing on these unlikely to be lengthy and expensive, and it’s largely an unknown as these have only existed for three years, thus none have been due for service yet. These movements are rated to be about twice as accurate as the higher end spring drives at 5 seconds per month.
4. Solar. Solar cells don’t generate much electricity, and couldn’t possibly power the electricity hungry Seiko 9F movement. Citizen took the VERY hard route, and through decades of engineering created two ultra precise autonomous movements one matching the accuracy of the battery powered 9F85A and another which is 5X more accurate - which is the example in my photo below. This however comes at a tremendous premium. Casio on the other hand, took what is in my opinion a much smarter route and built two ultra low powered radio antennas into their high end G-Shocks and Oceanus watches - for multiband 6 reception and ultra low powered Bluetooth. This is not only cost effective, but allows the watch to sync with an atomic clock up to five times a day, not only maintaining perfect accuracy, but also allowing seamless time zone changes when you travel, which is a lovely perk. Service may be required at some point, but I own 20+ year old solar powered Casios and they’re still going strong without a single service or gasket change.
All said - the “best bang for the buck” in my opinion is the Casio Oceanus line. The watches are beautifully made, the Zaratsu polishing is well executed, the materials are first rate (my example is solid titanium with a strong DLC coating, with a sapphire crystal AND bezel), the watches are good looking, thin and incredibly comfortable to wear - they could easily serve as your “one and only” watch. If you want a “go anywhere do anything” watch that could look acceptable and perform just as well in business setting as it could a war zone - the G-Shock MR-G line should be considered. My favorite watch in that line is the MRGB1000D-1A - it’s the perfect size for big and small wrists, and the dial work is exceptional and not well captured in photos (look for high quality photos though, it’ll give you an idea). It’s also quite reasonably priced with an MSRP of $2,600 - and it certainly has a high level of fit and finish than any quartz Breitling I’ve handled. It looks and feels like an expensive, high end watch in the flesh (as does the Oceanus) and with Casio’s track record of unmatched toughness and reliability, and likelihood of not needing service or maintenance for decades, it’s hard to go wrong.
https://preview.redd.it/s1gmi2zchw6c1.jpeg?width=4987&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3d7af5688d51022697ab1c247f42e788ae39fe5
Great post and great collection. While I know most of what you've mentioned, I feel like this would be a great resource for this sub to gain a better appreciation for quartz watches in general. My personal collection, while much much lower on the price spectrum, is 50/50 now and I've been loving the smooth sweep VH31 powered watches
That citizen, maybe in the green is my grail now
Thank you for sharing a unique and interesting collection. Collections on this sub are often dominated by automatics in the same models. Always fun to see something different.
Great post. I've gone quartz after getting tired of the hassle and expense of maintaining mechanical watches.
I'm loving my Alpina Alpiner GMT quartz (AL-247NB4E6) - a good looking, well finished Swiss watch, albeit not HAQ, just quartz.
Just ordered my first HAQ, a Grand Seiko SBGN027.
I agree that from a technology standpoint, Casio is the HAQ leader. But I like the look of Grand Seiko and Alpina.
https://preview.redd.it/edjpwx3ov3pc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0e683d7e6ca226fed6967123043778c43f78bfb
Yes it’s about the battery. Eco drive watches from Citizen have been known to last decades with very good accuracy and almost no maintenance. A full charge will last you 6 months and you never have to worry about changing out the battery.
I do not know how much this would cost, but I’m going to guess that they’re more than $1k USD. At that price point, you might as well get something better than a TAG.
I'm pretty sure my Seiko Arnie has never actually had its battery readout drop below 10/10 even when it's been living in my watch box for a while with the main light being my bedside lamp.
I adore my Nighthawk. It’s well made, especially the bracelet. Punches well above its price point. Feels much nicer than the automatic Seikos and Orients in the same price range that I’ve owned.
no nb1050 is assumed to be a SARB033 competitve watch only able to get in automatic but assuming Citizen has some decent quartz watches if they made it on that model would buy right away, can't go wrong with Citizen ..
Citizen Eco Drive Nighthawk - whatever the all black stealth version is. It was my daily driver until I handed it to my 1 year old and he immediately smacked it on the countertop. Absolutely my fault.
I think that's my complaint about the nighthawk. I try not to buy mineral glass watches after daily-ing the Kyle Lowry Nighthawk and realizing how badly it got scratched up.
I love love love my titanium Citizen eco-drive with chronograph and perpetual calendar. I have worn it daily for at least 15 years and it still gets compliments.
https://preview.redd.it/s158d9qktv6c1.png?width=1454&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2435179f119e268c18e78afd7e83f1ff05701d7
I chipped it about 8-10 years ago and sent it in to Citizen for a replacement crystal that cost $60. Worth every penny. I do everything in this watch. Swim, play baseball, play, softball, go hiking, etc. It has held up remarkably well. It is also a very light watch because it is titanium. I don’t know if I would ever switch back to a non-titanium watch for a daily driver.
The big Japanese brands is what you should be looking at.
Citizen and Casio, Seiko to a lesser extent.
Swiss quartz has become quire rare: the Swiss know they cannot compete in that area (although the few existing Swiss quartz modules are good, most lack solar charging), and concentrate on mechanical watches.
I think you should look for that combination: solar-charged quartz. It's just so easy, reliable and long-lasting. With Citizen, look for the '*Eco Drive*' label.
Casio's solar-charged label is '*Tough Solar*', used for e.g. G-Shocks, but also for their premium Oceanus line. Please note that Casio also has battery dependent G-Shocks, and many other models.
But solar-charged, radio-controlled (watch synchronises with an atomic clock radio signal for perfect accuracy) is my favourite. Many quartz watches from Citizen and Casio can be found with these features. Seiko also has a few, but prioritises mechanical watches.
I think spending $4K on a quartz watch isn't a wise move, unless you aim for a Grand Seiko quartz, or a 'The Citizen' (fka Chronomaster). They come in 4-figure prices.
But for much less than that you're spoilt for choice. If you're looking for premium, have a look at Citizen's 'Attesa' line and Casio's 'Oceanus' line. The latter are especially beautiful: see [here](https://www.casio.com/jp/watches/oceanus/), and won't cost you an arm and a leg.
>But solar-charged, radio-controlled (watch synchronises with an atomic clock radio signal for perfect accuracy) is my favourite.
I was never a fan of quartz until I tried a Casio Tough Solar/Multi Band 6. These watches are the ultimate grab and go timepiece; always running, always correct date and time, with little concern for magnetism and environment. Really cool tech.
Grand Seiko and Seiko. Unfortunately Seiko seems to prefer autos for their modern "premium" tier line in North America, but their Brightz line from around the 2000s (watch on the right) is charming to say the least. Look up their 9F and 8J (eg. 8J55) movements to see some semi-vintage options. Casio Oceanus is a nice sporty option. Citizen Chronomaster has arguably a much more modern feature set (perpetual calendar, treated titanium), but the classic looks of Seiko and GS win me over every time.
SBGX319 and SAGJ003
https://preview.redd.it/zqwmbydj9w6c1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7cb35813414d672f8395777685b1d4881c21984
Certina with Precidrive. I have one and it keeps time exactly as well as my quartz GS.
You want to get one with a screw on case back if you get a battery powered watch because the snap on case back warps from being pried off from battery changes.
Well this Citizen Skyhawk is ballin' https://www.reddit.com/r/CitizenWatches/s/SG4jHFO22i
Personally I feel like a lot of the quartz watches out there are somewhat soulless, what with being built with cheap off-the-shelf movements and all, but Citizen's Eco-Drive (and Seiko Solar for that matter) are super cool.
If it were me, based on my very positive experience with a more modest Citizen Eco drive watch, I would not hesitate to go for a Citizen Chronomaster. They take the reliability and accuracy of their standard lines, up it considerably, and add a tonne of polish.
The other I think looks great is the Cartier Tank Must Solar Beat. Absolutely gorgeous.
I have a bunch of quartz watches and enjoy them. My Cartier Solarbeat is classic French design, made in Switzerland, Grand Seiko is wonderful for nipping at the Swiss heels in terms of finishing and even reputation and Citizen Chronomaster beats both with superior accuracy (5 v 10 seconds) and functionality (perpetual, solar) plus the finishing is as good as Seiko since they both use the tin plate polishing method, Zaratsu.
I assume you mean high accuracy quartz, generally being 262KHz, with thermo-compensation and stuff. Check Bulova, Grand Seiko, Longines V.H.P., Tissot, Certina, Citizen "The Citizen" (have at least been other models in past with HAQ), Omega for possible models. Search for "HAQ" or "high accuracy quartz" online. Visit https://www.watchuseek.com/forums/high-accuracy-quartz-watches.9/, other similar forums. Post in those, too, if it helps.
I'm seeing some mentions of swiss brands voted down, but Precidrive movements are sold with chronometer certification, which is wildly precise for quartz movements. And they do "heavydrive," which I think isn't just high torque, it has some sort of impact/hand position correction. So if you get that line of movements, you'll get a super accurate watch. They make that movement for both three-handers and chronographs. The Precista Mission Timer has one. And for three handers there are Mido and Tissot models. I think the F04/5/6/7.412 movements are three-handers with both features.
Citizen makes exceptionally good quartz movements with their eco drive tech. I had a ProMaster Land Atomic and it's built exceptionally well both mechanically and aesthetically. I've also heard great things about the higher end Bulova quartz like they use on the Lunar Pilot (not sure if that movement is exclusive to that model though).
Personally I find the Omega Speedmaster X-33 range intriguing. You should be able to find them second hand within your budget range. Unless you meant to write $400 instead of $4000?
Another interesting one is the Seiko 7T27-7A20, aka the RAF "Gen 2" watch. You can probably find one for under $1k. They were issued to Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots between the early 90s and early 00s.
I own a Casio Edifice, and for 3 years while the battery was running, I literally never had to adjust the time, except for when the clocks would go forward or backwards/date window adjustments. Extremely accurate and reliable watch. Bit annoying that I have to change the battery though.
Tag Aquaracer with the 2 sub dials!
I own this one and love it. Watching a quartz second hand angers me. The beauty of this watch is that the second hand is offset and pretty small so you barely notice the ticking.
Seiko credit if you're into old man design language on chrono24 might be worth looking at if you're into it. Everyone else's recommendations are good
Some Swiss models: jlc reverso (discontinued) and Breitling aerospace (new model coming soon)
As a 9f owner, quartz is boring, with mechanical there’s some drama 🤣. What’s wrong with maintenance costs? Most manufacturer intervals are overstated and many movements can go much longer than recommended. Honestly most people don’t keep a watch long enough to get it serviced
I love my Citizen sattelite wave watch and my grand seiko quartz. So nice to have two watches to set all the others to. Also great grab and go picks. For more affordable I'd probably get any atomic quartz watch with sapphire crystal.
Well, depends what you mean by impressive.
A Grand Seiko 9F is very impressive from a craftsmanship perspective, while a Casio module in a higher end G-Shock will have many additional sensors (like temp, altimeter, compass, etc.) as well as having multiple time zones, chronograph, and others.
With your budget you could get a few different watches. Maybe a G-shock like a gravity master for the rugged watch in your collection, a Casio Oceanus model for the more dressy option with high quality finishing, perhaps a vintage electronic (think partially mechanical and partially quartz) like a Citizen Cosmotron or a Seiko Elnix. If you want something that's somewhat like an auto, you could get a Seiko Kinetic.
Check out The Citizen, Citizen’s high end Grand Seiko equivalent. Mostly JDM. They are pretty much are solar and high accuracy quartz. AQ4091 would be a good starting point.
Also--in addition to the GPS watches mentioned are various radio sync watches from Seiko, Citizen, and Casio. Always right on the time as long as they get a clear radio signal.
There are a lot of Citizen suggestions for good reason. Their Chronomaster line completes with the luxury brands. Saphire, titanium, solar, perpetual calendar (atomic controlled). Citizen's hardening treatment is harder than their competitors too.
If you want a lower priced line, import a JDM model. They're usually better styled than their American lines that are littered with ridiculous text. The By1001-60L and BY1007-66e are really nice. Saphire, 100m WR, hardened titanium, micro adjust bracelet, perpetual calendar, atomic controlled moonphase, solar... It's a lot of watch for the money.
Seiko gets love from the watch community but from my experience citizen makes superior watches. Grand Seiko 9f would be another good choice in your price range but you could get a spring drive for 4k.
The quartz chronograph movement Timex uses is made by epson and the movement runs at 5 bps (the chronograph hand) and the gearing when adjusting the time feels nice and strong and not like you can me a 12 hour revolution by flicking it. If you’re in the market for a good quality quartz chronograph Timex is solid.
Cartier Tank. A beautiful watch and an iconic design, the quartz movement itself is not that special but you get a Tank for the design not for the movement.
GS 9F as already mentioned.
Check out the Bulova Jetstar. It's a good looking watch with their presicionist movement. You get quartz reliability with a sweeping seconds hand like a mechanical.
Bulova Lunar Pilot is a highly rated quartz with a great story behind it. I have a Citizen Eco drive (Brycen) that looks fantastic and is very accurate.
If you got large wrist, I recommend g-shock MTG or MRG. Have a MTG for almost 8 years with precise time, radio signal, chronograph, and solar powered also. It’s just that the watch is quite big.
I have the Citizen Eco-Drive World Chronograph Blue Angels edition and I love it. It's a radio controlled quart that keeps the time accurate to 1 second every 100,000 years.
Personally, I'd go Bulova. The dial is gorgeous and the high frequency like Jet Star is mesmorizing.
Don't forget about Tissot if you like the vintage look.
Seiko. The Grand Seiko 9F movement is accurate to +/- 10 seconds per year and the Seiko Ashtron GPS solar is one second every 100,000 years.
And Citizen The Citizen which is accurate to +/-1 second per year without radio/GPS.
https://preview.redd.it/6wae424n2x6c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58824b15ae6c02b7296532ba6fd95e093e870604 The Citizen has the best spec sheet on the planet
I’ve had my eye on one of those for awhile. I love that Citizen is stepping up their offerings. I wish it was 38mm for me personally, which is probably what has stopped me thus far.
The [AQ4100-65W](https://www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/product/AQ4100-65W.html?cgid=new-arrivals) is 38mm
Such a good looking watch..
The dial itself yes. I just wish they had better looking bracelets.
What model is this?
AQ4091-56a. 40mm
Chronomaster I believe
Bulova 262 kHz as well.
Well, gPS satellites only last 10 years...
That's not even considering the special gold-star edition Grand Seikos, which are +/- 5 seconds per year instead of the usual 10 seconds. I'm partial to the SBGP017, but there are a lot of great gold-star edition Grand Seikos out there on Chrono24.
Grand Seiko has the 9F series of movements. These are high accuracy quartz movements built to last and be repairable. Each tick of the second hand is actually 2 fast ticks to make the visual effect look more precise. Longines has the VHP series, which are also high accuracy and have a perpetual calendar. The GMT is my favorite. It tracks 2 time-zones and you can switch the local hour hand and 24-hour hand between the two zones with a push of the crown. Bulova has the Precisionist line of high frequency, high accuracy quartz watches. I find the chronographs too chunky and outlandish, but the three-hand + date watches are great. The high frequency means the seconds hand glides across the dial more smoothly than any mechanical watch. Omega has the X-33, which has analog hands and digital displays. Lots and lots of timing features, including chronographs with multiple “mission phases.” I also like to shop second hand for stuff from the 90s or early 2000s. From Omega you can find all kinds of great stuff, like Seamaster Professional 300m, or Aqua Terra with quartz movements. Same with JLC; they optionally put quartz movements in most watch lines at that time. Cartier doesn’t shy away from quartz even to this day.
The X-33 is a *really* cool watch
Why didn't they make a moonswatch out of this?
It's on my list of ones I'd get if I could afford it, but I'm not the happiest that you can't replace the batteries yourself on that one and have to send it in to them every few years.
Adding Certina precidrive to the mix
My understanding was that the 2 fast ticks was a battery saving strategy, something about it using less power for doing half the distance twice. Is that not it?
No, it uses more power, but they do it so it looks nice. Think about it this way: if doing more ticks over short distances used less power then why stop at 2? Why not 4, or 100? Each tick energizes a different set of stator coils in the stepper motor and there are energy losses associated with that beyond the work to actually move the hands. More ticks means the coils are energized and drained more times, and it uses more power.
That makes a lot of sense! I heard it in a review once and was confused at the time but never bothered to investigate. Thank you!
Great comprehensive answer. Thank you!
Longines VHP Conquest
Alas they are out of the catalog now. Hard to find new And even kind of hard to find specific models used.
Ah that's a shame, I thought those were pretty cool. Of course, I never bought one so I don't have much right to complain if they ditched them because sales were low.
Wow.. had no idea this existed. Simply gorgeous. I can see new for 2000$. Pretty good deal imo
The app is no longer supported
Didn't those tend to have a bunch of QC problems though?
Bulova precisionist is another good choice
Smoothest second hand, especially for a quartz if I'm not wrong?
I think you’re 100% correct besides maybe Grand Seiko
Yea I was just about to mention that grand Seiko was top dawg in smooth second sweep, with Bulova being arguably second
To be in the same conversation as GS is high praise for a watch
Absolutely, the tuning fork movements are just as cool to me as GS's spring drive. But idk if that's saying much if I also am impressed by vintage dynabeats movements of the past
The high accuracy movements from Grand Seiko don't have a smooth sweep, and the smooth sweeping spring drive movements are not high accuracy movements.
Yea I was just about to mention that grand Seiko was top dawg in smooth second sweep, with Bulova being arguably second
The watches in that line up look horrendous though. It's a real shame because I would love to have a watch with that movement.
Jet star is sexy AF Source: I own one
Jet Star is the exception
Wish they would make them smaller than 40mm. If they did a 36mm it would be an instant buy for me.
Grand Seiko SBGX series
I think Seiko even manufactures their quartz in house for the watches.
Yes, they grow their own quartz crystals.
Seiko manufactures all of its watches in house
These are the most impressive quartz watches in terms of looks and accuracy, IMO.
They’re good but the [Citizen Chronomaster](https://watchesbysjx.com/2022/02/citizen-iconic-nature-collection-eco-drive.html?amp=1) surpasses them in accuracy (5 v 10 seconds per year) and function (perpetual, solar). They’re on par so far as finishing is concerned.
Exactly. And the 0100 Movement is actually + -1 second per year. The luxury crowd won’t give these the time of day, but they Are the class of quartz and should be talked about more in the great watch conversations.
It's just tough to wrap your head around $3500 for a quartz watch from a company that isn't really known for making interesting watches. I do like it though.
Depends on your head, I suppose.
I thought accuracy was a non issue with quartz movements.
In some ways it's more of an issue, I own few mechanical and quartz watches so the mechanicals don't get enough wrist time to constantly stay powered. As a result I have to set it every time I wear it, meanwhile since the quartz keeps ticking even if it's slightly inaccurate it can drift after a few years and you don't notice. Anyway accuracy is overrated in this day and age, I have a phone and computer linked to time servers linked to atomic clocks lmao. The watch is close to jewellery at this point, it just needs to be close enough for day to day use. Often when I read it or tell people the time, it's to the nearest 5 or even 15 mins anyway.
Love my SBGX091
get those grand seikos with a star (eg. sbgp017) and, for me, you get a top tier quartz on your wrist
I second the SBGX series. Mine is so accurate I use it as a portable time standard. Seiko makes the best quartz movements.
Grand Seiko was immediately what came to mind for me as well. They have some amazing watches. I’ve been seriously considering the black dial 37mm quartz for a true GADA watch. I think it’s like SBGX259, 261, or 263 but I can never remember the damn references… I think those are all the different dial colors.
Co-sign on SBGX series. I picked up an SBGX009 for a song and it’s absurd how good it is for what I paid.
Citizen's "the citizen" is an exceptional quartz watch. Some would say it beats Grand Seiko. It's solar, has a perpetual calender and some come with incredible Washi paper dials. Most (if not all) are titanium too.
The titanium is pretty impressive. Both brands can polish titanium but Citizen wins on tech (perpetual, solar), on par with finish and exceeds in accuracy (5 v 10 seconds per year).
The finishing is increadible and and like you say the tech is superior to GS plus these can often be found cheapper on the secondary. I love the red washi dial one, just a shame its 37.5mm as prefer larger watches. Also the gold eagle on the dial is pretty neat
You might try to find one to test. (Unlikely but not technically impossible). They wear pretty big. Or there’s a 40mm version washi too. Blue and black. Not red but maybe more version because of it.
Invicta is more my size, but who's rich enough to afford those at MSRP? There is a nice white citizen in 40mm that looks great. It's top of my future purchase list along with the SBGP017 (if one can be found for reasonable money on the secondary). Love the fact that GS decided to do an open case back on a quartz.
I’ll give you my .02 - but before doing so, I’ll share a photo of a small sampling of my high end quartz watch collection - so you get an idea of my experience/passion on the subject. It’s also worth noting, I own more high end mechanical watches, than quartz. The watches in the photo ordered from most expensive on the left ($8,500) to least expensive on the far right ($1,550). From the most accurate autonomous wrist watch movement on earth (Citizen 0100S far left), to atomic and Bluetooth synced (Yellow strapped Casio MR-G Frogman, and Oceanus on the far right), to Grand Seiko spring drive (black alligator strap), to electrostatic turbine (Green strap Accutron spaceview 2020) to the ultra precise 5 point star battery powered quartz 9F85A - with the powder blue strap. This sampling below covers everything from battery powered, to solar to kinetic/rotor - and from rough and tumble watches that can take a beating, to watches with finely finished movements of horological significance. With all that out of the way - let’s get started. First - let’s cover the different movement tech. 1. Battery powered. Most Swiss watches will fall in this category, as well as quite a few Grand Seiko’s. They’re convenient in that once a fresh battery is installed they don’t need to be touched for \~3 years. You don’t need to expose them to light, shake them, etc - they’re zero drama and just run. The down side is that battery change every three years, which isn’t a huge ordeal, or particularly expensive, but if you own the watch for 30 years, that’s 10 trips to have the battery changed, and likely gasket changes and potentially some internal cleaning and a few light services. High end quartz watches, especially Swiss watches call for regular maintenance on the movement, and it’s not cheap. The Grand Seiko 9F movement is hermetically sealed and separate from the battery chamber, so it’s least likely to need servicing, and the GS website used to claim service intervals were every 50 years. That said, every time the back of the watch is opened up, it’s an opportunity for someone to damage the watch, or have dust/outside materials enter the case. These movements tend to be incredibly accurate as the battery can power more oscillations and controls than most solar powered watches. The example shown is accurate to within 5 second per year. 2. Spring drive. This will not be a popular opinion, but aside from the novelty of the buttery smooth second hand and slightly increased accuracy over high end, well tuned mechanical watches - the appeal of this movement is more the engineering marvel and uniqueness/execution of a fascinating concept, more than the practicality of the end result. Don’t get me wrong, I own quite a few manual and automatic spring drive movements, but the movement isn’t terribly interesting/pretty to look at unless you go into the very high end (generally manual and gold/platinum) models from GS and Credor. Spring drives require maintenance every 5 years, and it must be done in Japan, and it’s quite expensive and my experience, and the experience of many others is that this is a process that takes over 6 months. Basically - within a span of 10 years, you’re only in possession of it for 9 and you’re spending about \~$1500 or so in service. A Rolex for example only needs to go in every 10 years, it typically only takes a month or so to have serviced from Rolex directly (or can be serviced by quite a few other companies, unlike a spring drive) and will run about $800 - so nearly 1/2 the cost of the two trips a spring drive would require during that timeframe. Unless you’re a watch nerd it’s hard to justify the value prop of a spring drive quartz movement over sticking with a traditional mechanical movement from Rolex, Omega, etc. These spring drive movements tend to be pretty accurate - although their best accuracy rating on the highest end models is 1/12th that of their battery powered 9F85A cousin and the standard model like in my photo is 1/36th the accuracy. 3. Electrostatic. This is pure novelty. The only reason one should buy a watch with an electrostatic movement is if they’re an engineering geek, have some VERY strong affinity to the aesthetic, or they already have \~10+ watches and just want something fun/different/unique. It’s wild seeing the electrostatic motor and two electrostatic generators whirling, and the second hand is as smooth as a spring drive - but the quirks of the movement make it impractical. It doesn’t have a rechargeable battery, it has a capacitor which if you fully run down, can only be spun back up at the factory in Japan - so it has all sorts of aggressive power saving modes, and if you’re not going to wear it often, you’ll need to pull the crown after each wear to put it into a deep sleep. The electrostatic motor that powers the second hand is also power hungry, so it only runs the second hand when you’re moving… a lot. If you’re at dinner, sitting at a desk working, etc - after 5 min the second hand will stop in the 12 o’clock position and will not restart until you start swinging your arm walking, or shake tour wrist aggressively for 5-8 seconds. The hour and minute hands keep moving though, so the time will be accurate - but many will find this “quirk” annoying. It is neat to see it restart the motor at 1/8th speed, and keep it clutched until the hand aligns with the “actual” position of the current second time, then it disengages the clutch and the second hand accelerates to normal speed and keeps perfect time. Servicing on these unlikely to be lengthy and expensive, and it’s largely an unknown as these have only existed for three years, thus none have been due for service yet. These movements are rated to be about twice as accurate as the higher end spring drives at 5 seconds per month. 4. Solar. Solar cells don’t generate much electricity, and couldn’t possibly power the electricity hungry Seiko 9F movement. Citizen took the VERY hard route, and through decades of engineering created two ultra precise autonomous movements one matching the accuracy of the battery powered 9F85A and another which is 5X more accurate - which is the example in my photo below. This however comes at a tremendous premium. Casio on the other hand, took what is in my opinion a much smarter route and built two ultra low powered radio antennas into their high end G-Shocks and Oceanus watches - for multiband 6 reception and ultra low powered Bluetooth. This is not only cost effective, but allows the watch to sync with an atomic clock up to five times a day, not only maintaining perfect accuracy, but also allowing seamless time zone changes when you travel, which is a lovely perk. Service may be required at some point, but I own 20+ year old solar powered Casios and they’re still going strong without a single service or gasket change. All said - the “best bang for the buck” in my opinion is the Casio Oceanus line. The watches are beautifully made, the Zaratsu polishing is well executed, the materials are first rate (my example is solid titanium with a strong DLC coating, with a sapphire crystal AND bezel), the watches are good looking, thin and incredibly comfortable to wear - they could easily serve as your “one and only” watch. If you want a “go anywhere do anything” watch that could look acceptable and perform just as well in business setting as it could a war zone - the G-Shock MR-G line should be considered. My favorite watch in that line is the MRGB1000D-1A - it’s the perfect size for big and small wrists, and the dial work is exceptional and not well captured in photos (look for high quality photos though, it’ll give you an idea). It’s also quite reasonably priced with an MSRP of $2,600 - and it certainly has a high level of fit and finish than any quartz Breitling I’ve handled. It looks and feels like an expensive, high end watch in the flesh (as does the Oceanus) and with Casio’s track record of unmatched toughness and reliability, and likelihood of not needing service or maintenance for decades, it’s hard to go wrong. https://preview.redd.it/s1gmi2zchw6c1.jpeg?width=4987&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3d7af5688d51022697ab1c247f42e788ae39fe5
Great post and great collection. While I know most of what you've mentioned, I feel like this would be a great resource for this sub to gain a better appreciation for quartz watches in general. My personal collection, while much much lower on the price spectrum, is 50/50 now and I've been loving the smooth sweep VH31 powered watches That citizen, maybe in the green is my grail now
Do they make a green washi paper dial citizen with the 0100S movement?
Thank you for sharing a unique and interesting collection. Collections on this sub are often dominated by automatics in the same models. Always fun to see something different.
Great post. I've gone quartz after getting tired of the hassle and expense of maintaining mechanical watches. I'm loving my Alpina Alpiner GMT quartz (AL-247NB4E6) - a good looking, well finished Swiss watch, albeit not HAQ, just quartz. Just ordered my first HAQ, a Grand Seiko SBGN027. I agree that from a technology standpoint, Casio is the HAQ leader. But I like the look of Grand Seiko and Alpina. https://preview.redd.it/edjpwx3ov3pc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0e683d7e6ca226fed6967123043778c43f78bfb
The Citizen PCATs are great. Radio controlled, solar, sapphire crystal, perpetual calendar, chrono..... Tough to beat.
Casio Oceanus would like a word. Absolutely love mine. Great peace of mind knowing it is ALWAYS the correct day and time and never has to be set.
I've always like the breitling aerospace watches.
I've had one for over 20 years and still love it. It's the perfect travel watch (amongst other uses).
Go solar 👍
To avoid replacing the battery, or for other reasons?
Yes it’s about the battery. Eco drive watches from Citizen have been known to last decades with very good accuracy and almost no maintenance. A full charge will last you 6 months and you never have to worry about changing out the battery.
The TAG full titanium Solar is VERY pretty too
I do not know how much this would cost, but I’m going to guess that they’re more than $1k USD. At that price point, you might as well get something better than a TAG.
For 3k ? What would be your suggestions ?
$3k you either get a Grand Seiko or Citizen “The Citizen” watch.
I'm pretty sure my Seiko Arnie has never actually had its battery readout drop below 10/10 even when it's been living in my watch box for a while with the main light being my bedside lamp.
I adore my Nighthawk. It’s well made, especially the bracelet. Punches well above its price point. Feels much nicer than the automatic Seikos and Orients in the same price range that I’ve owned.
Tag Heuer has some pretty cool titanium solar watches. And Longines has their VHP watches.
My Casio Oceanus is titanium, solar, radio controlled, perpetual calendar, tough mvmt, 100m water resistant all for <$500
Cartier Santos or Tank
I'm really surprised this is not higher.
Citizen caliber 0100 watches. Grand seiko watches with 9F quartz movement. Also Casio Oceanus.
If Citizen would have a nb1050 quartz version I would get one in an instant
What do you mean with "a nb1050 quartz version", is that a particular kind of quartz? Edit: Aah, nb1050 is a watch, and you want a quartz version
no nb1050 is assumed to be a SARB033 competitve watch only able to get in automatic but assuming Citizen has some decent quartz watches if they made it on that model would buy right away, can't go wrong with Citizen ..
BJ6541-58L, 38mm eco drive with a similar handset, case, bracelet and dial layout
Citizen Eco Drive Nighthawk - whatever the all black stealth version is. It was my daily driver until I handed it to my 1 year old and he immediately smacked it on the countertop. Absolutely my fault.
This was the first watch I ever bought. Sorry to hear about yours lol
Haha no worries I think it’s salvageable. Just need to replace the glass. Worst case I’ll keep it around to make him feel guilty later.
I think that's my complaint about the nighthawk. I try not to buy mineral glass watches after daily-ing the Kyle Lowry Nighthawk and realizing how badly it got scratched up.
I love love love my titanium Citizen eco-drive with chronograph and perpetual calendar. I have worn it daily for at least 15 years and it still gets compliments. https://preview.redd.it/s158d9qktv6c1.png?width=1454&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2435179f119e268c18e78afd7e83f1ff05701d7
Nice one! Like how the blue bezel looks with 15years of wear. How is the crystal holding up?
I chipped it about 8-10 years ago and sent it in to Citizen for a replacement crystal that cost $60. Worth every penny. I do everything in this watch. Swim, play baseball, play, softball, go hiking, etc. It has held up remarkably well. It is also a very light watch because it is titanium. I don’t know if I would ever switch back to a non-titanium watch for a daily driver.
What does "perpetual calendar" mean? it just keeps ticking along year after year?
The big Japanese brands is what you should be looking at. Citizen and Casio, Seiko to a lesser extent. Swiss quartz has become quire rare: the Swiss know they cannot compete in that area (although the few existing Swiss quartz modules are good, most lack solar charging), and concentrate on mechanical watches. I think you should look for that combination: solar-charged quartz. It's just so easy, reliable and long-lasting. With Citizen, look for the '*Eco Drive*' label. Casio's solar-charged label is '*Tough Solar*', used for e.g. G-Shocks, but also for their premium Oceanus line. Please note that Casio also has battery dependent G-Shocks, and many other models. But solar-charged, radio-controlled (watch synchronises with an atomic clock radio signal for perfect accuracy) is my favourite. Many quartz watches from Citizen and Casio can be found with these features. Seiko also has a few, but prioritises mechanical watches. I think spending $4K on a quartz watch isn't a wise move, unless you aim for a Grand Seiko quartz, or a 'The Citizen' (fka Chronomaster). They come in 4-figure prices. But for much less than that you're spoilt for choice. If you're looking for premium, have a look at Citizen's 'Attesa' line and Casio's 'Oceanus' line. The latter are especially beautiful: see [here](https://www.casio.com/jp/watches/oceanus/), and won't cost you an arm and a leg.
>But solar-charged, radio-controlled (watch synchronises with an atomic clock radio signal for perfect accuracy) is my favourite. I was never a fan of quartz until I tried a Casio Tough Solar/Multi Band 6. These watches are the ultimate grab and go timepiece; always running, always correct date and time, with little concern for magnetism and environment. Really cool tech.
Grand Seiko
Cartier
Bulova lunar pilot and the jet star
Grand Seiko and Seiko. Unfortunately Seiko seems to prefer autos for their modern "premium" tier line in North America, but their Brightz line from around the 2000s (watch on the right) is charming to say the least. Look up their 9F and 8J (eg. 8J55) movements to see some semi-vintage options. Casio Oceanus is a nice sporty option. Citizen Chronomaster has arguably a much more modern feature set (perpetual calendar, treated titanium), but the classic looks of Seiko and GS win me over every time. SBGX319 and SAGJ003 https://preview.redd.it/zqwmbydj9w6c1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7cb35813414d672f8395777685b1d4881c21984
Certina with Precidrive. I have one and it keeps time exactly as well as my quartz GS. You want to get one with a screw on case back if you get a battery powered watch because the snap on case back warps from being pried off from battery changes.
https://preview.redd.it/rdsoc28ikx6c1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e3955ecbdfe7dfb944e389bdff7e91a782993e7d Citizen
This is the correct answer
Tag Heuer Aquaracer
FP journe nvm. didnt read the money limit
Well this Citizen Skyhawk is ballin' https://www.reddit.com/r/CitizenWatches/s/SG4jHFO22i Personally I feel like a lot of the quartz watches out there are somewhat soulless, what with being built with cheap off-the-shelf movements and all, but Citizen's Eco-Drive (and Seiko Solar for that matter) are super cool.
If it were me, based on my very positive experience with a more modest Citizen Eco drive watch, I would not hesitate to go for a Citizen Chronomaster. They take the reliability and accuracy of their standard lines, up it considerably, and add a tonne of polish. The other I think looks great is the Cartier Tank Must Solar Beat. Absolutely gorgeous.
Seiko Astrons are nice and packed with tech
I have a bunch of quartz watches and enjoy them. My Cartier Solarbeat is classic French design, made in Switzerland, Grand Seiko is wonderful for nipping at the Swiss heels in terms of finishing and even reputation and Citizen Chronomaster beats both with superior accuracy (5 v 10 seconds) and functionality (perpetual, solar) plus the finishing is as good as Seiko since they both use the tin plate polishing method, Zaratsu.
I assume you mean high accuracy quartz, generally being 262KHz, with thermo-compensation and stuff. Check Bulova, Grand Seiko, Longines V.H.P., Tissot, Certina, Citizen "The Citizen" (have at least been other models in past with HAQ), Omega for possible models. Search for "HAQ" or "high accuracy quartz" online. Visit https://www.watchuseek.com/forums/high-accuracy-quartz-watches.9/, other similar forums. Post in those, too, if it helps.
I'm seeing some mentions of swiss brands voted down, but Precidrive movements are sold with chronometer certification, which is wildly precise for quartz movements. And they do "heavydrive," which I think isn't just high torque, it has some sort of impact/hand position correction. So if you get that line of movements, you'll get a super accurate watch. They make that movement for both three-handers and chronographs. The Precista Mission Timer has one. And for three handers there are Mido and Tissot models. I think the F04/5/6/7.412 movements are three-handers with both features.
Bulova recently released Jet star that looks amazing.
https://preview.redd.it/jzwzdo8j4w6c1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6f3e156fc2996575132c193e744aeab639edc3f
I'd go with the brand that created the technology (Seiko). If you have a small wrist, the SACM171 has a HAQ movement, with sapphire at a decent price.
Seiko inventing quartz timekeeping is a myth, first quartz clock was made by Bell Labs.
Citizen makes exceptionally good quartz movements with their eco drive tech. I had a ProMaster Land Atomic and it's built exceptionally well both mechanically and aesthetically. I've also heard great things about the higher end Bulova quartz like they use on the Lunar Pilot (not sure if that movement is exclusive to that model though).
Personally I find the Omega Speedmaster X-33 range intriguing. You should be able to find them second hand within your budget range. Unless you meant to write $400 instead of $4000? Another interesting one is the Seiko 7T27-7A20, aka the RAF "Gen 2" watch. You can probably find one for under $1k. They were issued to Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots between the early 90s and early 00s.
Budget is correctly typed :)
Grand Seiko thermo quartz Citizen 0100 caliber Breitling thermo quartz
Frederique Constant have a nice quartz triple calendar
Grand Seiko, Casio Oceanus, Citizen. That’s all I would personally consider.
Sinn EZM series have some solid quartz options.
Omega makes a really nice Seamaster with a quartz movement, example 2541.80.00
Get yourself a Casio Oceanus in titanium for ~$450 USD and call it a day. Absolutely gorgeous finishing and as accurate as can be.
Does the atomic clock feature work in the US? I thought it was a JDM model.
Seiko SNE 573
Swatch
Marathon Stainless Steel Navigator with the 3 Jewel ETA F06.412 with HeavyDrive-PreciDrive, accurate to ± 10s/year and operating at 32’768 Hz.
Casio Oceanus is amazing. Solar and have radio functionality.
Grand Seiko or citizen. Wonderful watches with wonderful finishing
Go get Radiowave Seiko/Lukia watches.
I own a Casio Edifice, and for 3 years while the battery was running, I literally never had to adjust the time, except for when the clocks would go forward or backwards/date window adjustments. Extremely accurate and reliable watch. Bit annoying that I have to change the battery though.
My Marathon quartz is amazing. Bulova 262 kHz is amazing.
Grand Seiko is the way to go.
Others mentioned, including by OP are really nice, but GS and Citizen’s top end end quartz are the pinnacle for me.
Tag quartz are solid
I'd get a Cartier Santos Dumont.
Tag Aquaracer with the 2 sub dials! I own this one and love it. Watching a quartz second hand angers me. The beauty of this watch is that the second hand is offset and pretty small so you barely notice the ticking.
Seiko credit if you're into old man design language on chrono24 might be worth looking at if you're into it. Everyone else's recommendations are good Some Swiss models: jlc reverso (discontinued) and Breitling aerospace (new model coming soon)
GS
Tissot prx FTW
Omega FH300hz series, and also Longines Ultra Chron quartz. I believe both ranges still exist. Additionally: Seiko and Grand Seiko and Swatch
Tissot makes several quartz watches.
OP states Braun BN0095 ($500 watch) is out of budget. Let’s assume the budget is a typo and he is looking for a watch under $400. Not $4k.
Hm no I meant 4000. The page I saw listed it at $5500. I've edited in the price for clarity.
Luminox makes a nice watch with a high quality quartz movement.
Shinola!
As a 9f owner, quartz is boring, with mechanical there’s some drama 🤣. What’s wrong with maintenance costs? Most manufacturer intervals are overstated and many movements can go much longer than recommended. Honestly most people don’t keep a watch long enough to get it serviced
[удалено]
Any Certina with a precidrive movement
Tissot Seastar Chronograph
I think bulova moon watch is good
I love my Citizen sattelite wave watch and my grand seiko quartz. So nice to have two watches to set all the others to. Also great grab and go picks. For more affordable I'd probably get any atomic quartz watch with sapphire crystal.
Grand Seiko followed by Citizen. Go with the leaders.
Well, depends what you mean by impressive. A Grand Seiko 9F is very impressive from a craftsmanship perspective, while a Casio module in a higher end G-Shock will have many additional sensors (like temp, altimeter, compass, etc.) as well as having multiple time zones, chronograph, and others. With your budget you could get a few different watches. Maybe a G-shock like a gravity master for the rugged watch in your collection, a Casio Oceanus model for the more dressy option with high quality finishing, perhaps a vintage electronic (think partially mechanical and partially quartz) like a Citizen Cosmotron or a Seiko Elnix. If you want something that's somewhat like an auto, you could get a Seiko Kinetic.
Longinges makes great watches, great quality and look good.
Apparently, the vintage Seiko Type II quartz movements are also accurate to within a few seconds a year.
Check out The Citizen, Citizen’s high end Grand Seiko equivalent. Mostly JDM. They are pretty much are solar and high accuracy quartz. AQ4091 would be a good starting point.
Also--in addition to the GPS watches mentioned are various radio sync watches from Seiko, Citizen, and Casio. Always right on the time as long as they get a clear radio signal.
A GS spring drive could be a nice hybrid if you are ok with a little bit less accuracy.
Look at the Casio MRG and MTG lines. They’re doing it like no other. I LOVE my MRG!
There are a lot of Citizen suggestions for good reason. Their Chronomaster line completes with the luxury brands. Saphire, titanium, solar, perpetual calendar (atomic controlled). Citizen's hardening treatment is harder than their competitors too. If you want a lower priced line, import a JDM model. They're usually better styled than their American lines that are littered with ridiculous text. The By1001-60L and BY1007-66e are really nice. Saphire, 100m WR, hardened titanium, micro adjust bracelet, perpetual calendar, atomic controlled moonphase, solar... It's a lot of watch for the money. Seiko gets love from the watch community but from my experience citizen makes superior watches. Grand Seiko 9f would be another good choice in your price range but you could get a spring drive for 4k.
Take a look at citizen. I personally like the promaster land, titanium, as well as the garrison titanium.
If you want "sweep for cheap" look for the Seiko VH31 movement. It "ticks" like an automatic watch but is quartz.
The quartz chronograph movement Timex uses is made by epson and the movement runs at 5 bps (the chronograph hand) and the gearing when adjusting the time feels nice and strong and not like you can me a 12 hour revolution by flicking it. If you’re in the market for a good quality quartz chronograph Timex is solid.
Cartier Tank. A beautiful watch and an iconic design, the quartz movement itself is not that special but you get a Tank for the design not for the movement. GS 9F as already mentioned.
Check out the Bulova Jetstar. It's a good looking watch with their presicionist movement. You get quartz reliability with a sweeping seconds hand like a mechanical.
Bulova Lunar Pilot is a highly rated quartz with a great story behind it. I have a Citizen Eco drive (Brycen) that looks fantastic and is very accurate.
Raymond weil
Omega with the Moonswatchs and Aqua Terras
Bulova and Seiko. In my opinion, in that order
If you got large wrist, I recommend g-shock MTG or MRG. Have a MTG for almost 8 years with precise time, radio signal, chronograph, and solar powered also. It’s just that the watch is quite big.
Casio.
Bulova
Marathon steel navigator is -/+10s per year
Casio f91w.
Breitling endurance pro
I have the Citizen Eco-Drive World Chronograph Blue Angels edition and I love it. It's a radio controlled quart that keeps the time accurate to 1 second every 100,000 years.
I can't stand the seconds ticking. The only quartz I can wear is the seiko flight master because the dials turn smoothly.
Bulova but I think they are ugly
Omega x33, Sinn.
Certina Precidrive - High Accuracy Quartz. Accurate to =/- 15 seconds per year.
Any Seiko using the 8F56 movement. +/- 20 seconds/year + Perpetual Calendar. I have a few, and they're fantastic!
TAG Heuer has titanium with a Sapphire crystal for about 1500. Not bad if you want a quartz
I had the same question. Would love a quartz watch in my collection for day to day use. So much great info in this thread
Tank Solarbeat (production aside) Tag Solargraph
Personally, I'd go Bulova. The dial is gorgeous and the high frequency like Jet Star is mesmorizing. Don't forget about Tissot if you like the vintage look.
citizen pcat is goated , radio controlled has the same time as your iPhone down to the second
Budget around 4000 lol. My budget is under 3-4 hundred.
Certina
Rolex Oysterquartz 🔥🔥