What is the difference between a quartz watch and a digital watch?

　　What is the difference between a quartz watch and a digital watch? Some people are not entirely clear on this question. Let me explain the differences between quartz and digital watches below.

　　Difference between quartz and digital watches

　　A quartz watch refers to a timepiece where the driving mechanism is powered by a crystal oscillator driving mechanical gears, requiring no mainspring winding, simply a battery. A digital watch features a liquid crystal display with no mechanical parts inside, being purely electronic. The difference between the two can be seen as one being a semi-mechanical device and the other an electronic device.

　　I. Power source

　　A quartz watch uses an electronic chip for timing, emitting timing pulses to drive a permanent magnet stepping motor which in turn drives mechanical hands to display the time, and is likewise powered by a battery.

　　Digital watches are made using electronic timing chips and display the time via a 7-segment liquid crystal digital display. They offer a wide range of functions and are powered by a button cell battery.

　　II. Origins

　　Digital watches originated in the mid-70s, utilising small-scale integrated circuits as their core and liquid crystal displays to show the time, mostly in a digital format. Digital watches actually also use a quartz crystal oscillator as a reference frequency benchmark, though their precision is not quite as high as the benchmark frequency of quartz watches developed later.

　　Quartz watches began to appear in the 80s. Their main feature is the use of a high-benchmark-frequency quartz oscillator, offering much higher precision than digital watches. The second hand of a quartz watch ticks once per second, running extremely accurately, with a monthly tolerance generally required to be within 15 seconds. They come in both three-hand and two-hand versions. A good quartz watch having an error of less than one second per month is definitely not an issue, whereas even the best digital watches have a monthly error of at least a few seconds, with tens of seconds being very common. A single battery generally lasts for 2-3 years, though some quartz watches use lithium batteries, offering a longer service life of around 7-8 years.

　　III. Shock, Water, and Magnetic Resistance

　　The shock resistance of digital watches is also limited, so it is best not to wear them during strenuous exercise. While digital watches have fairly good water resistance, you should try to avoid contact with water, such as protecting them from splashes during rain. Quartz digital watches have slightly poorer magnetic resistance than mechanical watches, so care must be taken to keep them away from magnetic fields.

　　With advances in technology, integrated chips are becoming smaller and smaller. Digital watches and quartz watches have also started to complement each other; certain digital watches even adopt mechanical transmission methods to indicate time, coexisting with digital displays. This can be seen in many models from certain brands, though they remain digital watches nonetheless. Some quartz watches also use microprocessors to add a perpetual calendar function, though this is not very widespread. The primary purpose of a quartz watch remains to display time using hands, retaining the characteristics of mechanical watches, which makes it difficult to fully enhance other display functions.

　　Precautions for watch maintenance

　　1. Do not use the watch in hot baths, saunas, or environments with significant temperature fluctuations (including water-resistant watches).

　　2. Do not operate the watch buttons or adjust the crown while underwater.

　　3. Please clean the bracelet and case regularly; for leather straps, avoid contact with water, moisture, and cosmetics, and keep them out of direct sunlight.

　　4. Please keep the watch away from magnetic fields; avoid prolonged proximity to electrical appliances, mobile phones, and magnets.

　　5. Do not disassemble the watch under any circumstances.

　　6. Please avoid subjecting the watch to impacts or drops.