How Smooth is An Automatic Watch?
Forums are a goldmine today. A lot of people assume that automatics move as smoothly as butter. This is not the case. Sweep second hands “tick” but they tick up to 8 times per second, making them look like they are moving without stopping. Remember - these are still gears and gears have teeth. Even the most beautiful Rolex still “ticks” a little. If it’s ticking once per second, then you’ve got a quartz or a big problem.
How smoothly should a ETA 2834-2 movement sweeping hand move? - Watchuseek Watch Forums
January 31st, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Er, except Seiko’s SpringDrive, of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cmf3BsuBhs
January 31st, 2007 at 3:50 pm
yes, seiko’s spring drive
January 31st, 2007 at 8:36 pm
This is excellent information, John. Thanks.
So, except for the Seiko, Automatics are the only watches with second hands that flow smoothly around the dial like that? That is the sure-fire way to tell
And Quartz is 1-tick-per-second? What rate, then, do mechanicals tick at?
January 31st, 2007 at 10:48 pm
8-10 ticks per second. it’s impossible to see the ticks.
February 5th, 2007 at 10:58 am
The gears have nothing to do with the tiny ticks of an automatic. It’s all about the frequency of the escapement. Certainly, different gear ratios will determine the size of the tick, but the gears themselves operate in a smooth continuous manner. If this weren’t the case, things like cars, food mixers, helicopters, bbq rotisseries, and so forth would wear out in very short order.