Common Quartz Movements Accuracy Compared - Miyota, Ronda, Seiko, Eco-Drive and mroe

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Are all quartz movements the same? Here I compare movements from Seiko, Miyota, Citizen, Bulova, Ronda, Timex and an unknown Chinese digital to see how accurate various commonly used quartz movements are.
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Spinnaker Hull Chrono
For 15% OFF USE CODE: DAVIR4
www.spinnaker-watches.com/jtw
REVIEW: • Spinnaker Hull Chronog...
Seiko VK73 Mecha Quartz
Total 1 Month Deviation: 0.5
Citizen Nighthawk
amzn.to/2q9w1wr
REVIEW: • Citizen Night Hawk BJ7...
Eco Drive
Total 1 Month Deviation: 2.4
Bulova Lunar Pilot
amzn.to/2VFiKYe
REVIEW: • Bulova Lunar Pilot Rev...
262 khz Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Quartz
Total 1 Month Deviation: 2.5
Casio F-91W(Assume the best)
REVIEW: • Casio F-91W Digital Wa...
amzn.to/2IGEvRR
Total 1 Month Deviation: -2.8
Jack Mason
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Miyota 2315
Total 1 Month Deviation: 3.5
Mileneal Prestige
mileneal.com/
REVIEW: • Mileneal Prestige Revi...
Rhonda 705
Total 1 Month Deviation: 8.7
Timex Weekender
amzn.to/35rfTGF
REVIEW: • Timex Weekender 40mm (...
Total 1 Month Deviation: -9.9
Casio F-91W
Assumiung the worst
Total 1 Month Deviation: 16.2
Daiso 100 Yen digital
Total 1 Month Deviation: 106.3

[@JusttheWatch]

As many of you sharp eyed viewers have pointed out, there's two errors in the text of the video. The Jack Mason is running a Miyota 2315 quartz movement, NOT an 8215, which is an automatic caliber. The Spinnaker Hull running the Seiko VK73 won't be off by one minute until 3,600 days have passed, not 750 as listed. I think I said the right things in voice over, but made some mistakes when adding the text. Thanks for keeping me on my toes, I'll try to do a better job of proofing next time!

[@johnvandeven2188]

Isn't it amazing how watch lovers know their stuff and will check everything you measured and stated. I know I did. Thank you.

[@anthonycolbourne4206]

What did you use as the base time to measure against? The atomic signal?

[@davidashton2361]

@@anthonycolbourne4206 I have a small number of radio controlled watches. I like to line them up and watch the seconds hands sync together. I know that there's a human error physically preventing an accurate comparison because of the delay in eye movement but with a bit of practice it is possible to observe at least two hands simultaneously. I qualified as a land surveyor in the British army in the 1960s which, before the development of satellite navigation, making observations of the sun using a theodolite and simultaneously taking accurate measurements of time during the day and at night observing 4 stars, one in each quadrant (north, south, east and west) it was possible to find your position on the earth's surface to an accuracy of about 400 metres! You used a portable radio to get the time signals to set your mechanical watch (no battery powered watches then) and using the theodolite observed the leading edge and then the trailing edge of the sun then added the observations together and then divided by 2 to give you the centre of the sun. You had to use a special 90° eye piece that projected the images onto an attached plate because you couldn't look at the sun directly for obvious reasons. When observing the stars you had to do a star identification using a specialist publication produced once a year called a star almanac and once you had identified your stars, by a calculation called position line fix which intersected your position to produce your position in latitude and longitude as was the case for the the sun observations. Every observation had an accurate time recorded. All you had to do then was convert the latitude and longitude into eastings and northings to find your position on a map. All these calculations were produced using a mechanical adding/subtracting twin bank calculating machine (no electronic calculating machines then). The angles observed were converted into sines and cosiness. So, in answer to your question about Your watch syncing its self to the atomic clock at Rugby - yes in Britain In other countries like the USA and China etc. they have their own atomic clocks all radio sync together with Britains. Now we have satellite navigation. I have a citizen satellite controlled watch in my small collection along with my radio controlled watches. Hope that helps.

[@stephenbridges2791]

I can attest to the Nighthawk's accuracy. Mine is about minus 0.1 second every 2 months. My only gripe with the Citizen is misaligned indices. But, it's possible they had a Seiko work crew filling in. Who knows.

[@destrygriffith3972]

Hahahahaha

[@williambottaci5320]

:))

[@lawshorizon]

You can consistently have very accurate time, regardless of the precision of the oscillator, if your quartz analog or digital watch has a "trimmer condenser". They're generally found in older, vintage watches - even many of the cheaper ones. A trimmer condenser changes the frequency coming from the quartz crystal oscillator when its capacity is changed. The frequency is fine-tuned to provide 1 Hz, or one second per second, in frequency dividers in a quartz analog watch. The same principle is involved with an LCD (liquid crystal diode) digital watch. The trimmer condenser looks like a little screw that’s been wired into the circuit board. Typically, turning the screw clockwise speeds it up, and counterclockwise slows it down at roughly about 1 second per day per 1/6 turn of the screw. You should be able to get accuracy to within a couple of seconds per month. Keep in mind that, after several years, you may have to tweak the trimmer if the accuracy shifts a bit; but the effects due to aging components is usually negligible. Anyway, when buying a watch, it’s a good idea to remember that not many newer watches have them - even the expensive ones.

[@unclebob4964]

There is no such thing as an “expensive quartz watch”. ( watch SNOB ? Yep. )

[@destrygriffith3972]

Of course they would take that simple, elegant fix away. A rough-and-ready way to compensate for all the many factors of your watch and the temperature profile you keep it in: wear it like you will, and regulate it to within an inch of it's life a coupla times over the first few months, then call it good. But most people wouldn't, it would encourage caseback opening, and discourage purchasing of gimmicky and more expensive and fancy watches like the Bulova and the Mecha.

[@lawshorizon]

@@destrygriffith3972 ... Frankly, I don't think most people would bother to adjust it anyway. But, yeah, the watch will start showing signs of drifting at about 10 years plus so it would compel people to eventually buy a new watch. It also compels people to buy a more expensive watch promising better accuracy. But the problem is that even the most expensive watches will drift in accuracy given enough time -- and there's nothing you can do about it. I mean, what's the use of buying an expensive 7 jewel watch with a movement that will last 100 years but with its accuracy drifting in 10?

[@avronaut]

​@@unclebob4964 check Grand Seiko 9F and Citizen 0100 movements

[@phildo864]

@@unclebob4964did you know, some quartz watches cost thousands of dollars?

[@cookiemonstahmetal]

Seiko is a brand that is absolutely proud about it’s quartz movements, that’s why they use quartz in some high performance watches like the Tuna Marinemaster and even some Grand Seikos.

[@MaloCeeEss]

cookiemonstahmetal don't forget Casio Oceanus.

[@kendesjarlais7577]

Eco drive(pause......end pause) Hmmm Very interesting results. I thought the eco-drive would’ve been in the top two anyways. I’m a citizen guy through and through. although I do have about 20 watches ... mostly citizen, Bulova,seiko and gshock!And they’ve always been reliable to me, accurate and easy to care for watches. No nonsense and good looking at the same time! I would rather have 20 watches that range in price from 200 to $500, and be able to enjoy all of them with accuracy and reliability than Spend a whack of money on one watch.

[@Andre-zz2xj]

Tbh, I'd expected that: Seiko being the inventor of quarz-driven watches, growing the crystals by themselves and pushing limits since decades...

Citizen caliber 0100 is rated at -/+ 1 second a year.

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

@ it’s very impressive, they just need to make some desirable watches to put it in. It will be interesting to see if Seiko is developing a new Quartz movement to rival the 0100 seeing as the 9f is quarter of a century old now.

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

They didn’t invent the technology they just were marginally first to get a Quartz movement to market.

[@rochester212]

The british invented many things, but their products have always sucked hard. Seiko knows how to make the best automatic and quartz watches on earth, don`t mean they gonna do it. It`s a corporation, they want money, why try harder than they have to to achieve that? Argument invalid.

[@Al8minium]

The Citizen Caliber 0100 is currently the most accurate at within 1 second per year.

[@varanid9]

How do you know?

[@keitha.9788]

Nope. Seiko Astron......

[@alanprak80]

I did think the Bulova would be the most accurate, but really any watch accurate to within 10 seconds a month is good enough for me. I'm ok with adjusting a watch once or twice a year.

[@juslitor]

Correct me if i am wrong, but i have a hunch the bulova wasnt worn daily, thus it ran fast. The movement should have been tuned for body temperature at the factory.

[@robertbrowne7880]

It's more about temperature variation than operating temp.

[@donaldasayers]

@@robertbrowne7880 Not really. Quartz crystals in normal use expand with heat and thus run slow at higher temperatures. This can be compensated for in the software of the watch in better movements. I would have expected Bulova to do this.

[@ambc8970]

Bullova =citizen

[@fredrick4891]

I use the BBC time tone for synchro. Broadcast at midnight where I live on public radio. And then listen to their morning news before calling it a day. On July 4th this year I set my twenty year old Seiko air driver's 200m. Then continued to wear it daily with rare exceptions on the weekend. I ignored the date reset on the thirty day months because I didn't want to accidentally hack the movement. On Christmas day I checked it and reset the date correctly. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was somewhere between 2-3 seconds fast in six months mostly on the wrist. That's the best I can tell considering reaction time when syncing and using my face balls vision. If you're bored stop here. But I want to elaborate on the history of this particular watch. A good friend gave it to me back in the spring this year in consideration of me servicing his dad's seiko automatic diver from the early 90's. He bought it new and was actively diving with it for years. Also wearing it daily as a carpenter and general DIY kind of guy. One last thing, my friend Larry is like bull in a china shop. The condition of this watch was horrendous. The original bead blasted finish could not be seen anywhere on the watch. It was completely scratched and marred beyond belief. The crystal looked like it had been sanded with 36 grit paper. It looked like it had been hammered on and had gouges like chisel marks. The clasp had welding splatters melted into it. Every nook and cranny was filled with dirt, varnish, caulking, paint and who knows what. The inside was in perfect condition and sat under glass while I restored the rest. It looks practically new now except it's fully polished because I dont have a bead blaster anymore. ( I live on a sailboat now, watches are the perfect hobby for tiny living old gearheads ) Sorry for the novel. But I'll be damned that is one tough watch.

[@vonkruel]

If you want to double the time until you have to re-set the watch, set it ahead 1 minute (if it runs slow), or behind 1 minute (if it runs fast).

[@destrygriffith3972]

Duh: brilliant! And you can even have a loose idea in your mind of when it's approaching perfection, and, if you're a dork like me, you'll check and see if you can find the day!

[@davidashton2361]

The amount of genuine professional knowledge about this hobby of ours I find astonishing! I have a small collection, mainly citizens, and know nothing about movements etc. so I tend to buy my watches on their features (OK, complications) and asthetics. At the moment I'm collecting citizen bullheads, which at up to approx £700 a pop takes quite a few months to save up for (I have 4 at the moment) since I'm a pensioner living alone. God only knows when I'll be able to get my next one with all these crises looming large. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Maybe my collecting will come to a grinding halt!

[@HungNguyen-mo8bs]

I have several Precisionist watches, they can maintain the advertised accuracy but only on a fresh battery. After the first year the accuracy falls off. I have about 10 quartz watches which I record the time every time I reset it for DLS and my Seiko (kinetic) is often the most accurate.

[@JusttheWatch]

That's good to know about the Precisionist movement. I think I've had mine for about 10 months, so maybe the battery life might have effected it a bit.

[@destrygriffith3972]

Fascinating. Might finally have to get my first Seiko quartz...

[@destrygriffith3972]

Makes more sense now. Sliiiiiiiightly less gimmicky. Actually way less, if it can do what's claimed for any period. May have sat on the shelf for 10 months already by the time was in your hands.

[@Joe-lk6oc]

This is my favorite video from you! Excellent, excellent job reviewing the various watches in this head-to-head format! KEEP doing these side-by-side tests!!!!

[@JusttheWatch]

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it! This one seems to be getting a lot of traction, so I'm trying to think of other similar videos I can do in the future!

[@upan3259]

Set my GS 9F quartz every six months, never miss a beat.

[@saltyolive_]

go buy a citizen chronomaster they run 5SPY

[@varanid9]

@@saltyolive_ I doubt he has enough left after buying the GS. Not that the chronomaster is exactly cheap or anything.

[@billmurphy893]

Great video and a nice treatment of the topic. Perhaps there’s something that Seiko reaps from growing its own crystals for their Grand Seiko watches that is trickling down to all their quartz crystals.

[@russb24]

It mostly comes down to how accurate the individual quartz crystal is in each watch. It's literally like a tuning fork, and it shouldn't drift very much from its frequency, unless maybe impurities make it more variable or something. The better manufacturers are better at tuning their crystals, and better at quality control. But if you bought 10 of those $1 watches, you might find one random good one that placed in the top 5.

[@thomasmathes5019]

Exactly. With most quartz watches it's "the luck of the draw" how accurate one particular unit is. You'd have to sample dozens of each model to get a good feel how accurate a particular movement is. A single unit from each maker doesn't prove anything if it's close to spec. Toss in temp variation and you'll also see some models that are supposedly accurate suddenly not seem to accurate. Of the brands shown I've had the best overall luck with Bulova by far, all of my 262kHz models are within 30 sec/yr.(I own 4 with that movement) and show little to any temp variation. Seikos are all over the map of the four I own, one is within 1 sec/month but one is 8 sec/month. Citizen is about the same, some I have are 3 sec/month and some are 8 sec/month. Except for the 262kHz Bulovas and a couple of Certina Precidrives (those models have some temp compensation designed in) my bog-standard quartz watches all show temp variations.

[@blindriv3r]

Thanks for another great video...I know you love that Nighthawk, and suspect it was one of the ones you mentioned you wore a bit during the test....I bet it would have done even better if sitting in steady temperatures

[@toninobelimussi296]

I used to have a Certina DS (back in the late 80's) as well as a Glycine about 20 years ago, both quartz watches I used to wear daily (as I was a one-watch guy back then) and they ran within about 1-2 seconds per month deviation.

[@NickTrop]

No surprise. I'd be surprised if it was anything else, actually. Seiko invented the quartz movement and grow their own crystals in their labs. They rate their crystal accuracy in the lab from what I understand. They are known in the watch world to make the best quartz movements.

[@langthang7409]

Yeah, i owned Seiko Ssg010, solar, quartz, good looking, radio controlled, very accuracy. Price is very bargain. 11/10

[@robertbrowne7880]

The Seiko 7A28 is still one of the best quartz movements out there.

[@ajmassey9]

I have have a citizen Japan quartz movement. Eco drive. I am stunned with the accuracy. I found it is less then a second off per month. This is the titanium 200m Chronograph

[@adamRandolph750]

Before watching this I assumed all quartz movements had the same accuracy and were perfectly accurate. Now I know otherwise lol. Thank you for the video!

[@SoCalWatchReviews]

I can’t believe that Spinnaker beat Bulova, that’s very disappointing 😔. Although I’m happy that Seiko Beat Bulova!

[@JusttheWatch]

Kind of blew me away too!

[@SoCalWatchReviews]

M Var - The movement is this Lunar Pilot is the same 262kHZ used in the other Precisionist models FYI.

[@liangweihao7932]

Lots of effort for this video! Really puts things into perspective, that the lousiest, cheapest dollar store watch that anyone will think is utter crap, is still more accurate than most mechanical watches. And every other quartz watch absolute kills any competition from mechanical ones.

[@ppatpparis]

Excellent video! That spinnaker is on par with the Grand Seiko GMT 9F quartz watch. I would love to see the same experiment comparing mechanical watches such as the Rolex steel sports, Omega with co-axial movements, etc. This video has made reconsider the watches that I will buy in the future since I value quality timekeeping.

[@JusttheWatch]

Yeah, just need to get Rolex and Omega to sponsor some videos...

[@Keeperofthekey13]

I'm very impressed with the Mecha quartz Dave. I'm also quite impressed with the eco drive for the reason stated by you.... no battery change! In my book, that system holds a distinct advantage over any battery change requirement. I'd love to see a comparison with the Seiko solars verses the kinetics too. I'm also curious about the "high end" quartz offerings like the Longines, Omega & Grand Seiko even though I understand you don't do high end watches. Thanks for your content, always informative & interesting.

[@milosen6744]

My Seiko 5 (automatic mechanical) was off several minutes per day and in the morning it was off 30 minutes or more. Now I have a Citizen Eco-drive and it's extremely accurate! The Citizen Caliber 0100 Eco-drive watch is accurate to within one second per year!

[@Ed30675]

My Citizen eco-drive is the same.... Apart from my radio controlled G-shock,s which are accurate to the second, the Citizen quartz are the best of the rest....

[@RikGaming]

I always have my watch a couple minutes fast because i will always be on time never been too late in my life after getting into watches!

[@FitOutPost]

Very interesting experiment and very unexpected results (to me at least) - Timex running -9.9 s/m (much better than I thought it would be) and Bulova not being the First. Thanks for sharing.

[@vamheredur413]

I think the Citizen would be the most accurate one. [Edit]: Not bad at all. Also, shouldn't the 'Days till 1 minute off' on the Seiko be 10 years (approx. 3650 days) rather than 750? You got it right verbally, must have been a typo. :'D

[@JusttheWatch]

Dang it you're right. Messed up the on screen text. Good eye.

[@maxmustermann167]

Was just about to comment that 😂👍

[@donwalls3501]

Max Mustermann jjjjjjjjjjjj

[@gabzy3264]

Wow nice! Got an Undone with that seiko mecha quartz movement. Its also the only quartz watch in my little collection

[@jonabitstream]

I’ve seen high-end quartz movements that appear to have an adjustment screw. Assuming the Bulova has such a movement (I hope it does), perhaps it can be adjusted?

[@donovanneese4733]

Ha! One more reason to love that Nighthawk, as if you needed another!

[@TeslaRules1856]

Love Citizen - if only they provided Nighthawk with a sapphire crystal.

[@Alias_Anybody]

An interesting follow up would be to test the difference between if the watch is being worn every day and never over one month.

[@jeeperspeepers8323]

The Longines VHP. Runs +/- 5 seconds a year.

Citizen eco drive caliber 0100 runs +/- 1 second a year

[@crypticsunshine9843]

Seiko F9 is rated to +/- 10 (or +/- 5 for some versions) per year.

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

@ just a shame they don’t have any desirable watches to put it in. They have a high end Quartz movement but outside of Japan are seen as a very low end brand. They need a Grand Seiko brand.

[@quimblyjones9767]

Ascot Automatic runs +/- 1-8 hours per day! Suck it y'all!!

[@redastrachan8978]

Would have picked the Citizen. Movement in my Ecozilla is something I never expected. +/- as good as my COSC Breitling.(Great vid!)

[@saintdave1877]

I'm into my second week of doing the same with my quartz collection..setting it against the atomic clock and the results are really all good so far , at least to my eye. My Phoibos pyoo2c , Seiko Prospex solar diver ,Casio duro and my Tissot V8 seem to have lost/gained no time yet. Just as a comparison I have been wearing my Seiko 5 baby monster orange , that is been up and down , but over first week it's 30 seconds behind , that's a mixture of wearing and winding.

[@PfarrerHerzblut]

Very interesting review - thank you for your time!

[@mariojr377]

Extremly interesting vídeo. Loved it!! Thank you very much. Best regards from Brasil, Mário.

[@paddle_shift]

Very cool video! Thanks for posting. The only thing I would add is that variation between months with temp, humidity throughout a given year could make these watches closer to their marketing times. Your chart on the spinnaker watch shows incorrectly as 750 days til one minute off. It should have been 3,650 or so (assuming 6 seconds a year).

[@tazblink]

OMG I thought I was the only one that saw that. No other commenters said anything. I had to check his table a few times to see if I was reading it wrong. Making a mistake like that is completely understandable, he just transposed his results. However the fact that almost no one caught it really bothered me for some resin.

[@gv9528]

I own a Grand Seiko quartz. My favourite daily wear with extreme accuracy. About half a second slow when adjusting time every 6 months.

[@JusttheWatch]

That's amazing!

[@brookslide4692]

Great experiment, and I can add three more data points that will support several of your findings. I have a really cheap, unregulated Miyota with no jewels, and it only gains 14 seconds a month (for 15 years!). I have a Ronda, and it runs about 9 seconds fast a month, just like yours. Maybe they set them that way on purpose? Finally, I got a Bulova Precisionist about ten years ago, and it blew through 25 seconds in like four or five months, so no way was it a quartz chronometer (got my money back). The truth is, if you know the monthly error rate of a decent quartz, you can correct the time in your head, and your corrected error rate will probably be very close to a high-accuracy quartz watch. That's what I do. Consistency works, so don't limit your choices because of simple accuracy.

[@DC-uf6ve]

Interesting video Dave, thanks. Not seen this done before, would be good to see a more high end quartz comparison with the likes of a Casio. Deviation between same models would also be interesting.

[@TimeToGoTravelAndTimepieces]

Really well done. Surprised by some of the results but cool idea for a video.

[@kiwicory100]

It would have been interesting had you indicated what the manufacturers stated accuracy per month was. Thanks for the video.

[@philipjanes]

Cool comparison. Thank you!

[@colinpowell6525]

Superb and unique test. Never seen before by the established and knowledgable other ' horology ' sites. I tip my hat Sir.

[@mocha8232]

Interesting video. It would be more interesting if higher end casio watches are to be included. Rangeman, protrek, GMW models, MRG, etc. It would be fun to compare citizen and seiko GPS watches accuracy as well, without activating the GPS function.

[@jerryg50]

Here is something interesting to contribute about quartz watches. Accuracy also depends on the calibration during the manufacturing process. The higher priced quartz watches are adjusted through software that controls the PLL (Phase Lock Loop) circuitry for the quartz oscillator. The low cost watches are not precision calibrated and it is more of luck for the amount of accuracy you get. The older quartz watches had a trimmer capacitor on the circuit board. The trimmer capacitor would be adjusted to calibrate the watch. With the proper instrumentation it is possible to adjust the trimmer to have the best possible accuracy. For the standard quartz watch the oscillator frequency is 32,768.0000 Hz. When adjusting the watch it is best to adjust with the watch being at the temperature of about 28 degrees Celsius. When quartz watches are cooled down they tend to run a bit faster because of the slight contraction of the surfaces of the quartz crystal. When opening the watch and removing the module you can see the housing of the quartz crystal itself. It looks like a tiny metal cylinder unit with leads coming out and soldered to the circuit board. Most of the quartz watches today must be calibrated using the manufacture's dedicated software. The calibration system is reference to a precision frequency generation that is synced to the NIST or CHU Canada, or the equivalent at their location. The higher the frequency of the quartz oscillator, the greater the accuracy because there are more frequency divisions from the oscillator. There are also thermal factors for the crystal. During manufacture of the quartz crystals, the more expensive crystals are more precisely shaved for best thermal characteristics. They use what is called flip-flop divider type circuits (performed in a microchip mainly by software) to count down to the necessary 1 second pulses to drive the motor in mechanical readout watches, and or to drive the time counter circuits to drive the digital display circuits. In the affordable price range there are higher end Seiko, Citizen, and Casio watches that are keeping about +2 to +6 seconds per month. This is very acceptable. There are some higher end expensive Japanese and Swiss quartz watches that are keeping about +1 to about +3 seconds per month. There are some extremely expensive Japanese and Swiss quartz watches that can keep time to within 1 to 2 seconds per month. Some examples are the Grand Seiko, and the higher end of the Omega quartz watches. For the average person this would not be worth the huge cost of some thousands of dollars just to have a few seconds per month more accurate. Overall, the quartz watches are the most accurate watch technology the consumer can buy at a reasonable cost. If you are a rocket scientist or an astrophysicist working in a lab you would be using an HP, or Kernco, or Chronos, or Orolia atomic clock that is directly synchronized to the NIST or to CHU Canada. These are using a strontium or cesium based oscillator depending on the particular design. For this type of clock the cost would be very far out of range for most people. In free run mode these atomic clocks can keep time to within 1 second over 100 million years! -- The high quality expensive Swiss mechanical watches that are chronometer rated are typically keeping about -4 to +6 seconds per day at best depending on the wearers activity and average temperature. These accurate mechanical watches can typically cost in some thousands of dollars to have this type of accuracy. They must be properly maintained about every 4 to 5 years by a watch maker to keep up this type of accuracy over its lifetime. This is expensive. The average non chronometer rated mechanical watch should be expected to keep to about 6 to 10 seconds per day.

[@invexx]

Great info. Thank you!

[@pavelgorodetsky8038]

what was your time reference and how did you measure fraction of a second with the analog watches?

[@miraxell]

Very good vid as usual! Stay safe!

[@karategk1]

I own the Bulova HF 262kz watch as well, and considering the price they are charging for this quartz, I would have expected better performance. Not sure why the Citizen eco-drive is so much more accurate, but I own a few of them as well as a few Seiko VK73 mecha quartz....after 5 years, the Seiko has not required a battery change as well. Great review. Thanks!

[@puma7171]

the test did not control for temperature changes. Accuracy depends on consistency while temperature and other things change. That's why there are "thermocorrected" watches. In real world conditions they will to much better than regular quartz watches. Maybe your Bulova is thermocorrected and indeed better than this test suggests. Also there is the systematic error part where a watch may run consistently fast or slow. If you know that figure, you can correct....

[@uniearesende]

What did you use for time reference? When sync the watches at first place and then to check it 1 month later.

[@trackpackgt877]

A half second a day is right for the casio I have one of those exact watches attached to the dash of my pickup truck and I track it on an app just like I do my mechanical watches and it runs +0.56 sec fast a day very close to what yours did. That being said mine is exposed to temperature changes in the truck but still. Great video I love my automatic watches and only have one quartz but it is cool to see how accurate they are.

[@craig2100]

Interesting topic, good video!

[@keenoguy3460]

Wondering how accurate a radio controlled (atomic) watch like a Casio Oceanus would be if you let it synchronize up once and then did not allow it to do any automatic daily updates?

[@adalbertosalce3903]

Very useful test. Thanks!

[@shawnz241]

I have to hand it to you for picking most of the quartz that come to my mind!

[@RogerSartet007]

I've done a little test myself a couple of months back: Forget about those "Swiss movements". That's just snobbery. I was very impressed with the Epson/Hattori quartz movements which you'll find in Pulsar watches, amongst others. They scored waaaay better than my Casio's....

[@Gave-rf1hr]

I have a Emporio Armani watch that I never really use because its a fashion watch that was gifted to me , it has al Epson movement and keeps very accurate time

[@gmotionedc5412]

Thanks for that! How about the Rhonda 715? Your thoughts?

[@hannahuang6118]

My experience with quartz: high end movements from Casio, Seiki and Citizen will perform better than high end ETA and better than Ronda. The 705/703 Ronda is just an entry level movement. You will need to get 4 digits model number on Ronda to be in the “quartz accuracy”. ETA also has entry level movements which made in China and Thailand. They are not very good. ETA higher end movements are also very accurate. Also battery new/old also affects quartz movement’s performance. And Renata is a Swiss battery maker. Most of the Swiss movements has its battery as default. I do not usually use Duracell batteries in my quartz movements.

[@impact0r]

Would be useful if you are more specific about what do you mean by "high end movements from Casio, Seiki and Citizen". Do you mean Grand-Seiko level or Seiko Spirit level?

[@hannahuang6118]

@@impact0r +/-20 seconds per month is considered decent quartz. This covers most of the quartz movements from Japan and Swiss. High end will get +/- 30 seconds per year level. In terms of making electronic products, Japan probably is #1 in the world and has all the related industries. In terms of precision mechanical manufacturing, they are probably next to Germany.

[@calvinthomas3543]

Excellent presentation - The color card background is a wonderful idea! Did you wear any of the watches during the test? Temperature variations can actually affect quartz precision. The age of the watches (and of the quartz crystal) is another factor that affects accuracy. Also, why are you unhappy with the Bulova? It seems to have performed within its rated spec of +/- 5 sec per month.

[@Laz_Arus]

Over the course of 14 weeks, my Bulova Lunar Chrono (96B258) lost 0.3 seconds! Over the course of 24 weeks, my Bulova Precisionist (96B260) gained 2.3 seconds 👍 I have no concerns about the accuracy of either of them. It should be noted that I synced the system time of my phone precisely to NIST server before taking any measurement using the appropriate Android apps. You would be amazed at how inaccurate the timekeeping of the system clock is on most phones!

[@dazjackson1972]

Some interesting comments on this thread regarding temperature. I now understand why my Citizen Promaster Diver eco drive runs absolutely bang on if worn daily, yet gains 2 secs per month if set aside.

[@Tobi_Jones]

i have a seiko mecha quartz moment and i am not surprised about the results of this test

[@MrWishihadagibson]

Great comparison!

[@carllange3950]

I won’t put on a watch unless the time is reasonably close to correct. For a quartz watch, that might be 2 seconds off. For a mechanical, I will let 5 seconds slide. My most accurate, non-externally controlled, watch is one of my Bulova Precisionists. Since the second hand beats 16 times per second, I need to use a camera to do accuracy measurements. People should not get too excited about the results from a small sample size test like this. The variability between different samples of the same movement, is much greater than the difference shown between most of these quartz movements. I have about 40 quartz watches, so some have identical movements. I have 5 Casios with the 3198 module. Using the “per week” measurement I prefer, these watches are off by +5,+5, +1, +1 and 0 seconds per week. I will be giving away the +5 second watches. To put that into perspective, 5 seconds per week is disappointing in a quartz watch, but is considered exceptional in a mechanical watch, where most are rated In seconds off per day.

[@JusttheWatch]

This was my first time really checking my quartz watches, this was mostly for fun and curiosity. Thanks for the info, good to get a bit broader perspective.

[@jancoetzee4414]

Really enjoyed the video. Would be interesting to compare some quartz watches to luxury mechanical/automatic watches.

[@JustaSecond]

Nice episode. An interesting comparison.

[@chriscargile8303]

I have a Corgeut Speedmaster homage from AliExpress that runs a Seiko VK Mechaquartz movement in it, I use it to set my automatics when I wear them. I adjust the time on it twice a year for daylight savings, and the seconds are usually still synced to the time on my phone. Scary accurate!

Great video! How did you measure monthly deviation, like 2.4 vs 2.5 s ?

[@JusttheWatch]

I used an android app called watch check. It's free and pretty easy to use.

[@diegocanale1124]

What do you think of the ecodrive e168 movement?

[@charlie-obrien]

Great comparison and lots of good info on these particular brands. I have experience with at least 4 of these movements and agree with the findings (the Casio is indeed better than the first showing) for most. For quartz accuracy none can beat my Citizen Radio Controlled Sky Hawk. It has the U680 eco-drive movement and gets reset every night by the atomic clock. Needless to say it cost a bit more than my Casio. Lol What really is an eyeopener is that even the Dollar Store quartz has accuracy most mechanical watches would be using as a selling point.

[@MaloCeeEss]

Charlie OBrien I would put my Casio Oceanus up against the Nighthawk or Astron. I'm lucky to own a Casio OCW-S5000.

[@hakki368]

The quartz movement in my Columbia field watch needed replacement. It had a Seiko VJ32 in it. When my watchmaker replaced it last January 2022 with a new one, it's been running with the same deviation per month of +0.5s. My new Timex Waterbury Classic quartz watch also has a similar -10s monthly deviation.

[@Arockalypsse]

Just recently tested my bulova lunar pilot on the daylight saving period, almost 7 months and it lost only .5 of a second, while my Strumento Marino with a Miyota JR00 gained about 1 minute. Maybe your battery in Bulova was running low ?

[@wolfschindler8921]

I enjoyed your video very much. My G-Shock runs perfectly accurate during the summer but gains about 4 seconds/month during winter. It gains 23s/year.

[@jimroadhers]

I was told my citizen c650 Skyhawk was thermocompensated which i believe helps keep it to 12 seconds a year. I got this on ebay as nos and i just love it

[@ddixon72]

You should do more of this and keep a list of the movements tested.

[@bani_niba]

Interesting & useful video!

[@111111111Tiger]

Many of these model have gone off the radar but cool video.

[@HarvestTheAngerOfIdiots]

So, what devise you compared the watches against? I am saying this because the list maybe the other way round

[@bigrobowen]

Yes have got a Parnis Datona with the mecha quartz movement. Very accurate.

[@ravipeiris4388]

Great video 👌

[@davidcoleman2463]

If any of my watches ( quartz or automatic ) go one min off i reset it . It does not happen often. I have a quartz Timex expedition that always runs on time . I took it to the Amazon rainforest .

[@nathanielwilson1899]

You should have used a Citizen eco drive radio controlled . What time keeping clock was used?

[@DonaldPerley]

The big issue with quartz is temperature. I wore my LL Bean field watch (Swiss) for 3 months and it ran less than +1 sec/month. Then for 3 months of mostly in a drawer at room temperature instead of wrist, it's been running about +2 sec/month. Some high accuracy movements like Grand Seiko have a temperature based adjustment, while your Bulova has the high frequency crystal with a different geometry that's supposed to be less temperature sensitive.

[@DonaldPerley]

On that issue, lab instruments that need high accuracy have their quartz crystals in temperature controlled heaters.

[@jmmartin7766]

(Before I finish the video, of course - lol) My pick is the F-91w for most accurate. While they can sometimes run a little fast, my 'basic black' F-91w is what I use to set (or verify the accuracy of) all my other quartz's... Including my Swiss watches like Swatch & Swiss Army. After the results: Well, guess I was wrong... sort of... lol Shame you didnt hang onto it as a true 'control group.' But, I meant what I said earlier (^^^), that the F-91w (or any Casio digital) can sometimes run fast. I have three in different colors. And, out of those, one usually remains consistent, with the other two running slightly fast... fwiw

[@intelligent_61]

Great job! Thanks!

[@clontstable1]

It would have been interesting to throw a Seiko Tuna Quartz in the mix!

[@kendesjarlais7577]

Michael Clonts 20 seconds a month out dude

[@brucesoding9627]

Ken Desjarlais , I have two Tuna Quartz SBBN035 + 1 second per month, SBBN017 +1.5 seconds per month - astounding

@@brucesoding9627 I have a citizen promaster aqualand eco-drive bn2036-14e I bought beginning of March and almost a month later it is at +/-0 seconds per day.

[@dangermartin69]

Just curious if you know which quartz movement the Ali Express brands such as Lige and Curren use in their watches. Many of them say Japanese quartz, but none are specific.

[@JusttheWatch]

Not sure, but I would guess a Miyota.

[@dangermartin69]

@@JusttheWatch Is there a number for it?

[@sbsb4995]

Awesome. Quartz is the way to go. Bulova is owned by Citizen.

[@sbsb4995]

@The Truth the quartz movement is very high tech. And it is boring to you because you don't understand it.

[@desertsoldier41]

Bulova must have been low on battery...they only last 2 years on those. My Lunar Pilot is only off 3 seconds and I last set it a year ago.

[@markbyrum4743]

Great vid. To what do you attribute the errors? Quartz vibrates at a fixed rate. Is the error from the inaccuracy of the drive train? Bad batteries? What say ye? Good vid. Keep at it!

[@harrylane4]

Probably calibration as was mentioned before. It’s pretty hard to ensure that you’re ticking forward one second at EXACTLY 32,768hz and not a few oscillations off, especially with analogue movements. Additionally things like temperature (he mentioned the casio was being worn, didn’t say anything about others), being jostled and about a thousand other things you can’t control for that might lead to the quartz not being precisely at resonance frequency. Even the most precise movement in the world wouldn’t be able to account for all of that. The movement in the analogues could also be something for sure.

[@Pokemiki303]

I for sure thought the citizen would take it but only because i was thinking it was atomic/radio contoled like my blue angels that resets its seft every nigth to the exact atomic time

[@rickeybobby9361]

any way to adjust the movement speed in a quartz? I have 2 eco drives with the same movement: 1 is plus 1 second/month the other is plus 9

[@JusttheWatch]

Not that I'm aware of. I would think that's something the manufacture alone could set, but I could be wrong.

[@garyk4017]

@@JusttheWatch Most G-Shocks have a trimmer screw to adjust the accuracy.

[@enriquehs]

Are they wear equally?

[@AltonJRuffRev]

Very interesting. I grabbed my Bulova Military UHF to see what it has been doing. I don't remember when I last set it to atomic time... Maybe 2 months ago or more. It was about 1.25 seconds fast by my eyeball. And of course when I set it I could have been off by a fraction of a second as well.

[@JusttheWatch]

That's pretty good. It's interesting to get some more readings here in the comments of these movements. My I itial test was fun but not very scientific, really need a couple of samples from each movement to see how representative they are.

[@RelativeTime]

Wow. I would of thought the Bulova would of been more accurate. Nicely done! Be curious to see if that's standard or just a fluke.

[@JusttheWatch]

That's sort of the problem with something like this. To be really sure you'd probably want at least three of each movement tested. But it was still fun to see.

[@RelativeTime]

@@ll2405 The precisionist is their most accurate line, but there is some additional technology in that. Yet I thought even their 262 khz was supposed to have an advantage over a regular quartz crystal at 32.8khz.

[@zoltandiveki5233]

I've also timed my Bulova Precisionist with a very similar result (+2.2 spm). My solar Seiko V157 easily beats it (-2-3 sec / 6 months)

[@SoCalWatchReviews]

Another great video brother - my prediction is that the Bulova is going to kill it!

[@oklahomahank2378]

Is the Spinnaker bottom number correct? 3 seconds per six months should be a much bigger number to one minute off.

[@oes2546]

If I remember right the Bulova isn’t temp corrected is it? This means it will probably perform closer to spec when worn every day, as it is calibrated for such temperatures. As will the others change quite a bit as well, if their average temp over time is changed.

[@JusttheWatch]

Oh, that's an interesting thought!

[@mosfet500]

No surprise to me. I picked the Seiko and Citizen, 1&2. Its' no fluke I have Seiko's accurate to a few seconds a year, in fact I've designed circuits using Seiko crystals that were pretty darn good for a cheap crystal.