Remember those old-school clocks in school, or even at home, with the word “quartz” displayed on the clock face? Now, some of you might know that quartz is a mineral, but in watchmaking terms, there’s much more to it than that, especially when compared to automatic movements. Why is this important, you may wonder – isn’t it all well and good just as long as your watch tells the time correctly? In that case, I could ask why you get an iPhone instead of some unheralded Chinese brand phone, since they can both be used for calls and texts anyway. And that precisely is the answer: build quality.

That’s not saying that quartz watches are bad. Because they’re highly accurate, less expensive and more durable than automatic watches due to a lesser number of moving components. Quartz watches are also battery-operated while automatic watches are self-winding. Automatic watches are slightly less accurate, but more expensive and desirable due to the superior craftsmanship, quality of mechanical movements, and high difficulty in making them.

If you’ve ever taken the time to ogle a Lamborghini and its array of impressive components, then you’ll know the feeling – shortly put, they’re no Proton. Automatic watches also get their power from a wound spring instead of a battery, as a complex series of gears and parts operate in sync to keep time.

Just the other day, when a customer stopped in to ask why his automatic watch stopped moving after a while, we had to reassure him that it’s perfectly normal. After all, it must be worn for approximately 12 hours a day to keep running. Our golden advice? Invest in a watch winder and showcase your collection to friends when they pop over this Chinese New Year. Any red packets you receive then, should rightly go towards expanding your repertoire of automatic wonders, as brought to you by the good folks at H2 Hub.