Wondering what's the difference between a mechanical and an automatic watch? Let us quickly clarify what the distinction between the two is, so you can choose the type of movement that best suits your needs.
The difference between an automatic and a mechanical watch
The easiest way to understand the difference between an automatic and a mechanical watch is to watch our YouTube video above. But if you want to know more about watch movements, how they work, and which one to choose, our article is worth a read:
The most common watch movements are: quartz, mechanical and automatic.
Simply put, a quartz watch is a watch that will function with a battery-powered movement. Quartz watches are timepieces that use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. Japan quartz movements are renowned for their superior time-keeping accuracy. But nowadays, most quartz movements are highly accurate, so you don't need to worry about that when it comes to this type of movement.
A mechanical movement uses energy from the wound mainspring to power a watch, rather than a battery. A mechanical watch needs to be hand-wound in order to keep time accurately.
How to hand wind a mechanical watch?
First of all, carefully pull the crown outwards slightly and set the correct time on your watch. Then, press the crown back in and wind it upwards as much as the watch allows you to. When the watch is fully-wound, you will know, as you may encounter some resistance to winding it further. Don't force it. Vintage watches may be more fragile than new ones.
This is a technique that will work on most watches. However, there are some models that require a special winding technique, such as particular diver watch models. If you're unsure, it's best to look it up using the watch reference.
How often do I have to wind my mechanical watch?
Mechanical watches have a power reserve. Once you wind the watch completely, it will keep time accurately for the duration of its power reserve. Remember that the older the watch, the smaller its power reserve may be.
For example, we have vintage watches on sale with a 48-hour power reserve, and we have antique pocket watches with 9-hour power reserves. The watch will keep time correctly for this time period, once fully wound, and then you will have to wind it again, for it to keep working accurately.
Some of the most expensive watches are powered by automatic movements.
What is the difference between a mechanical/hand-winding movement and an automatic/self-winding movement?
An automatic watch, or a self-winding watch, is a mechanical watch that collects kinetic energy from the natural motion of the wearer's wrist. The advantage of this type of movement is that you don't need to wind the watch manually on a regular basis for it to keep time with accuracy.
Whereas for some hand-winding a watch is a pleasant ritual, some may not enjoy this repetitive task. For the latter, we recommend automatic movements.
Automatic watches will keep time correctly as long as they are on your wrist. If you stop wearing the watch for some time, it will stop ticking, given the lack of motion. So when you decide to start wearing it again after a few days/weeks, make sure to set the time correctly, wind the crown of the watch a few times and start moving it a little bit, so it will restart harnessing the kinetic energy from your wrist's movements.
Read more about the different types of watch movements in our guide to buying a vintage watch.
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Choosing a watch with Vintage Radar
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