If you are buying your first serious watch, one question comes up before any other: should it be automatic or quartz? Both keep good time, but they work in completely different ways — and the right answer depends on what you want from the watch on your wrist.
How a quartz watch works
A quartz watch is powered by a battery that sends a current through a tiny quartz crystal, making it vibrate at a precise frequency. That makes quartz extremely accurate and very low-maintenance — you simply replace the battery every couple of years. The trade-off is that a quartz watch is mechanically simple, and the seconds hand ticks once per second.
How an automatic watch works
An automatic — or self-winding mechanical — watch has no battery at all. A weighted rotor spins as you move your wrist, winding a mainspring that stores energy and drives the movement. The result is a smooth, sweeping seconds hand, a window into real craftsmanship, and a watch that can last decades with occasional servicing. Leave it unworn and it stops; put it back on and it comes back to life.
Which one should you choose?
Choose quartz if you want set-and-forget accuracy at the lowest cost. Choose automatic if you care about craftsmanship, the feel and heritage of a mechanical movement, and owning something genuinely engineered rather than simply assembled. For most enthusiasts, the romance and longevity of an automatic win easily.
Why every Pergor is automatic
At Pergor Atelier we build only automatic watches. Every model — from the integrated-bracelet Valtor to the dive-ready Montier and the sporty Nexor — runs on the trusted Seiko NH35 self-winding movement, paired with a sapphire crystal and a stainless-steel case.
Curious about the movement itself? Read our guide to the Seiko NH35, or browse the full collection.