The Three Camps: What You’re Actually Choosing Between
Walk into any watch retailer — or scroll through one online — and you’ll face a decision that goes well beyond aesthetics. Mechanical, quartz, or smartwatch: each represents a fundamentally different philosophy about what a watch is for. Get the choice wrong and you’ll either spend money maintaining something you didn’t need to, or end up with a gadget that feels hollow after six months. This guide breaks down the real-world differences, the running costs, and the circumstances where each type genuinely makes sense for a UK buyer.
Mechanical Watches: Craft, Character, and Commitment
A mechanical watch — whether hand-wound or automatic — contains no battery. Instead, it runs on the tension stored in a coiled mainspring, released through a series of precisely engineered gears and a regulating escapement. An automatic movement winds itself using a rotor that spins with your wrist movement. It’s a genuinely impressive feat of miniature engineering, and that’s a large part of the appeal.
Entry-level automatics from British-heritage brands like Sekonda make this accessible without Swiss price tags. The Sekonda Wilson Men’s Watch (silver case, stainless steel bracelet, £64.99) is a solid starting point for anyone who wants a proper mechanical movement without committing to hundreds of pounds upfront. It won’t keep time to the same precision as a quartz movement — most affordable automatics drift by a few seconds per day — but it will reward the wearer with something a battery-powered watch simply cannot offer: a sense that the object on your wrist is alive.
Pros of mechanical watches:
- No battery to replace
- Can last decades with proper servicing
- Often hold or increase in value at higher price points
- Satisfying craft and horological heritage
Cons of mechanical watches:
- Less accurate than quartz (typically ±5–15 seconds per day for affordable movements)
- Require periodic servicing — roughly every 5–7 years for most movements
- More sensitive to magnetism, shocks, and water
- Higher upfront or maintenance cost compared to basic quartz
Quartz Watches: Reliability Without the Fuss
Quartz movements use a battery to send an electrical current through a small piece of quartz crystal, which vibrates at a precise frequency (32,768 times per second). A circuit counts those vibrations and advances the hands accordingly. The result is timekeeping accuracy that mechanical movements simply cannot match at the same price point — typically within ±15 seconds per month for a standard quartz, and far better for high-accuracy variants.
Brands like Casio built their entire reputation on this reliability. A basic Casio quartz can keep accurate time for years on a single battery, require no servicing, and survive conditions that would compromise a mechanical watch. For everyday practicality, quartz is hard to argue against.
At the more design-led end of quartz, the Emporio Armani AR11332 Chronograph Renato Gold (£159 at WATCH & WATCH) offers the look of a premium timepiece with quartz dependability underneath. Similarly, the Sekonda Balearic Men’s Watch (silver alloy case, green rubber strap, £44.99) delivers a bold aesthetic at a price where replacement is genuinely a reasonable option if it reaches end of life.
Battery replacement typically costs £5–£15 at a jeweller and is needed every 1–3 years depending on the movement. No servicing beyond that is generally required for most modern sealed quartz movements.
Smartwatches: Useful Tools With a Subscription to Obsolescence
Smartwatches from Apple and Garmin occupy a completely different category. They are wrist-worn computers, and they are genuinely excellent at what they do: fitness tracking, notifications, contactless payments, GPS navigation, heart rate monitoring, and — in Garmin’s case — highly detailed sports metrics. The Apple Watch Series 9 starts at around £399; a mid-range Garmin Forerunner sits in the £250–£450 range depending on the model.
The trade-off is clear. Smartwatches need charging every 1–3 days (Apple Watch) or every week or two (some Garmin models). They are software-dependent, meaning a watch that works perfectly today may become unsupported in four or five years. Apple typically supports Apple Watch models for around five to six years of software updates; after that, functionality degrades as apps move on.
Who should choose a smartwatch:
- Regular runners, cyclists, or gym-goers who want data
- People managing health conditions who benefit from continuous heart rate or ECG monitoring
- Those who want their watch to replace their phone for notifications during meetings or commutes
- Anyone already in the Apple or Android ecosystem who values integration
The 10-Year Cost of Ownership: A Realistic Comparison
Price tags at purchase tell only part of the story. Here’s a realistic breakdown of what each type actually costs to own over a decade in the UK.
| Watch Type | Example | Purchase Price | Estimated 10-Year Running Costs | Total (Approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical (auto) | Sekonda Wilson | £64.99 | £60–£120 (1–2 services) | £125–£185 |
| Quartz (fashion/dress) | Sekonda Balearic / EA AR11332 | £44.99–£159 | £30–£60 (battery replacements) | £75–£220 |
| Smartwatch (mid-range) | Garmin Forerunner | £300–£450 | £300–£450 (replacement after ~5 yrs) | £600–£900 |
| Smartwatch (premium) | Apple Watch Series 9 | £399+ | £399+ (replacement cycle) | £800–£1,000+ |
These figures assume typical usage and standard servicing costs. Smartwatch costs assume one replacement cycle over ten years, which is a reasonable estimate given software support windows and battery degradation.
When Each Type Actually Makes Sense
Framing this as a simple ranking misses the point — context matters far more than any universal recommendation.
- Choose mechanical if you want a watch you can wear for twenty or thirty years, appreciate the craft, or are buying something to pass on. Even an accessible automatic like the Sekonda Wilson gains sentimental value over time in a way a smartwatch never will.
- Choose quartz if you want accuracy, low maintenance, and versatility without spending much. Quartz is also the right choice for a dress watch you wear occasionally — there’s no rotor to run down from inactivity. The Sekonda Day To Night Ladies Watch (rose gold case, £44.99) is a practical, good-looking example of quartz doing exactly what it should: looking elegant and keeping reliable time without demanding anything from you.
- Choose a smartwatch if you have specific, ongoing functional needs that justify the cost and charging routine. If you’re training for a marathon or managing your cardiovascular health, a Garmin or Apple Watch earns its place on your wrist. If you just want to tell the time and look good doing it, a smartwatch is expensive overkill.
A Few Practical Tips Before You Buy
- Consider your lifestyle first. A beautiful automatic is wasted on someone who wears it twice a month — without regular wear, the rotor won’t wind the mainspring and you’ll need to hand-wind or use a watch winder.
- Check water resistance ratings. ATM (atmospheres) ratings matter: 3 ATM is splash-proof only; 10 ATM or above suits swimming. Don’t rely on a “water resistant” label without checking the spec.
- Think about strap costs. Replacement straps can add up. A proprietary Apple Watch band can cost £40–£60; a standard 20mm lug on a Sekonda takes a £5–£15 aftermarket strap from any jeweller.
- Servicing is real money. A mechanical watch service at an independent UK watchmaker typically starts at around £50–£80 for a basic movement. Factor this into your budget, not just the sticker price.
- Buy what you’ll actually wear. The best watch is the one you reach for habitually. An unworn automatic is both wasted and slowly drying out; an unworn smartwatch is just expensive clutter.
The honest answer to “which type of watch should I buy?” is that it depends entirely on what you want a watch to do for you. If you want a low-fuss, accurate timepiece that won’t demand much attention, quartz — from something as affordable as a Sekonda to a smart-looking Emporio Armani chronograph — is the sensible default for most UK buyers. If you want a functional fitness computer on your wrist, the smartwatch category has no serious competition. And if you want something with genuine longevity, mechanical history, and the feeling of wearing a proper object, even an entry-level automatic like the Sekonda Wilson is a more satisfying long-term purchase than its modest price suggests.