In each of the responses I have seen to the original post there seems to be a disturbing common thread that suggests an inability on behalf of the mechanical movement owners to admit something they know to be true.
In each case the mention of quartz movements sends them into an argument that involves the mention of Mickey Mouse watches, Timex, Casio etc... In short, they prefer to believe that a consumer seeking a quality watch will innevitably purchase a mechanical movement because quartz movements are sold by lesser companies. This is a departure from reality.
Although Rolex does not use quartz movements - both Omega and Breitling are heavy users of quartz movements. There seems to be an effort on the part of many of the participants here to imply that an Omega owner naturally owns a mechanical movement. If this were true Omega would not be selling so many quartz movements in their watches. Likewise, they would not produce a quartz version of practically every model they make. These are not cheap either. Nothing that retails for almost $1400 (US) is cheap nor is it cheaply made. Granted, as someone pointed out earlier, the quartz movements are not hand crafted, but in reality, neither are the automatics. Contrary to popular opinion created by masterful marketing departments, there are no little old men on a wooden work bench using crude hand tools to carve out the cases and hone the tiny individual parts. There are machines producing these parts and , yes, assembling them as well. The end result is a product that is finally inspected and adjusted by hand. But that is almost the only part of the process that is truly performed by hand. So there isn't as much soul in the machine as you like to think. I'm sure there was at one time, but not today.
The bottom line is that there isn't that great a difference in the quality of a mechanical Omega and a quartz Omega. And quality Swiss watch makers do produce quartz models, not just Japanese makers of $20 watches. Omega makes them, Breitling makes them, and almsot everyone but Rolex makes them. I have even heard that Rolex Tudor makes a quartz model but I am not so sure about that. Likewise, I am not a fan of Rolex much less Rolex Tudor. Rolex is most definitely the product of marketing hype. It's a good watch, but obviously no better that an Omega and not as good as a Breitling.
