Quartz or Automatic Watch: Which Should You Buy? (2026)

One runs on a battery you forget about. The other runs on you. At Adam & Westcott the price no longer picks a side.

Last updated: October 2026

Buy quartz if you want accuracy you never think about, and automatic if you want a movement that runs off the motion of your wrist with no battery at all. At Adam & Westcott the choice is not a budget question any more: the quartz BOLD DIAL SPORT WATCH is $39.99 and the self-winding CLASSIC ALLOY WATCH is $39.98. One cent apart.

What is the difference between a quartz and an automatic watch?

A quartz watch is driven by a battery and a vibrating crystal, while an automatic winds itself from the swing of your arm and carries no battery at all. Everything else, the case, the glass, the strap, is shared ground.

Of the 100 watches in the Adam & Westcott Watches collection, 29 state a self-winding or automatic movement and 35 state quartz. The other 36 do not publish a movement type, so we do not guess.

Which is cheaper, quartz or automatic?

Neither, at this range: the cheapest automatic is $39.98 and the cheapest quartz is $29.98, a gap of ten dollars across a collection that runs from $25.99 to $299.98.

Movement	Best for	Key spec	Our pick
Quartz	Wearing it a few days a week and forgetting about it	3 bar water resistance, auto date, luminous hands	BOLD DIAL SPORT WATCH $39.99
Automatic, dress	A slim case that sits under a shirt cuff	Self-winding, date on the dial, no battery	AUTOMATIC DRESS WATCH $49.98
Automatic, entry	A first self-winder without the outlay	Genuine leather strap, full calendar date	CLASSIC ALLOY WATCH $39.98
Automatic, steel	Scratch resistance on a daily beater	NH35 movement, sapphire crystal, 3 bar	REGAL SQUARE LUXURY WATCH $44.95
Quartz chronograph	Timing things, and a leather strap for the office	Quartz, date window, sporty sub-dials	LEATHER CHRONOGRAPH WATCH $39.98

Do you have to wear an automatic watch every day?

To keep running, yes, more or less: an automatic stops once your wrist stops feeding it, then needs a shake or a few turns of the crown and a date reset. A quartz carries on in a drawer for years.

That one fact settles most of these decisions: if the watch is one of three you rotate, quartz is the easier life.

How water resistant does an everyday watch need to be?

Three bar handles rain, a hand wash and a spilled drink, which covers most of what a watch meets in a week. Swimming is where the ladder matters.

Across the Adam & Westcott range, 3 bar is the common rating, the LOBINNI PERPETUAL CALENDAR WATCH at $169.98 states 5 bar on a Seagull 28 jewels automatic, and the Benyar Avelon Watch at $79.99 states 10 ATM, the highest we publish.

Which one should you buy?

• One watch, worn daily, under $50: AUTOMATIC DRESS WATCH at $49.98.
• A watch you wear and ignore: BOLD DIAL SPORT WATCH at $39.99.
• Sapphire glass on a steel bracelet: REGAL SQUARE LUXURY WATCH at $44.95, an NH35 automatic.
• A bigger dial on the wrist: PYRAMID TEXTURE SPORT WATCH at $59.98, a 45mm case with a 3D textured dial.
• Watching the movement work: SELF WINDING WATCH at $79.98, gears on show through the dial.

Frequently asked questions

Is quartz or automatic more accurate?
Quartz, by a wide margin. A quartz movement is regulated by a vibrating crystal, while an automatic is a mechanical assembly that drifts a little each day.

What is the cheapest automatic watch at Adam & Westcott?
The CLASSIC ALLOY WATCH at $39.98, with an automatic self-wind movement, a genuine leather strap, luminous hour markers and a full calendar date display.

How many Adam & Westcott watches are automatic?
29 of the 100 watches in the collection state a self-winding or automatic movement, and 10 of those are under $50.

Can I swim in a 3 bar watch?
No. Treat 3 bar as rain, hand washing and splashes. For water past that, the Benyar Avelon Watch at $79.99 states 10 ATM.

Does an automatic watch need a battery?
No. It is wound by the motion of your wrist, which is why it stops when it sits unworn and needs the date reset when you pick it up again.

Shopping by budget rather than movement? Our best men's watches under $50 and best automatic watches under $100 work through the range by price, and watch gifts for men in 2026 covers it from a gifting angle.