Jewelers, am I right?
This is a shot of me enjoying my Erebus Origin while two of my kids blow off some energy after a boring visit to a local jewelers. I have broken a crystal on a brand new watch and figured I would just ask the jeweler to fix it.
While he was inspecting it to make sure it still worked I made a comment about how not too much could go wrong with it because it was a new quartz movement. To which he replied “oh this isn’t a quartz, this is an eco drive solar” Like an idiot I thought perhaps the sales person would actually know anything about the products that they sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars so I said “yeah but it’s still a quartz, it still powers a quartz crystal to keep the time “ to which he replied “no it’s solar, the sun powers a capacitor, quartz just means it has a battery which needs to be replaced “ and ding! I finally understood the situation and took the fastest way out “oh, ok”.
While watching the kids play I remember that a sales person in the jewelers right across the courtyard had insisted that the Rado on her wrist that looked like a Diastar and said “Diastar” on the dial was not a Diastar. ……”oh, ok”
That got me thinking. How much of the crazy stuff floating around about watches starts at a Jeweler’s counter with a potential buyer on the hook?
In fairness to the jeweller, most people when talking about quartz watches are talking about battery powered quartz. Maybe he assumed you were the person who knew nothing, and was trying to explain that it didn't need batteries...
In fairness to the jeweller, most people when talking about quartz watches are talking about battery powered quartz. Maybe he assumed you were the person who knew nothing, and was trying to explain that it didn't need batteries...
Sure.
Me at a Jewelers:
Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Yep. Outside of measuring the decay of a radioactive material it’s pretty much either timing a spring or vibrating a rock.
Here's the thing. At a very top level, they are both 'quartz' watches, so ultimately you're right. At a more subjective level, there are differences between quartz and solar quartz, which is the detail the jeweler was getting into. And in that respect, he's right. They are different things. So more a case of you two operating at two different levels of meaning and, essentially, both being right in terms of what you're trying to express to each other.
Here's the thing. At a very top level, they are both 'quartz' watches, so ultimately you're right. At a more subjective level, there are differences between quartz and solar quartz, which is the detail the jeweler was getting into. And in that respect, he's right. They are different things. So more a case of you two operating at two different levels of meaning and, essentially, both being right in terms of what you're trying to express to each other.
If that were true then he would understand that solar quartz is still quartz and less likely to be damaged by a fall than an automatic or manual wind movement. No, he didn’t have a clue what the word meant other than when you see it on a watch it means there is a battery inside.
In fairness to the jeweller, most people when talking about quartz watches are talking about battery powered quartz. Maybe he assumed you were the person who knew nothing, and was trying to explain that it didn't need batteries...
The only difference is the battery in a solar quartz watch is rechargeable. And it's recharged by a solar cell.
The only difference is the battery in a solar quartz watch is rechargeable. And it's recharged by a solar cell.
Not necessarily... Citizen uses capacitors in their Eco-Drive movements rather than batteries.
If that were true then he would understand that solar quartz is still quartz and less likely to be damaged by a fall than an automatic or manual wind movement. No, he didn’t have a clue what the word meant other than when you see it on a watch it means there is a battery inside.
I'm not here to argue with you. I will simply say, again, there is a delineation between battery powered quartz and solar powered quartz. At a 30,000 feet view, sure, they are both quartz, as I just covered. But as you get more granular, there are differences.
If you don't want to believe in that, go for it. But they are different things.
I’d even debate you on „Quartz vs 9F“ and insist on one being something completely different than the other but that’s only at the „detail-level“.
In the end you could go so far and say that „These are watches. They tell time“. It’s basically my better half’s description of my 9F, 9R, Solar Quartz and my two mechanical watches 🤷🏻♂️
The common denominator, and stop me if I'm going too fast, is 'quartz'.
I'm not here to argue with you. I will simply say, again, there is a delineation between battery powered quartz and solar powered quartz. At a 30,000 feet view, sure, they are both quartz, as I just covered. But as you get more granular, there are differences.
If you don't want to believe in that, go for it. But they are different things.
À diesel car, a petrol car and an electric car walk into a pub and the barkeep says "what can I get you cars today?". Simples. 😉
Salespeople can get away with being uniformed when their customers are less informed than they are. However, once the customer knows a lot about something, then the salesperson becomes unnecessary and is reduced to "taking orders" only. And this makes it difficult to sustain the higher markup in retail stores.
The two best examples of this are probably in computer sales and digital camera sales. Initially, their customers knew very little, so they depended on sales people to help them make a buying decision. Thirty years ago, retail stores flourished and salespeople earned fat commissions whether or not they knew anything about the products they sold.
But once the customers learned more about these products, many knew more about them than the people selling them. And when that happens, the product becomes a commodity, and the mail order or online retailer becomes a much cheaper source. The customer knows exactly what he wants, and the only questions left is "how much does it cost" and "is it genuine?"
So most brick and mortar retail shops for computers and digital cameras have closed, and online retailers have flourished. Not many customers need a salesman to help them select what they want. Once the customer knows what they want, then it just becomes a question of price, availability and warranty.
You pay more at the authorized watch dealer, not because they are helping you make an informed decision, but because it is often the only way to get something in high demand. Plus, you feel there is a greater chance that the item is genuine, and not a fake.
This looks like my local spot in Wesley Chapel, Florida…
No matter in which jeweler I was, I always knew more than them. I always had to guide and inform them, gave them some hints to find this and that. I am collecting watches since 20 years now and I definitely know why I never purchased anything from a jeweler.
Me at a Jewelers:
When it comes to watches, yup. I can't count the number of times I have been told I need to be on the other side. 😉
You think that is good, how about going to a jeweler/jewelry dept. and asking about a mechanical watch only to be handed an automatic then trying to explain the difference. 😉