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Despite what you may think, watches with a sweeping second hand do not have to be expensive. People who are not familiar with watches may look at the dial of a typical mechanical watch and think something along the lines of “that moves like a Rolex, it must be expensive”. The first part of this assumption is somewhat true, however, the second is not.
Of course, basic quartz watches are cheaper than anything with a smooth, sweeping hand movement. However, once you enter even the cheapest levels of mechanical watches, you will find that the second hand sweeps, rather than ticks. These mechanical watches are NOT expensive and can be just as cheap as basic quartz models.
This is not just true for mechanical watches either, precision quartz watches also appear to the human eye as if they are sweeping. The Bulova Precisionist (featured below), certainly does not beat around the dial in 1 second intervals. These watches do cost considerably more than a $50 quartz throwaway model, however, they are hundreds of dollars, not a 5-figure amount like a luxury Swiss timepiece.
In short, there are plenty of reasonably priced watches with a sweeping seconds hand.
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What Makes A Watches Second Hand Sweep?
High-End Quartz
Quite simply this is the vibrational frequency of the movement. In a watch such as a $30 Casio quartz, this beat rate will be very low, which is why you see the ticking of the seconds hand around the dial. This is caused by energy being transferred from the battery to the movement. This energy is released in 1 second intervals.
In a precision quartz watch, the movement releases energy at far more frequent intervals, causing the second hand to make a sweeping motion. This sweeping movement can be seen in both high and low end mechanical watches. Even an entry level automatic movement such as the Seiko NH35 has 6 beats per second, which again makes the second hand appear to be sweeping.
As a general rule, the higher the beat rate of a watch movement, the more the second hand will appear to glide around the dial. This is one of the reasons why more expensive watches such as the Rolex submariner are highly regarded compared to cheap throwaway “ticking” watches.
Mechanical Watches
Before cheap quartz watches existed, there was only such thing as a sweeping second hand. Both digital watches and ticking quartz watches did not exist before the 1970’s.
Mechanical watches “sweep” by kinetic energy being uncoilled from the mainspring. In turn, this causes the movement of the watch to turn the hands around the dial. As this movement is not released in 1 second intervals, the hands will not tick and will instead sweep. This is a constant process and is the same across all mechanical watches. Whilst cheaper mechanical watches will have less accurate movements – they will still display a sweeping motion.
Which Sweeping Watch Movement Is The Best Value For Money?
For the most part, precision quartz movements are the best value for money. This is because they are considerably cheaper than luxury Swiss mechanical watches, but also more accurate. The only real reason there are not more precision quartz watches made is because they are more expensive to make than a standard movement and use a lot more power.
Whilst accuracy is not really a big deal in modern day watches, since precision is now at a point of seconds per year on the best models. This is still used as an indicator to show just how good a watch is and how to justify its expense.
Basic mechanical watches are also very good value for money. As their minimum beat rate is around 6 beats per second, there isn’t really a mechanical watch that does not sweep. These watches are nowhere near as accurate as precision quartz movements but start at around $100 and go all of the way up to 5 and even 6 figures in the luxury realm.
The Grand Seiko Spring Drive series is likely the smoothest sweeping watch on the planet, but this will set you back a minimum of $5000.
The Best Sweep Second Hand Watches
Bulova Precisionist – High Frequency Quartz
The Bulova Precisionist series is without a doubt the best and perhaps only quartz based watch with a sweeping seconds hand. Bulova really put a lot of design, research, and development into the precisionist and came out with a 262khz movement which beats 8 times per second more than a standard quartz watch.
It’s needless to say then that the movement in this watch is superior to pretty much every other quartz out there with a frequency much closer to a Swiss luxury watch.
This standard precisionist dress watch comes in a variety of color schemes if you’re not a fan of the blue dial. Furthermore, the battery life on this watch is still approximately 3 years, which is impressive given that it beats 8x more than a standard cell powered movement.
Bulova Precisionist Sports Chronograph – High Frequency Quartz
Much like the non-chronograph dress version of the Bulova Precisionist shown above. This model is also accurate to within +/- 10 seconds per year, which is simply something you simply will not find in even the most luxurious mechanical watches.
The Bulova Precisionist chronograph wears fairly large on the wrist since it is a chunky watch and measures 47mm in diameter. Not only this but it also has a domed crystal which really makes the watch stand out and look a little larger.
If you don’t like black, this model can be picked up in both rose gold and stainless steel for a more refined look if required.
Grand Seiko – Spring Drive
The spring drive movement took 7 years to develop in secret, so it’s no wonder there is no other brand on the planet that cannot replicate it.
Although the Grand Seiko GMT model costs anywhere between $6000-$7000, it is actually underpriced compared to other luxury watches. Quite simply, Swiss movements cannot really come close to the accuracy of a Grand Seiko spring drive which measures at around +/- 1 second per day. Japan does not have COSC certified movements, but it’s needless to say the Spring Drive would easily pass all of the tests.
Seiko 5 – Automatic
Quite simply the best budget automatic watch you can find. The Seiko 5 is hands down one of the best automatic watches for under $100 that you can find. It goes without saying then that this is the most reliable and cheapest automatic watch that has a sweeping seconds hand.
In terms of accuracy and specification, the Seiko 5 will likely not win any awards since it has been pretty much the same ever since it was first released in the 1960s. However, it has certainly stood the test of time and is one of the best value for money watches ever created.
Alpina Seastrong – Automatic
Alpina are an entry level brand in to the luxury world of Swiss watches, yet are significantly cheaper than many of their competitors.
The Seastrong is a bulky 44mm, yet lightweight titanium divers watch that will not feel overbearing or too heavy for your wrist despite its large size. This watch uses a modified ETA 2824-2, also known as the AL-525 which can be viewed through the exhibition caseback. The AL-525 beats 8 times per second, which causes the seconds hand to sweep around the dial much like any other luxury watch.
Perhaps the main selling point about the Seastrong is the price of less than $1000. Other luxury watches built to this specification are often in the low 4 figures, so this is quite a significant saving.
Orient Bambino
If Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, the Orient Bambino must be the best value mechanical dress watch of all time.
This watch has a sweeping seconds hand, looks good and doesn’t break the bank. At considerably less than $150, you will not find an automatic dress watch cheaper than this of the same quality. Of course, you can find both cheaper watches and better looking watches. But nothing comes close to Orient in terms of quality, style and value for money when everything is combined.
If you are on a budget for a nice sweeping seconds hand watch for a low price, this is pretty much your go to option.
