Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
There are two types of ticking in a watch, these are both the stuttered movement of the seconds hand around the dial, as well as the audible noise this makes when moving.
Whilst there is no such thing as silent watches (other than the models shown below), there are a lot of watches which are quieter than a standard quartz timepiece.
A quartz watch can be distracting if you are sensitive to noise. Fortunately there are plenty of alternatives available. The good news is that many of these watches are very affordable. However, the bad news is that if you want a dress watch which sweeps around the dial as well as making no noise – this will set you back a lot more money.
Table of Contents
Why Does My Watch Make A Ticking Noise?
If your watch is making a ticking noise whilst the seconds hand moves around the dial, this simply means you own a quartz watch.
Quartz watches are battery powered and (almost always) tick once per second. Whilst higher end quartz watches may operate at a higher frequency, almost every quartz watch made is designed to emit energy from the battery every second. This is both useful in terms of telling the time and also useful in terms of preserving the energy stored in the battery. If for example, a watch were to tick twice per second, this would use up twice as much energy.
The sound you can hear from a watch ticking is the gears in the movement either engaging or disengaging. This causes a “tick” to be heard.
What Kind Of Watch Doesn’t Tick?
There are a few kinds of watches that “don’t tick” – however, when closely examined it is just that their movement is too fast or smooth for the human eye, or too quite to be heard.
Mechanical watches work slightly differently to quartz watches. Instead of a battery, the main spring coil slowly unwinds. Time is “created” by a piece called an escapement, which allows to gears of a watch to progress and stop at a pace which records near exact time.
In terms of ticking movements, mechanical watches glide or sweep around a dial at whatever frequency the movement has been made to. Generally more expensive watches within the world of Swiss luxury will glide gracefully around the dial. These watches are not silent and can be heard if you press your ear to the case. They do however sound significantly different to quartz ticking noises.
Some quartz watches such as digital models do not tick either. This is because they are more of a primitive computer than a watch movement. Although they are powered by a battery, this power is transferred to a silicon chip, which then alters the display of an LCD screen. Whilst this process may not be completely silent, it is too quite for the human ear to pick up.
Do Rolex Sweep Or Tick?
Rolex watches are known for their sweeping and never tick like a quartz watch. This is a very easy way to pick out a very obvious fake Rolex watch – although many super clones will use mechanical movements as this is far too obvious.
Modern day Rolex watches beat at a frequency of 28 800 per hour, which is far more than the 3600 you will find in a standard quartz watch. Based on this fact alone, you can see how a Rolex seems to make a sweeping motion compared to a stuttered tick around the dial from a cheap quartz wristwatch.
Can You Hear Ticking On A Rolex?
Yes, there is no real thing such as a silent mechanical watch. All automatic watches will make noises, it just depends how loud you can tolerate this sound on a personal level.
Whilst a Rolex will not make a ticking sound comparable to a quartz based movement, it will make a sound. This noise is more of a whirring or spinning sound which can only really be heard if you move your ear very close to your wrist. In terms of wearing a Rolex, you would need outstanding hearing to be able to listen to your watch whilst wearing it.
The Best Affordable Watches That Don’t Tick
Bulova Precisionist
The Bulova precisionist is not like other quartz watches. It has been built to a much higher specification and offers a degree of accuracy which cannot be rivalled. Simply put, the movement of this watch operates at 262khz, which makes the hand glide around the dial, rather than tick like a standard quartz watch. To put this in to laymans terms, for every tick a standard watch makes, the precisionist is making 8 times as much.
Obviously you will pay a lot more than a regular fashion watch for the precisionist, but it really is in a league of its own in terms of non-mechanical, but accuracte and sweeping movements. If you want to get a watch which is battery powered, but is pretty silent and doesn’t have a jumping seconds hand. This really is your best option. Granted, it will make a noise much like a normal quartz model, but it certainly isn’t the same visually.
Casio G-Shock
Casio G-Shock watches do not tick in a physical or acoustic sense. As these watches use LCD screens, you can simply see the time moving from one digit to the next. The only sound that G-Shock watches emit are the alarms, but even these can be turned off.
Of course when buying a G-Shock watch, the main selling point is the durability combined with the price. These watches are practically indestructible and will take an absolute beating without any real damage to the internal or external case. Considering you can pick this watch up for under $75 makes it really good value and well worth considering.
The Best Luxury Watches That Don’t Tick
Grand Seiko Spring Drive
This is the only design of watch in the world which is both completely silent and doesn’t tick visually.
Whilst most mechanical watches are completely inaudible, even if you press your ear to the case of a Seiko spring drive watch, you will not hear a thing. The reasoning behind this is their proprietary Tri-Synchro Regulator (TSR) technology which works similarly to an escapement, but slightly differently on a technical level. It is this which causes no noise to be made when the coil is moving forwards, providing valueable energy to the watch.
It is no secret that the Grand Seiko range is at the luxury level of watchmaking. These watches are not made in Switzerland, but are every bit as a high end, as well as offering something completely revolutionary.
Rolex Submariner
At the current time, you’re going to pay through the nose for a Rolex submariner. Due to the insanely high levels of demand, this is a watch that has been popular for the last decade and shows no signs of slowing down.
Rolex watches do make a noise, but they aren’t loud by any means. You would really have to go out of your way to try and listen to a Rolex watch – or any other high end Swiss-made mechanical piece for that matter.
The main appeal of this watch is the Rolex sweep which is very iconic, especially to people who do not know many other luxury watch brands. Of course you will pay up for a Rolex, but this is a watch which holds its value extremely well. Within the past 5-10 years, people have actually been profiting on their watches when they decide to sell.
