Please Help

[bare_essential]

Hi all,

I am interested in purchasing the Cartier Tank Francaise for myself. My query is regarding the movement type. Is it better to get it in the Japanese Quartz or in a Swiss ETA (if so what type?).

I've tried searching but most of the movement talks about guys watches and the only mention of quartz for women is in the Channel watches.

I plan on wearing my watch everyday rather than just occasionally.

Any advice would be great please.

[Jkay]

There are several facets to this answer.

Do you prefer to simply change a battery once every 2 years, and require zero maintenance? MANY ladies Gen watches are quartz for this exact reason. Accurate to 15 seconds per year or less.

Do you have a natural attraction to the idea of a tiny, precision mechanical heartbeat inside of your watch? This is why some people prefer a timepiece that may gain or lose 15 seconds per day ...

There is no right or wrong answer. Ask yourself if a mechanical movement will eventually irritate you.

I bought a big Cartier Pasha SeaTimer (SS band. not black rubber) for my Wife, and after initially balking at the size of it, she now loves it. She wears it daily, and the mechanical nature has never bothered her. (because I correct the time once a week for her)

[bare_essential]

Hi Jkay,

I would prefer to have no maintainence and change the watch battery every few years. Whatever would be the cheaper option in the long run. It's all well for me to say something that is hassle free however if I have to spend another $50+ to just fix then i'd rather pay now to get the correct movement and do the maintanence that needs to be done to ensure I only have to pay say $20 for a battery.

I'm still not completely familiar with all the differences the movements make. As long as it keeps good time and doesnt make the the really loud annoying tick tick tick that some alarm clocks do I am happy.

I hope this all makes sense and I dont sound like a rambling looney =)

[Jkay]

Japanese quartz movements are battery powered, made almost completely of plastic inside and require no maintenance to keep going almost forever. To "fix" a quartz movement, you toss it in the garbage and replace it with a new movement for very little cost.

If the watch you like is not available in quartz, the Cartier Ballon Bleu is beautiful as well and come in Quartz for multiple sizes.

It has to be perfectly quiet in a room to hear a mechanical watch movement TICK without pressing it up against your ear. Sometimes when my hand is under my pillow I can hear it

Mrs King lists this quartz Tank piece, but you'll have to email her for the size. Click this

[Jkay]

Ah .. excuse me, I didn't know that KingWatch has a new web site with much-improved layout and info. Look HERE

[bare_essential]

Wow Jkay, thanks for all the info. Is it expensive to get a new movement for a Jap Quartz?

Would a normal watch repairer prefer a Jap quartz or a Swiss ETA movement to fix?

[jitai]

Hi there,

Got the ultimate cartier lady santos for my wife.

I will rate it 95 out of 100.

My wife love it and best of all it comes with ETA automatic movt and no need battery like the quartz movt.

[Jkay]

Wow Jkay, thanks for all the info. Is it expensive to get a new movement for a Jap Quartz?

Would a normal watch repairer prefer a Jap quartz or a Swiss ETA movement to fix?

Right now I am looking at eBay, and Miyota Quartz movements are 5 to 15 dollars there.

As far as what a watchsmith would think .. like I mentioned, you generally throw away a quartz movement and replace it. Mechanical watches can be fixed easily when you have spare parts such as are available for ETA movements. It's about the same, really. A qualified watchsmith could do either of those things with his eyes closed.

This watch forum and other watch forums all have trusted watch repair people who can fix whatever you buy. Repair isn't a problem ..

[bare_essential]

So really it comes down to the preference of whether you want to hear the tick or not hear the tick?

Because I was reading things like the sweep of a hand etc but I am guessing then that must only apply to the men's watches because of the seconds hand.

Jitai, thats a really nice watch but its not the my type :-) I find a lot of the ladies watches that are out there I am not into (prefer the mens watches) but the Cartier Tank is the first one that really caught my eye so I want to purchase it.

[Jkay]

Many genuine ladies watches have quartz movements. Most men's high end watches do not. A quartz movement in a mens watch is a huge hit against it's credibility. On a ladies model, it's practically expected.

[bare_essential]

Oh ok, I follow. So would I be correct in saying then that a Jap quartz is fine to go with as the only thing it would do for me is have a louder tick?

I want my rep to be as close to the rep as possible.

[Jkay]

If the genuine watch you are trying to get a replica of comes in a Quartz movement then you are in like Flynn. And many genuine ladies and mid-size watches come in quartz so ... you're looking good here.

Cartier, and Chanel .. Rolex OysterQuartz ... all come in quartz models. Let's not even talk about pure fashion watches like Gucci .. where your only choice is quartz!

[bare_essential]

When I search the movement I get Cartier calibre 057 quartz movement

So it is a quartz movement but I don't understand what they mean by 057 movement.

[Jkay]

Every kind of movement has a name. Calibre 057 is the name of that movement. Hopefully you are talking about a genuine version of this watch. Any replica store claiming to have genuine Cartier movements in their watches is not to be trusted.

[bare_essential]

Hi,

The gen version has the 057 movement. So in that case is the Jap quartz good to get or should I get a Swiss ETA or another type of movement?

[Jkay]

Japanese quartz is very high quality. You might be over-thinking this first purchase. Just get the watch you love the most, and don't worry so much about the engine inside. Japanese Quartz or ETA are both good. One is certainly less expensive, yes .. and batteries instead of service calls.

[bare_essential]

Thanks heaps Jkay. I am ordering the Jap Quartz from Mary now.

[Jkay]

Which watch did you settle upon? I'd like to see it

[freddy333]

bare_esstial - Cartier (the genuine watch company) makes both mechanical & quartz watches. Most women opt for quartz (because they are battery-powered & do not require winding) & most men opt for mechanical (men like machinery). As far as quartz goes, it does not really matter whether the movement is Asian or Swiss - there is no real performance difference. The Swiss quartz may last a bit longer than the Asian-made movement, but, otherwise, when it comes to quartz, I think you can safely ignore the movement's location of origin since they both cost less than $20 to replace (when a quartz watch stops working - assuming the battery is good - you just replace the movement).

Check out the Watches section of our website for sellers (I would recommend Josh (PerfectClones) & Andrew (TrustyTime)).

[bare_essential]

Hi Freddy,

Thanks very much for that. This forum has been a wealth of information.

I ended up deciding on the Cartier Tank Francaise. I prefer the style of that better :-)

Will definately post pictures when I receive it.

[freddy333]

I ended up deciding on the Cartier Tank Francaise. I prefer the style of that better :-)

Will definately post pictures when I receive it.

[boneventura]

I just ordered a Cartier Ballon Blue from Trusty, for my mommy. It's very close to gen and has swiss quatz movement. Best thing is the gen doesn't have AR, so that won't be missed!