If you are into watches, you know what belongs in this post. If you are new to watches, you are here looking for answers or some guidance. When we start getting into the watch world, all watched might look the same, but there are many factors that can make similar watches very different.
This is a quick start, very basic guidelines of quartz vs. mechanical watches. Quartz movements are basically electronic movements that operate, mostly, from a battery. These have an oscillator, battery and circuit that helps keep the time.
Mechanical watches on the other hand, operate without a battery. The power source can be kinetic energy (your hand movement) or they can be hand wound. Another difference with mechanical watches is that they need to be serviced, think of it like a car. The service interval depends on the manufacturer.
I hope this helps understand watches a little better and it gets you even more interested in the hobby. Let me know if this was useful to you and if you would like me to add more details about watch movements in the future.
DL