The Best Luxury Quartz Watches
When it comes to luxury watches, the vast majority of discourse focuses on mechanical ones. Quartz watches, although more accurate, tend to take a backseat at the higher price tiers. But collector sentiment towards high-end quartz watches has warmed somewhat in recent years. F.P. Journe and Audemars Piguet both have red hot quartz models in their current lineups, and some classic vintage quartz watches are getting attention too. Here’s our guide to the best luxury quartz watches.
The Best Quartz Luxury Watch on the Market Today: F.P. Journe Elegante
F.P. Journe is one of the most successful and influential independent watchmakers of our time, so the luxury watch world took notice when he unveiled a quartz watch in 2014 after eight years of development–but it wasn’t a smash hit at first.
The F.P. Journe Élégante is special because of its electro-mechanical movement, featuring a motion sensor that stops the hands when it’s not being worn. When motion is detected again, the hands “wake up” and advance to the current time. It’s cool to watch, and it also saves battery.
As you would expect from Journe, the movement is visible through a sapphire caseback and it’s finished spectacularly. Platinum and 6N gold versions exist, but you’ll mostly see the Elegante in titanium or Titalyt.
Titalyt is titanium that has undergone an electro-plasma oxidation (EPO) process to create a ceramic-like oxide layer on the surface of the titanium. It’s similar to Panerai’s Ti-Ceramitech or IWC’s Ceratanium.
The Élégante sports an angular tonneau case and is available in either a 35mm or 40mm width. Note that Journe labels them by their lug-to-lug measurement, hence the names “Élégante 40” and “Élégante 48.” And nowadays, waitlists for any version are so long that used models can easily sell for double their list price (which starts north of $30,000). As usual, Journe was just ahead of the curve, and no list of the best luxury quartz watches would be complete without the Élégante.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Mini
The Royal Oak Mini (or “Mini Oak”) was one of the sleeper hits of the Audemars Piguet 2024 releases. With a quartz movement and a miniscule 23mm width, you might assume these are aimed squarely at women. But some men, including Justin Bieber, have been seen wearing Mini Oaks.
Currently the Mini Oak is only available in Frosted Gold, although you have your choice of rose gold, yellow gold, or white gold. All three versions have long waitlists and sell secondhand for about $25,000 over their $38,000 list price.
If that’s too tiny or expensive for you, you can consider a vintage 33mm quartz Royal Oak (like ref. 56303SA) for about $12,000. Those are some of the cheapest Audemars Piguet Royal Oak models of all, but they’re some of the best quartz luxury watches in that price range in my book.
Rolex Oysterquartz
Although the first quartz Rolex watch debuted in 1970 (the “Texano“), it was powered by the same Beta-21 movement used by an entire consortium of Swiss watch brands. It would take seven years for Rolex to finish developing their own quartz movement.
In fact, it took so long that the Rolex 1530 and 1630 were released in the meantime, with the new angular case and integrated bracelet intended for the Oysterquartz that was soon to be, but with regular automatic movements.
Rolex didn’t cut any corners with their Caliber 5035 and 5055 quartz movements, and they integrated a thermistor directly into the movement for superior thermocompensation. Even now an Oysterquartz should be able to run within 15 seconds per month.
When the Oysterquartz finally debuted in 1977, it was neither a huge hit nor a complete failure. It was only released in a 36mm size, in either Datejust or Day-Date form. Rolex would go on to make about 1,000 Oysterquartz watches per year for nearly 25 years, and today they sell for similar prices as the automatic equivalents of their era (typically in the ballpark of $5,000 for a Datejust and $15,000 for a Day-Date).
The Oysterquartz was discontinued in 2001, although some dressier Rolex quartz watches were in the catalog as part of the Cellini collection as recently as 2012.
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Girard-Perregaux Laureato
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato, which was released in 1975, was not designed by Gerald Genta, although it somewhat resembles Genta’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak which first appeared in 1972. Today it’s a well-recognized watch in its own right.
Technically the first Laureato wasn’t even called the Laureato when it was released–it was just called the Quartz Chronometer. Italy was a crucial market for Girard-Perregaux, and the name “Laureato” was suggested by the brand’s Italian distributor. In Italian, “Laureato” means “graduate” and Italian collectors and press began to use that nickname until eventually it became official.
The integrated bracelet of the first Laureato was just one straight link across. The second generation of Laureato models, still with quartz movements and a 36mm width, added a small center link to the bracelet. New complications appeared like a moonphase, a perpetual calendar, and even a zodiac sign wheel (“equation soleil”). These 2nd-gen Laureatos were made from about 1984-1990 and, interestingly, have exhibition casebacks. All of the complications were accomplished by adding mechanical modules to the quartz base movement.
Purists tend to prefer the first generation of Laureatos over the second, but I think both are among the best quartz luxury watches for the money nowadays. Newer Laureato models are automatic.
IWC Ingenieur SL Quartz
The IWC Ingenieur SL debuted in 1976, one year after the Laureato. It was the second Gerald Genta sports watch design with an integrated bracelet. Although the automatic version of the Ingenieur SL (ref. 1832) gets the most love, there was also a quartz version (ref. 3003) released at the same time.
Vintage Ingenieur models have started to get attention from collectors, so a nice 1832 will set you back about $25,000. But I recommend considering the quartz equivalent because it has all of the style at about half of the price. If a five-figure quartz watch isn’t in your plans, though, there are pretty cool neo-vintage mechaquartz IWC chronographs like ref. IW3740 and IW3741 in the $2,500 range. That mechaquartz movement was made by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Mechaquartz Chronograph
Seiko released the world’s first mechaquartz chronograph–meaning a quartz watch with a mechanical chronograph module added on–in 1982. The first Swiss mechaquartz movements came from Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1987. Caliber 631 is a three-register chronograph movement while caliber 630 has a moonphase complication as well. These movements were used by brands like Cartier, IWC, Chopard, and Bulgari, but my favorite mechaquartz chronograph is JLC’s own Master Compressor Chronograph ref. 145.8.31.
The 145.8.31 was offered with either a black or silver dial and a 34mm steel case. The 8mm case height is quite slim for a chronograph, and overall the watch just oozes class. I think this is one of the best luxury quartz watches you can get for about $4,000 today. Although the core quartz movement ticks only once per second, the chronograph seconds hand ticks 8 times per second.
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Best Neo-Vintage Luxury Quartz Sports Watch: Omega “Bond” Seamaster Quartz
Pierce Brosnan portrayed James Bond in four different movies, and in each one he was wearing a 40mm Omega Seamaster Professional 300M Diver with a blue bezel insert. But only the one worn in 1995’s GoldenEye was the quartz version, ref. 2541.80.00. To me it’s one of the most collectible quartz luxury sports watches on the market.
The Omega caliber 1538 movement inside is based on the workhorse ETA 255.461. The “Bond bracelet” feels nice and heavy, with a satisfying push-button clasp, but keep in mind this was before the days of micro-adjust. All in all, the “Goldeneye” Seamaster is probably the most iconic Omega watch you can get for $2,500. And if 40mm is too big for your taste, there’s a 36mm equivalent as well (ref. 2561.80.00).
Breitling Aerospace
The Breitling Aerospace wasn’t the first analog-digital watch on the market when it debuted in 1985, but it was one of the best-looking. Early ana-digi watches from Seiko and Citizen were rather cluttered and bulky, as was the Omega Seamaster Chrono‑Quartz ref. 396.0839. But the Aerospace pretty much looks like a Breitling Chronomat–except with two LCD screens on the dial.
Normal analog hands indicate the time while the screens are used for functions like chronograph, alarm, countdown timer, and a second time zone, all controlled via the crown.
The Aerospace wasn’t just Breiting’s first ana-digi watch, but also their first titanium watch. That makes the Aerospace exceptionally lightweight, and its quartz movement allows for a slim 9mm case height. If you like Breitling’s style but thought their watches were too bulky, the Aerospace is worth considering. The original Aerospace has a 40mm diameter, one millimeter larger than the Chronomat at the time, and that size was produced until about 2005. A minute repeater function was added in the mid-1990’s and the upgrade to SuperQuartz movements (along with chronometer certification) came around 2000.
Any 40mm Aerospace will be exceptionally comfortable, either on a bracelet or a strap, and almost every variant can be found secondhand under $2,000. In my opinion these are the best titanium luxury quartz watches for the price, but I’d have to consider something like a Grand Seiko SBGX341 too.
Grand Seiko 9F
When it comes to the best quartz luxury watches, Grand Seiko provides the widest variety of options. Since 1993, all quartz Grand Seikos have been powered by the now-legendary 9F family of movements. Grand Seiko’s lineup can be thought of as three segments–purely mechanical, Spring Drive, and quartz–and quartz ones are the most affordable, either new or used.
Variants like the 9F82, 9F85, and 9F86 have introduced new features (e.g., GMT, slimmer profiles, improved date mechanisms), but the fundamental architecture and performance (an impressive ±10 seconds/year) are still there. Conveniently, every 9F has a “jumping” hour hand so, for example, you can advance the hour when Daylight Savings Time starts without ever stopping the seconds hand.
There are so many choices that I just recommend searching “Grand Seiko 9F” and finding what speaks to you. I’m partial to my SBGP015, but there are countless used options from $1,000-$2,500 that will outlast us all if maintained properly.
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Cartier Tank Must Solarbeat
The Cartier Tank Must Solarbeat got a lot of attention when it first appeared in 2021, offered with either a 22mm or 25.5mm width. Its photovoltaic battery absorbs light through micro-perforations in the dial, and supposedly doesn’t need replacement for 16 years! While some first-generation Solarbeat owners are very happy, others seemed to have issues getting the level of charge and battery life advertised, so a revised version came in November 2024.
When it comes to the Cartier Tank Solarbeat V2 vs. V1, there were a few key updates: micro-perforations now cover the dial instead of only the Roman numerals, thus letting more light in. While the V1’s movement is not serviceable (you need a whole new movement if something goes wrong), the V2’s is, plus it charges better/faster.
And the sustainable but questionable apple core-derived strap was replaced with traditional leather, but the overall look and size–including the slim 6.6mm case height–was unchanged. I would consider the current Cartier Tank Must Solarbeat (in either size) to be among the best quartz luxury watches currently offered.
Best Luxury Quartz Watches in Terms of Accuracy: Citizen Caliber 0100
If I’m going to give props to the Solarbeat, I have to mention the masters of photovoltaic watches, Citizen. Obviously they’re mostly known for affordable watches, but their flagship “The Citizen” line is serious high-end stuff. It’s like Citizen’s equivalent of Grand Seiko.
Citizen’s top-shelf quartz movement, caliber 0100, sets the industry standard for quartz accuracy: ±1 second per year. That’s significantly better than the Grand Seiko 9F’s ±10 seconds per year, or even the ±5 seconds of the Longines VHF, plus it’s an Eco-Drive movement. The solar cell underneath its dial can easily last six months on a charge.
The cheapest steel The Citizen with a caliber 0100 costs around $5,000 while white gold versions start at over $16,000. Their cases range from 37.5mm-39mm and they all have pointy dressy lugs and dauphine hands. While they’re objectively the best quartz luxury watches on the market today from an accuracy standpoint, I’ll show you something fun at the more affordable end of the spectrum.
Best Design-Centric Quartz Luxury Watch Under $1,000: Ikepod Duopod
In terms of movement quality, the $800 Ikepod Duopod may not get you the best bang for the buck in the realm of quartz luxury watches. After all, that price is almost enough for a Longines VHF (guaranteed to run within ±5 seconds per year) while the Duopod has a humble Miyota movement. Although Longines has been doing some very cool stuff lately, I find the design of their VHF models quite bland. Ikepod, meanwhile, is all about the design.
Some may not consider the Duopod to be a “luxury” quartz watch at all, but it has the same fundamental design language as more expensive automatic Ikepod models. Marc Newson, the designer of the Lockheed Lounge and Apple Watch, was the man behind Ikepod, and they were a pretty influential brand in their 1990’s heyday. Nowadays brands like F.P. Journe and Ming use Ikepod-style hands on many of their watches.
Hopefully I’ve provided a good holistic view of the best luxury quartz watches available today, both new and used. If I missed your favorite quartz watch, let me know below!
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