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On mechanical watches, the seconds hand sweeps smoothly around the dial, while on quartz watches it jumps forward once every second. This belief is widespread even among watch connoisseurs. But is it really true in every case? In this article, we look into the question for our readers.
First impressions can be deceiving...
Anyone who wants to quickly and discreetly get a sense of what kind of watch the person opposite is wearing, whether at a business meeting, in the cafeteria or in any other everyday situation, will usually glance at the seconds hand. If it moves in jerks from one second to the next, the usual conclusion is that the watch belongs in the lower price range and is powered by a quartz movement.
A smoothly sweeping hand, on the other hand, is considered a sign of a mechanical movement, for example in a hand-wound men's watch or an automatic watch, and therefore of a higher price category. However, this does not hold true in every case. For one thing, while mechanical movements and the watches fitted with them are usually more expensive than comparable quartz watches, that does not mean, conversely, that every quartz watch is cheap. In fact, quartz-powered watches can be found all the way up to the highest echelons of the luxury segment, especially among ladies' watches. An Omega Constellation from the Luxury Edition Quartz line, for instance, can easily cost a high five-figure sum in euros. For another, a hand that moves in steps is not necessarily being driven by a quartz movement.
What is a "dead second"?
Watchmakers distinguish between jumping seconds and sweeping seconds, depending on how the seconds hand moves. The former is also known by the French term seconde morte, which translates roughly as "dead second." The seconds hand jumps forward once per second but remains motionless in its new position in between. With sweeping seconds, known in French as seconde trotteuse, the seconds hand appears to move continuously instead. Its speed is set so that the hand passes another seconds marker after each second. From today's perspective, combining mechanical watches with jumping seconds may not seem especially appealing, given that quartz watches offer the same solution.
Some watchmakers of earlier generations, however, saw it as a challenge to which they devoted themselves with great dedication.
Among the pioneers in this specialized field of watchmaking was Jean-Moise Pouzait (1743-1793), who in 1777, at the age of 23, invented a mechanism for driving the seconds hand that was independent of the watch's going train and could be stopped separately. Specifically, he solved the problem by having a second train, with a seconds wheel located at the center of the movement, engage the escape wheel pinion via a thin lever arm at the end of the train. Only after a full second has elapsed is this "whip" released again for one rotation, whereupon the large seconds hand makes its next one-second jump.
The effort involved in a second train, however, was relatively high. This prompted watchmakers at various manufactures to design auxiliary drives that are continuously rewound by the main movement itself. One example is the Glashütte watchmaker and manufacture founder Adolf Lange, who developed such a mechanism for a seconde morte in the mid-1860s, though it was used in only a few movements.
More recent developments in mechanical movements with jumping seconds
Incidentally, the fact that quartz watches with mechanical analog displays also show jumping seconds is due to the electric drive systems they use, such as the Lavet stepper motor. Given that the step-by-step movement of the seconds hand is now widely regarded as a typical feature of quartz watches, interest in a hand-wound or automatic watch with jumping seconds is probably rather low at present. For many mechanical enthusiasts, one article of faith is simply set in stone: mechanical watches must have seconds hands that move forward smoothly rather than in jerks. Nevertheless, there are a few exceptions to this seemingly unshakable rule even today.
In 2015, for example, the manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre presented a watch called the Geophysic True Second at the Watches & Wonders fair in Hong Kong, whose seconds hand jumps forward one step after each second. And since 2005, jumping seconds have also had a permanent place in the Habring² collection, which now offers several models with this function. Many watch lovers may see it as nothing more than a mechanical gimmick and fail to see the practical benefit of combining jumping seconds with a mechanical or automatic movement. Yet as an interesting niche product, these watches certainly have their place and undoubtedly a charm all their own: they are the perfect accessory for anyone who values understatement and doesn't necessarily want to reveal to everyone at first glance that an automatic movement rather than a quartz caliber is at work inside their watch.
In any case, a watch like this makes for an interesting conversation piece among watch enthusiasts.
Whether, and how many, other manufacturers will also decide to equip mechanical watches with jumping seconds remains to be seen. At the moment, at any rate, there is no sign of a sustained, broad trend, especially since there are no compelling practical reasons for this solution.
