zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

I debated this for a while, too. I settled on the chronometer version because I wanted a "true timepiece". I had owned run of the mill quartz watches all my life, so when buying a high quality timepiece like an Omega, I felt it was worth the extra money to have a finely crafted timepiece, rather than something that runs on a generic battery.

The chronometer version is more expensive, doesn't keep time quite as well as a quartz, and I'm told it costs several hundred dollars to be serviced every 3 years or so by the Omega factory. By contrast, a quartz watch just requires a new battery when it stops keeping the proper time. I have also found that my chronometer keeps better time the more I wear it, so if you don't plan to wear the watch every day (or at least every other day), it's probably not a good watch for you.

In reality, the chronometer costs more, requires more expensive maintenance, and must be worn all the time to keep good time. Thus, it isn't considered to be as "practical" as a modern quartz watch. However, there's something special about owning a finely crafted timepiece, as opposed to a regular battery operated watch.