Best quartz watches

Light-powered quartz behind sapphire, in a Super Titanium case rated 100m, with Citizen's five-year warranty — a quartz watch with nothing to maintain and little to scratch.

42mm, and Citizen does not publish the thickness or the lug-to-lug.

Sapphire is the upgrade the 37mm Chandler never got, on a Super Titanium case with Citizen's five years of cover. Citizen publishes neither the thickness nor the lug-to-lug, so try it on before you commit to 42mm.

A Swiss quartz chronograph with sapphire and 100m, 11.02mm thick, with an end-of-life indicator that warns before the battery dies.

45mm across, with two years of warranty.

Tissot publishes a US service price list, which almost no chronograph maker at this level does, and PowerDrive drives the hands back to zero electronically instead of through a column wheel. Cheap to keep, and 45mm across.

Seiko publishes the accuracy — ±15 seconds a month — and the service price, $163, for this solar chronograph, which also has a power-reserve indicator and sapphire.

41.4mm with a 45.9mm lug-to-lug, and a 21mm lug width.

Seiko lists V-series solar service at $163 — cheaper than a 4R36 overhaul and far cheaper than a mechanical chronograph. The 21mm lug width is the annoyance: standard straps come in 20 and 22.

Solar quartz rated at -10/+20 seconds a month, in a 10.4mm case with sapphire, a screw-down crown and 100m.

Two years of warranty. Sold direct; we earn nothing on this link.

Sapphire, a locking screw-down crown, 100m and a published accuracy of -10/+20 seconds a month in a case 10.4mm thick. Vaer states it is assembled in the United States. Sold direct; we earn nothing on it.

A 200m solar diver with Citizen's five-year warranty — the quartz answer to a dive watch you never service.

Mineral glass, and 44mm across.

The strongest argument for this watch is the one Citizen makes on its own page: nothing to replace, five years of cover. The argument against it is the mineral crystal, which will scratch where sapphire would not.

Sapphire, 100m and solar power at 36mm and a 44.5mm lug-to-lug.

Timex's one-year warranty excludes the crystal, strap, case and battery.

The smallest genuinely good watch here. Sapphire, solar, 100m and 44.5mm across the lugs — if you have a small wrist and want to stop thinking about batteries, start here.

A 38mm quartz GMT with a battery any shop can change and an acrylic crystal that polishes back.

50m and a one-year warranty with exclusions.

A quartz GMT at 38mm, with an acrylic crystal you can polish and a battery any shop can change. It is not built like the mechanical GMTs on this site, but nothing about it is expensive to keep running.