We love quartz watches at Worn & Wound. For many of us, they were the first watches we ever wore, and represent a foundation of enthusiasm that has stretched on for years. There are many, many facets to quartz, and if you think of quartz watches simply as ?affordable? alternatives to mechanical, you?re missing out on a lot of history, unique design, and special movements that simply aren?t possible with a mechanical caliber. One of my favorite little quartz rabbit holes is the output of traditional, high-end Swiss brands during the earliest days of the technology, leading up into the period often referred to as the ?quartz crisis.? It?s fascinating to look back and see how these brands handled such a major shock to a centuries old industry, and the quartz watches produced by the most storied Swiss brands during this period are almost always significant, carrying with them design attributes that effectively distinguish them from traditional mechanical watches. 
The Girard-Perregaux Casquette is one of my favorite examples of a storied Swiss brand experimenting with quartz at the very beginning. The Casquette first appeared in 1976 and was brought back as the Casquete 2.0 in 2022 in a limited edition that quickly sold out to some degree of fanfare and acclaim. The watch has what is now frequently referred to as a ?driver?s style? orientation, with an LED display that displays the time digitally when viewed from the side. In the mid-1970s, this certainly would have fe...