Why do we own watches with automatic movements?

[Db7566]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

It's at least partly because of the oft-repeated line, instigated I believe by the Swiss watch industry in the 1970s, that quartz movements don't have "soul". Quite how a natural-grown crystal mysteriously beating in perfect time with the universe, though, is somehow soul-less compared to a chemically treated balance wheel is beyond me.

Looks like I am due for some reading on quarts movements.


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[Jack T]

Originally Posted by samson66

Get a Grand Seiko Spring Drive and you get the best of both worlds. Automatic mechanical movement regulated by quartz crystal. Problem solved. Mine is off by 0.2 sec/day so far.



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Beautiful watch, regardless of its ticker

[Jack T]

Automatic or Mechanical??

[brian628]

Originally Posted by samson66

Get a Grand Seiko Spring Drive and you get the best of both worlds. Automatic mechanical movement regulated by quartz crystal. Problem solved. Mine is off by 0.2 sec/day so far.



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There's also some really great (and INEXPENSIVE!) Bulovas.

Has anyone else tried The Precisionist models?
I have two. While not as refined and Rolex, the styling of my dive watch and insane accuracy are awesome!

[101031-28]

Many reasons to love mechanical watches but one I always associate with them is knowing that it is my impulse that keeps the watch moving. It creates a connection, a bond between myself and my timepiece. Maybe I am overthinking this but it is how it's been for me from the get go, over 30 years ago.

[samson66]

Originally Posted by Mystro

When the robots rise up they can’t turn a mechanical watch against you.

There's actually something to this. When western civilization melts down, cell towers collapse, the EMP blasts go off, and satellites fall from the sky all those cell phones and smart watches stop working everyone left standing will wish they had a nice indestructible mechanical watch on their wrist to reference.

Terminator was so ahead of its time!

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[csaltphoto]

I'm actually beginning to wonder this myself. The solar powered quartz watches are intriguing to me. It's just the finishing leaves a lot to be desired. I really like the way my Rolex looks.

BUT... I got some some perspective on timekeeping the other day. Was at a museum with a friend and there was some exhibit with a clock in it. And my friend checked the time and said the exhibit clock was off. Her watch (quartz digital beater of some kind) was like a minute and half off. I held up my watch and it was spot on (I had just set it that morning). And she said, "Are you sure your watch is right?" And I said, "Yeah, it only gains a second or two a day." And she said, "That's not very good. I think I last set this watch a year and half ago!"

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by samson66

There's actually something to this. When western civilization melts down, cell towers collapse, the EMP blasts go off, and satellites fall from the sky all those cell phones and smart watches stop working everyone left standing will wish they had a nice indestructible mechanical watch on their wrist to reference.

Terminator was so ahead of its time!

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Until it gets magnetized or needs a service and the watchmakers are all gone. Solar powered quartz will likely be most viable....Seiko Arnie maybe?

[Holishi]

The word is Romance for the old
Nostalgia of the old V12 V10 V8 engines

[dandigangi]

Could go either way on auto vs manual if the power reserve is decent but generally... I just like the engineering of mechanical watches. Even if battery or solar can be more accurate or last longer.

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by samson66

There's actually something to this. When western civilization melts down, cell towers collapse, the EMP blasts go off, and satellites fall from the sky all those cell phones and smart watches stop working everyone left standing will wish they had a nice indestructible mechanical watch on their wrist to reference.

Terminator was so ahead of its time!

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How do you think I always know which Rolex model to buy long before they get hyped and everyone wants them?? I am from the future.

[Bizcut1]

Love giving my manual wind its due every morning...

Automatics, Manual, Quartz....Hi-Beat, Spring Drive.

Each part of the uniqueness of watch collecting.

[alphadweller]

I appreciate quartz for its convenience and accuracy. However, the fact mechanical watches don't have disposable batteries makes them somehow more interesting and elaborate from a traditional engineering perspective. There's also a certain romantic element in the fact they need their owners to provide them with the nececessary energy to run. There's something to be said about objects capable of running without electricity, almost as if they had a life of their own. That illusion makes them magical in a sense.

With the arrival of Kinetic, Solar and Spring Drive, things get murky. No more disposable batteries. Kinetic and Spring drive need the movement of their owner's arm to run, just like mechanical, so it makes them more interesting to me from that perspective, as some kind of hybrid. Pallet and fork however have that traditional charm and purity, non corrupted, distorted or tampered by a printed circuit and electricity going through it.

I can understand people preferring the convenience of not having to set the time and the benefit of higher accuracy, all this at a lower price. However, they're missing out on the charm and artistry of a mechanical movement, IMHO.

[Richard Carver]

They're pretty! :)



1972 1675, 198416030, 1968 1603, 1991 16570

[Lew Archer]

I like a quartz watch...I've got a couple of Seikos still going strong after more than a couple of decades, and a Breitling Aerospace that's a great workhorse watch.

I also read news articles online, and sometimes even books...

But, there's something about reading a book, or a magazine, holding it in one's hands, turning the page...it may be a paperback, or a leather bound hardcover. But, it gives a satisfaction different from an online read.

Likewise, there's something about an old school mechanical watch, the knowledge of its hidden intricacy, the tactile appeal of winding it, the knowledge it depends only on motion (or a daily windup) to keep going, that it's the descendant of centuries of horological study...and, in the case of fine watches, that the mechanical movement is housed in a case worthy of it, that it is both aesthetically appealing, functional and efficient.

It's a product of both human and machine labor, with plenty of skilled craftsmanship under the hood, to make it tick...

For an analog chap like me, living in a digital world, I find plenty of appeal in things like "real" books and watches...

[JRell]

So I don’t have to take the watch in to replace the battery.

[fsprow]

Originally Posted by JRell

So I don’t have to take the watch in to replace the battery.

Usually a five minute do-it-yourself job.

[JRell]

Originally Posted by fsprow

Usually a five minute do-it-yourself job.

I don’t even cut my own grass, hang pictures, anything around the house. I wouldn’t even change a strap, so I am surely not going to open the caseback of a watch.

[Oystersteel92]

Originally Posted by BillA

Why do we own watches with automatic movements?

Is it because the watch manufactures make them, charge more than quartz and say they are better quality?

With our automatic movement Rolex watches, we set them down a few days, they stop, we reset, many enthusiasts just don’t reset but reset to Time.Gov or another service.

I recently bought and returned an automatic Shinola as a gift for a family member. Of course when I got it, I wound it, set it to Time.Gov and the next day noticed it was off by a big margin. I called the company and chatted with them and got three different answers anywhere from +/- 1 minute per day to 15 seconds per day within their spec. Now I realize it is a fraction of the cost of a Rolex, but still 1 minute per day or even 15 seconds per day is not good.

We get angry when our watches don’t keep good time. Let’s be honest all the automatic movements are off after a few days. If you can live with that, fine, but many enthusiasts want accuracy. Hey, we paid a lot of money for a Rolex watch.

I have been thinking about this recently. I bought a Breitling Endurance Pro recently, it is quartz movement. I set it to Time.Gov and a few days later I checked it. It was spot on! So now I am thinking I have a beautiful time piece and it keeps accurate time all the time, so why do I want an automatic watch?

Part of why I like mechanical watches has to be that when I was a kid in the 80's, they were pretty rare. Pretty much no one had a mechanical watch unless it was a Rolex, and the smooth second hand vs the tick of the quartz got to me immediately. You couldn't really get Seiko 5 or Citizen automatics here then...they still made them, but for the most part they didn't come here.

Also, a neglected mechanical watch, no matter the age, has a chance in the hands of a skilled watchmaker of running again. My Datejust 1601 is 53 years old now, and Rolex Dallas returned it to me looking new and keeping chronometer time about 3 years ago now. It's still keeping chronometer time today. Try doing that with the oldest quartz watches, which are about the same age.

I've watched a lot of watchmaker restoration videos on Youtube and have watched dozens of old mechanical watches brought back to life, and at least on a timegrapher run extremely well. Even cheap mechanical watches in the hands of a skilled person can run better than many new watches. I've also watched a few quartz watches brought back, but parts availability can be an issue and it's nearly impossible to fabricate say a circuit board. Often, they use a donor watch with other issues.

That being said, high end quartz is a little different animal. I think Rolex still has parts for the Oysterquartz, and I'd lay money that Seiko will support the 9F for a very long time. After all, the sealed gear portion was designed with a 25 year service interval.

I

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Oystersteel92

That being said, high end quartz is a little different animal. I think Rolex still has parts for the Oysterquartz, and I'd lay money that Seiko will support the 9F for a very long time. After all, the sealed gear portion was designed with a 25 year service interval.

I

It's 50 years

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/se...ith-caliber-9f

[JoseR]

Originally Posted by fsprow

Usually a five minute do-it-yourself job.

That depends on the watch. I have a Baume & Mercier that has 6 very small screws that need to be remove to get to the battery. Last time I took it for a replacement at the mall the guy told me to come back in half hour. He needed to sharpen the screw drive and wanted to take his time to not scratch the watch. It was worth the wait. As a matter of fact it's been 3 years now the still running. I still prefer mechanical watches and always have since a child, amazed me that all these little parts working together kept time...

[Andad]

Just checked my Seiko Astron.

It sits in the cabinet and picks up some sun each day to keep the battery topped up.
I did have to push two buttons to change the daylight saving setting but it has picked up the satellites and is spot on.

Best watch of all IMO.

[ateebtk]

I find myself asking the same question lately since I've discovered the app Watchcheck. Tracking my favorite automatic watches can be a bit discouraging and not to mention a pia. Not sure if I have a good answer but it makes me feel special (god that sounds cheesy but it's hard to explain).

[DJ2020]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Until it gets magnetized or needs a service and the watchmakers are all gone. Solar powered quartz will likely be most viable....Seiko Arnie maybe?

Thank goodness I have a Metas certified 15,000 gauss Omega.
I'm covered! Quartz accuracy?, not counting a Hyper accuracy Quartz like Longines HAQ or a grand Seiko, my 300M is more accurate. In 100 days and it's only +2 seconds. So 7 seconds a year is pretty good and I don't have to interrupt the time keeping to correct the date. My P.O. is following it's footsteps.

Maybe by the time I need a service, the world will have recovered and after being on the waiting list for the last 10 years I will get the call.

[DJ2020]

In all honesty, if the quartz movement was of high quality as well as the case and bracelet, I would not have a issue with it. I still own a Tag Formula One quartz. I change the battery about every 2 years. And it just sits on my dresser mostly. I do wear it from time to time. After a year it's still within a minute or two. Not bad really and pretty trouble free.

But I absolutely love the feel of a quality automatic on my wrist. The thought of the engineering required to but together gears, springs and multiple materials to achieve such precision is just a marvel to appreciate each and every day. Brings a big smile on my face.

[rvanno]

I can appreciate quartz and automatic, and have both. For me, changing a battery is much more of a pain in the ass than winding and setting a watch. i'm lazy, quartz will sit in the safe for months before the battery gets changed.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Mystro

When the robots rise up they can’t turn a mechanical watch against you.

I welcome our robotic overlords. Programmed with compassion....

[GradyPhilpott]

When the first affordable quartz watches came out, I swore I'd never own another mechanical watch.

Then, I bought an Invicta diver with an automatic movement (which now lays broken in a drawer or in a box somewhere) and I realized that the precision of quartz had made me an obsessive-compulsive for three decades.

It was sub-clinical and it was fun, but it was also a relief to know that I could wear a watch that was off by a minute a day and be perfectly satisfied with it.

Even when I wore my quartz watches, I set them every day. I could certainly do the same with a mechanical watch.

Well, that led directly to my buying my first Rolex (114270).

The rest has been well-documented on the various watch fora here on the intertubes.

[TimeAZ]

Bracelet, case, clasp, design/aesthetic are factors that are equally important to me. This is why I wear my automatic Rolex... because most other watches fall short in those other parameters.

In terms of movement, I think GS 9F quartz and GS spring drives are the cream-of-the-crop and top shelf movements in the entire market. Unfortunately GS falls short in bracelet, clasp, and case dimensions.

[Lu..]

I prefer auto/wind watches because....

1) I've had a few quartz watches get ruined from the battery leaking acid.....
2) I'm an old school engineer and love tinkering anything mechanical....
3) In these fast paced times of everything automated, it's good to reminisce of the good old days, slow down sometimes, enjoy being off-grid, without a care of this world for a few minutes.....