Watch movements

[mnl]

Hi!

I'm new here, just started reading lots of threads here a few days ago and I love seeing all your watches. You are all obviously super passionate about watches and while I've always loved watches, I'm kinda just getting started learning more about them besides just knowing I like how they look and being amazed by how automatic watches work.
Over the last couple of months I've been reading a ton trying to decide if I was making the right choice on my watch purchase, and I've noticed in lots of the reviews and comments when people are talking about a watch they say "it's an incredible movement" or something along those lines. Aside from some movements from the best brands like AP, Patek, etc, having an incredible finishing or something obvious like a tourbillon, what does this mean? For example, one of my favorite watches, the AP 15407, has a double balance wheel and on the website it is mentioned as an important feature of that watch. What does this mean for the movement?
Are there any videos or whatever that you would recommend to learn more about movements and what makes one movement more special than others?

[Burlington]

Specifically on the 15407 - there are quite a few videos about on YouTube giving more technical detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alKRFFp92sM

Its a good question what makes a superior movement, and likely the answer varies depending on what exactly the buyer is looking for.

Is it robustness, accuracy, heritage, handmade or machined, complications, aesthetic finishing, movement architecture, traditional or modern methods, complexity of design - be it for form or function, materials used, difficulty of manufacture (ergo exclusivity)...the list goes on and on.

So what makes a good mechanical movement? As the fundamental purpose is time keeping, in my book it should have a reasonable level of accuracy, not necessarily COSC, but good enough that it doesn't need changing frequently to keep up with the actual time.

This isn't the sole objective though, if accuracy was the aim, then there are $10 quartz watches that will beat almost any mechanical watch you can find.

A level of robustness is also pre-requisit for any item designed for daily use, again anything with hundreds of minuscule moving parts will never be as 'robust' as its electrical cousin, otherwise we would all be wearing G shocks.

Heritage and provenance are also important factors, as is the aesthetic finishing - movement design and layout also play a key role here.

What I love the most is owning a piece of the horological history that began hundreds of years ago, before any computer based design techniques existed, yet the watchmaking artisans were able to turn out incredible complications like perpetual calendars, tourbillon, repeaters etc..

Having something which is in constant motion on ones wrist is quite a thing to enjoy, knowing its there ticking away 24/7/365.

For an informative video to learn the basics of mechanical movements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL0_vOw6eCc

Enjoy the learning and journey of discovery !

[mnl]

That video about the basics of a watch was actually one of the first things I watched, it's a really great video. I don't remember seeing the video about the 15407 though, it was super interesting!!

Thank you for the super thorough response!