The allure of an automatic watch

hwyhobo said:
What's inside doesn't come into play, not even remotely.
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IMHO, if you truely think this way, I think you'll probably never understand the allure you refer to, which basically boils down to an appreciation for mechanical movements which are spring-driven.
 
Larry S. said:
IMHO, if you truely think this way, I think you'll probably never understand the allure you refer to, which basically boils down to an appreciation for mechanical movements which are spring-driven.
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SpyderJon already explained his motivation, and I do understand it, and certainly respect his right to hold that view, just do not share it. Please bother to read the posts.

Thanks for the condescension, btw. Then again, I should have known from your first post that little of substance would be forthcoming.
 
Larry S. said:
What portion of the definition are you troubled by..........you brought the term into our discussion.....:confused: Please don't hate me for being truthful!;)
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First you call all posters fools and behave like everyone was waiting with a baited breath for you to reply, and you were so inconvenienced by it. Then you imply I could not understand the explanation.

Yes, I call that condescending.

BTW, all you did while managing to insult me was repeat someone else's explanation. Well, guess what, maybe the trembling anticipation of your post was all for naught.
 
You've proven more than one of my points. Thank you!:rolleyes:
Refer to my first post......:D
Good luck with the shakes and good morning......:cool: :cool: :cool:
 
hwyhobo said:
As I have stated in other posts, I am certainly no watch maven. Therefore, any possible attempts at humor in this post are not meant to offend anyone, just trying to understand what I see as incomprehensible to me fixation with automatics.

Okay, so what is it? What is the allure of a self-winding watch? They're not really self-winding, of course, you do have to wear them day and night and move your arm to wind them. What is the advantage that they have over conventional, battery-powered watches? Considering that an average battery lasts at least one year, is it for those occasional trips to the forest for those year+ hikes? And the big worry is that after leaving the forest we should not be late for the important appointment? No, seriously, what is it? On top of it, if one puts it down for over one day, they need to be reset. If we are in the forest for a year, what do we use to reset them? Stars? Sun?

Short of a nuclear confrontation on a global scale I just can't find a scenario where an automatic would buy me anything over a regular watch, and in most cases it is a liability.

So what is it? Please educate me. Maybe there is an automatic in my future yet.
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It's just my appreciation for a full mechanical device instead of an electrical one.
 
hwyhobo said:
Short of a nuclear confrontation on a global scale I just can't find a scenario where an automatic would buy me anything over a regular watch, and in most cases it is a liability.

So what is it? Please educate me. Maybe there is an automatic in my future yet.
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I bought my first automatic a few weeks ago (it's an Invicta Dive Watch). It has a 40 hour reserve if you take it off and also has a manual wind feature to get things cooking if you leave it for longer than 40 hours.

As to automatic vs quartz, I suppose you eliminate the possibility of having a watch battery die on your vacation, but other than that .... :confused:

There's also something to be said for not having to crack open the back of a dive watch to put fresh batteries in from time to time. With the automatic, you maintain the factory gaskets / seal. Everytime I've replaced batteries in other 100 meter plus quartz watches, I've been warned by the jeweler that reuse of the original seals pursuant to a battery change is not the same thing as doing a reseal with fresh factory seals (from a water resistance perspective).

From a longevity perspective, I've got buddies that own automatics that have been going strong for 20 plus years with 0 maintenance. I also understand that there are 2 basic automatic movements (with variations, number of jewels, etc) on the market these days. One is now owned by Citizen and the other ... I've forgotten ... :confused: , but the two basic designs are licensed to multiple companies / brands.

Razz
 
chchchchchchchchchch Vs Tick Tick Tick?

Automatics have soul!
The thought of a little mechanical device on my wrist is much more appealing to me than an electronic gadget, even if the gadget keeps better time.
 
Some guys like the idea of having a "machine" on their wrist, and some just want to know what time it is.
 
Razzierb said:
I also understand that there are 2 basic automatic movements (with variations, number of jewels, etc) on the market these days. One is now owned by Citizen and the other ... I've forgotten ... :confused: , but the two basic designs are licensed to multiple companies / brands.

Razz
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My horological-fu isn't strong enough to be definitive but most movements in their design, as I understand it, are pretty much based on the ETA movements of the Swiss. Citizen makes the Miyota (sp?) which is liscenced to lots of other companies- including Invicta's Asian models. However, lots of other companies produce movements. Rolex has movements they make in-house, as well as Seiko making their own movements. Neither of these companies, as far as I know liscence their movements to other companies. Poljot is the same way (have their own exclusive movements), and Omegas sometimes come with Lemania movements (as well as some Sinn watches). Unitas also makes movements for a lot of the better hand-wind watches, from Zeno Watch to Officine Panerai. There are a LOT I don't know about as well, but there ARE others that I'm not thinking of.
 
There's no mainspring in either the Seiko Kinetics or Citizen Eco Drives..only in automatic and manual wind watches
 
Razzierb said:
As to automatic vs quartz, I suppose you eliminate the possibility of having a watch battery die on your vacation, but other than that .... :confused:
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I am not dismissing that. Mine died. However, one can find a battery just about anywhere, so it was not a big deal.

There's also something to be said for not having to crack open the back of a dive watch to put fresh batteries in from time to time. With the automatic, you maintain the factory gaskets / seal. Everytime I've replaced batteries in other 100 meter plus quartz watches, I've been warned by the jeweler that reuse of the original seals pursuant to a battery change is not the same thing as doing a reseal with fresh factory seals (from a water resistance perspective).
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That's a good point, and I have not considered it. It's perhaps I do not use diving watches. Nevertheless, that is a perfectly valid reason.

From a longevity perspective, I've got buddies that own automatics that have been going strong for 20 plus years with 0 maintenance.
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I don't doubt the longevity of mechanical watches. My grandfather had a pocket Omega that he got when he was young. He still had it when he died more than 65 years later, and it worked.
 
Steven Andrews said:
chchchchchchchchchch Vs Tick Tick Tick?

Automatics have soul!
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;)

Well, I work with computers, and I think computers, routers, switches, firewalls, and packet shapers have souls. :D
 
Steven Andrews said:
chchchchchchchchchch Vs Tick Tick Tick?

Automatics have soul!
The thought of a little mechanical device on my wrist is much more appealing to me than an electronic gadget, even if the gadget keeps better time.
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Ping Pong! Steven has hit it on the head! :D
 
Yeah, Steven must be right. It's intangible.
The only two watches I wear are automatic. Sometimes the Black Monster that I EDC(EDW?) goes dead if I'm working alot and the Seiko Submariner I wear at work gets worn several days in a row. Neither one of them is particularly accurate, and they're both heavy-though I do like that.
I don't have any deep appreciation for their construction/movement, and can't afford the really nice expensive ones. There's just "something" that appeals to me about an automatic, so I don't fight it:)

edit: I do love the way Seiko divers look, especially the Black Monster.
 
You actually can tell the difference between an automatic Seamaster (or any model that's made both ways) and a quartz at a casual glance. -It'd take about one eighth of a second.

Funny that comes up. One of the guys at work wears a Bond Seamaster, which I rarely notice other than to know that he has it. -Except a couple of days ago when it caught my eye with its spastic, lurching, low-battery tick. It was painful to even look at.

Fortunately, it's his watch, and I don't think he's even noticed. So, despite the warning "feature", he will still be surprised when his watch stops, and likely as not somewhere that he can't get a watch battery.

On the other side, I had a friend with a Rolex Sub who only wore it on weekends. He would complain that Rolex was crap, because his watch "stopped all the time." But, if he gave it a shake, it would start running again. He had no idea what was going on inside and really thought that the watch was malfunctioning and required a thump on the side, like an old TV, to work. -Now that's a quartz guy. ;)

For me, it's autos or manual wind all the way. I try to divest myself as much as possible from battery dependence. -Impossible, of course, but life is full of small personal victories. My automatic wristwatch is among them.
 
I serously doubt you will find an 'objective" reason for the allure of a mechanical watch.

Some people like mechanical things. Some people like nice fountain pens.

Good luck trying to understand. It will take alot of trolling to get it. ;)



Paul
 
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