Mark Twain’s Quest to Bring Affordable Watches to the Masses

Post by digikazi » Mon, Sep 02, 2019, 5:40 PM UTC

phubbard wrote: post #49

digikazi wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's very true. My two quartz watches, a Seiko and a Timex are both reasonably cheap, accurate and save for the odd battery change maintenance-free. My mechanical Seiko on the other hand.... it's beautiful but it seems to have a mind of its own. In the 8 months that I had it it started gaining about 5min a week. I understand automatics do gain or lose a couple of minutes a week, but even so. After being spoiled by…

That sounds like its been magnetized, which is easy to have happen and cheap to repair. You can DIY with a tool from eBay or amazon. One of the big problems with mechanicals in this day and age is the prevalence of rare earth magnets in all sorts of places, e.g. the iPad has 11 of them, as do many bags. It’s quite easy to accidentally magnetize your watch, and amagnetic movements are still uncommon. (Omega, new ETA,…

Post by chris11 » Mon, Sep 02, 2019, 5:58 PM UTC

vinay427 wrote: post #41

craigsmansion wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just give them a couple of decades. Chances are your quartz watches will no longer work, whereas your mechanical watch will happily tick along, and can still be repaired if it ever breaks down. But 42 seconds a day is quite a lot. You could try to have it regulated (or do it yourself if you're feeling adventurous).

All of my sub-$30 digital quartz watches are still working and are within a few seconds of the current time around 10 years after being purchased and set. A mechanical watch would likely need much more maintenance in that period, perhaps even to keep it running. I still have an automatic mechanical watch, for what it's worth, and in theory it should last longer when maintained but will likely cost far more every year…

Post by kennywinker » Tue, Sep 03, 2019, 2:02 AM UTC

chris11 wrote: post #53

vinay427 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of my sub-$30 digital quartz watches are still working and are within a few seconds of the current time around 10 years after being purchased and set. A mechanical watch would likely need much more maintenance in that period, perhaps even to keep it running. I still have an automatic mechanical watch, for what it's worth, and in theory it should last longer when maintained but will likely cost far more every year…

I'd say a major quality problem in cheap watches is water resistance. Before I knew much about diving, I tried snorkeling with a couple really cheap watches. They both died. There are some good cheap dive watches, like the Casio MDV106-1A. But in general I wouldn't want to get a cheap watch wet. 30m WR just won't cut it.

Post by Grangar » Tue, Sep 03, 2019, 10:08 AM UTC

croh wrote: post #44

bigie35 wrote: post #34

A Seiko 5 is a great entry level automatic watch for anyone looking to get their first watch. Cheap, reliable, good looking.

Buy a Rolex if you want to impress others, buy a Seiko if you want to impress yourself... So true !!!

Post by dole » Tue, Sep 03, 2019, 3:54 PM UTC

lvturner wrote: post #39

willis936 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see watches as very functional compared to smartphones. Mechanical movements have a lot of charm though.

I can check my watch without having to pull my phone out my pocket, depending on what you are doing that can make a huge difference. Practicality and functionality mean different things to do different people.