Be warned, once you get into mechanical watches it can be a debilitating addiction. :-). I started out with a Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional and then sold that to buy an Omega Seamaster Diver which I love. I’m lusting for a Audemars Piguet Royal Oak but that’s a ways off.
Mechanical Watch (2022)
101–110 of 135 posts
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#102There are not many watch-enthusiasts on boomer generation methinks. The misery of unreliable super-expensive timekeeping raises no fond memories.
I can literally taste bile, when somebody is boasting about their ugly watch, whose only value is that some slave in China worked hundreds of hours to make it.
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I do agree, if the author is reading the comments one piece of feedback I have is the overuse of the phrase "In this article I will...". It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, and they use a version of the phrase three times in the first four paragraphs.
I find the convention whereby authors 'explicitly tell readers what they're going to do' a hallmark of good explanatory writing, so long as the writing is supposed to be explanatory and the author follows through. So your comment got me to take a closer look, and yeah, the author could certainly cut "in this article" and "in this blog post" from the third and fourth paragraphs. Otherwise, yeah, this is an excellent p…
If the HN commentariat knows of similarly excellent educational work that uses intuitive visual to explain software concepts, please do share.
I have not gone through it yet, but this explanation of how transformers work is in the same class as Ciechanowski's work IMO: https://poloclub.github.io/transformer-explainer/
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, it's always interesting when I run into watch guys --- my father's 27-jewel Seiko is too large for my wrist, and the date wheel is broken (and I can't find anyone willing to fix it w/o a donor watch), so I wear quite modest watches such as a Timex Indiglo, or a Seiko Solar --- folks are understanding and sympathetic and almost always have stories about repairs, or watches which they are hoping to have the chanc…
One of the draws of mechanical watches compared to digital is that they, in theory, can always be repaired and will last a lifetime. In reality, not so much since the cost to do maintenance or repair is astronomical compared to buying a new watch, and one that does not have any surprise costs. I had an automatic that was my "one and done" watch - a cheap Citizen diver - I wore it 24/7 until it started losing minutes…
You should have said "to buying a new cheap watch".
The average cost of maintenance and worn-out parts' replacement for a self-winding Omega (worth 7k+) was about $800 in 2020, done once every 10 years.
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you have any good recommendations for me?
Go for the second hand speedmaster from a reputable seller. This is the one you want and will eventually buy. If you really want to know more than you should about the watch, get the moonwatch only book. This is the bible that will help you to check everything from every version ever of the myth. Even if you don’t buy at the end, if you’re a geek I can assure you you’ll dig the content. The movements in those Tissot…
> The movements in those Tissot watches are crap
Interestingly, if you'd like to see a really cool site that showcases how these crap Tissot movements work, just click the link at the top of this page.
(The Powermatic 80 movement in the entry-level Tissot models is a modified version of ETA 2824 which Ciechanowski is showing on his site.)
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#106Best HN article ever!
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#107This article inspired me to build an exploded view of a mechanical watch movement in real-life (2025): https://fellerts.no/projects/epoch.html
> Bartosz, if you are reading this, contact me and I'll send you the final casting. This project would never have happened without your blog post.
Did he ever contact you?
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#108As a teacher I understand how difficult it is to explain complex topics in a simple step by step way. The site has some really impressive technical aspects, but the educational angle is the most rare and special! The simplicity of the language and explanations disguise how difficult this is to do. This is the original use of the internet- giving away free knowledge to people, perfectly suited for the medium of a webs…
The combination of straightforward explanations and clear diagrams reminds me of David Macaulay's The Way Things Work which is one of my favorite books.
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#109Coincidentally for the last week or so I've revived my Glycine automatic as my daily wearer and I'm gauging my level of dependence on my Apple watch. So far -- hey, I wasn't all that dependent on it, and I guess, I was feeling a bit too digital. I'm going to keep going for a while this way.
Which Glycine? I’ve got a 2007 Airman Special II, 42mm, with the 12 at the top - hour hand points at the sun.
Re: Mechanical Watch (2022)
#1102022 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533
Another one from Dec, 2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38591084