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Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

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Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#101

Post by wasabi991011 »

vlovich123 wrote: post #42
wasabi991011 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> canada's economy is roughly slightly below Mississipi No, it isn't. Not true in absolute terms, not true per capita, not true adjusted for purchasing power.

It is true per capita in USD dollars due to the weak Canadian dollar. Mississippi has better purchasing power

No, it isn't, at least according to here [1] (data from worldbank). This is in nominal USD as almost all calculations of GDP. If you compare by purchasing power, Canada likely pulls out ahead since Canada has a lower price level than the US [2] (can't find Mississippi-specific price level).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... section "U.S. states by GDP per capita if they were sovereign states"

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#102

Post by vlovich123 »

wasabi991011 wrote: post #101
vlovich123 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is true per capita in USD dollars due to the weak Canadian dollar. Mississippi has better purchasing power

No, it isn't, at least according to here [1] (data from worldbank). This is in nominal USD as almost all calculations of GDP. If you compare by purchasing power, Canada likely pulls out ahead since Canada has a lower price level than the US [2] (can't find Mississippi-specific price level). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... section "U.S. states by GDP per capita if they were sovereig…

You can’t just say “no it isn’t” when your own link disagrees with you.

From your link per capita GDP for Mississippi $55,877 in 2025 compared with $60,305 in 2026 for Canada [1]. That seems pretty similar.

My point was that when the Canadian dollar is weak GDP in USD decreases while when it’s strong GDP increases without anything about the country’s output changing - that’s the challenging of comparing by normalizing against a single currency.

I’ll let you do your own purchasing power math but Mississippi has significantly cheaper prices as part of America than Canada. Canada has a stronger safety net but that isn’t about purchasing power to much other than health insurance being baked into your taxes.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Canada

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#104

Post by jollyllama »

zuzululu wrote: post #37
sanswork wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada's GDP is $2.2t vs $165b for Mississippi. Immigration rate is decreasing.

thanks for bringing this up and I have to reiterate the importance of per capita which is something that is curiously ignored in these discussions but I'm sure you know the difference from just measuring GDP alone and just forgot about it Canada's nominal GDP per capita is roughly $53,800 USD, which places it nearly on par with Mississippi also Canada admits people from third world countries at a per-capita rate roug…

> It's difficult for ICE now imagine Canada which has no such enforcement on the same scale

A massive federal agency rounding up illegal immigrants actually isn't that effective, as has been seen in the USA. What actually works is making it impossible to find a job or housing without proof of citizenship - which is being done in Canada BTW

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#105

Post by bell-cot »

legends2k wrote: post #103

It's promising and I'm glad to hear such a depth-oriented study of making things, taking time is still a thing in a fast world. People are paying to study this, nice

Yes, but notice the scale - 20 students, in a nation of 40+ million people.

We might call that a moral or poetic victory - but practically speaking, it's like an endangered human language which "still has over 100 native speakers". The future ain't looking good.

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#106

Post by ubermonkey »

epihelix wrote: post #67
Cider9986 wrote: post #43

The 8th highest voted HN submission is on mechanical watches. I imagine that's the type the watchmaking school involves themself with because afaik all high end watches are mechanical. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533 4 years ago 413 comments They have a certain beauty in their intricate details working together for function. I do really like looking at the glass back which shows some details and you can…

> Although it seems youd have to pay a lot to get an accurate one because I have a $250 mechanical Seiko and its time keeping is junk. It was mediocre when I got it and has gotten worse. It was $150 when I bought it so I suppose it would have been a good investment if it hadn't got beat up. You know you need to service mechanical watches regularly, right? A 7S26 movement (Seiko's mass-produced budget workhorse) isn't…

>You know you need to service mechanical watches regularly, right?

Mostly, yeah, but I have some nicer pieces that have been in my rotation for decades with only the barest minimum of services. Like, I think my Omega (ca. 1998) has been serviced maybe once, and it keeps great time.

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#107

Post by ubermonkey »

rcxdude wrote: post #71
titanomachy wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most people when they hear "high-end watch" picture some sort of mechanical jewelry watch. When G-shocks, Garmins, and Apple Watches are a few hundred dollars and well-known luxury watch brands start at a few thousand, it's reasonable to consider the latter more "high end". Personally I'm not interested in owning a luxury watch, I like the Garmin ones.

I think they were specifically bristling at the implication that 'high-end' was mainly relating to price as opposed to functionality. The most expensive watches are expensive for reasons of fashion while being inferior in terms of functionality.

That's what "high end" means.

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#108

Post by g8oz »

vlovich123 wrote: post #102
wasabi991011 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it isn't, at least according to here [1] (data from worldbank). This is in nominal USD as almost all calculations of GDP. If you compare by purchasing power, Canada likely pulls out ahead since Canada has a lower price level than the US [2] (can't find Mississippi-specific price level). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... section "U.S. states by GDP per capita if they were sovereig…

You can’t just say “no it isn’t” when your own link disagrees with you. From your link per capita GDP for Mississippi $55,877 in 2025 compared with $60,305 in 2026 for Canada [1]. That seems pretty similar. My point was that when the Canadian dollar is weak GDP in USD decreases while when it’s strong GDP increases without anything about the country’s output changing - that’s the challenging of comparing by normalizin…

When I see these GDP comparisons between Mississippi and Europe or Canada I have to ask does anyone honestly believe that life in Mississippi is better than in any of those other two places? Especially if you have any knowledge of Mississippi. If anything this example shows us the limitations of using this statistic.

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#109

Post by canadiantim »

piskov wrote: post #75
Cider9986 wrote: post #43

The 8th highest voted HN submission is on mechanical watches. I imagine that's the type the watchmaking school involves themself with because afaik all high end watches are mechanical. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533 4 years ago 413 comments They have a certain beauty in their intricate details working together for function. I do really like looking at the glass back which shows some details and you can…

That’s why I eventually settled with gshock that has solar charging and syncs time twice a day with radio towers (or bluetooth if you are somewhere in the world where there is no time radio signal) Even rolex needs time setting, servicing to lube and clean metal parts, etc. Gshock on the other hand will work for 10-15 years without a single manual time adjustment or battery swap needed. Absolute unit. This gold metal…

bluetooth on watch sounds disturbing

Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years

#110

Post by al_borland »

MarceliusK wrote: post #84

There is something pleasantly backwards about a school teaching people to repair objects that were designed to last, while so much of the rest of the economy is optimized around replacement

One could argue that it’s everyone else who is backwards.
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