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How Watches Work

fratellowatches.com

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101–110 of 140 posts

Re: How Watches Work

#101

Post by noodlenotes »

carabiner wrote: post #37
desine wrote: post #25

I recently fell into this rabbit hole. I bought a cheap automatic watch - a Seiko 5, for both practical reasons and otherwise (will work after an EMP attack/solar event, but it's also just cool as hell mechanical engineering using 200 year old technology). Then I started putting watch repair youtube videos on in the background as I did chores or wrote code. Then I started actually watching the watch repair videos. La…

Is there any mechanical watch like the Seiko 5, but thinner and hopefully not much more expensive? I have a 5 and like it, it does feel a bit chunky at times.

My SNK807 feels thin at 11mm, but there are Seiko 5's that go up to 14mm. The flatness of the field watch design probably makes it feel thinner too.

Re: How Watches Work

#102

Post by schuke »

Cd00d wrote: post #98
JohnBooty wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a Seiko SKX-007 that needed some maintenance, and I was quoted $600. That price is awfully high. They were either trying to rip you off... or simply drive you away, which is possible if they were a shop that prefers to work on high-value watches for wealthy customers. Maybe they are an authorized Rolex service center and prefer to collect those hefty prices. But, there's definitely not $500+ of labor involved a…

It was definitely a high end watchmaker. A large part of the issue is what they considered the service requirements, that they wouldn't budge on - things like polishing all the scratches out of the band, and whatnot, when all I really wanted was maintenance on the movement. I didn't want to swap the movement, and that wasn't an option either.

I once serviced a Rolex Datejust with diamond dial and gold bracelet for almost the same price. (Depending on exchange rate)

Re: How Watches Work

#103

Post by heelix »

jioawpfj wrote: post #48
desine wrote: post #25

I recently fell into this rabbit hole. I bought a cheap automatic watch - a Seiko 5, for both practical reasons and otherwise (will work after an EMP attack/solar event, but it's also just cool as hell mechanical engineering using 200 year old technology). Then I started putting watch repair youtube videos on in the background as I did chores or wrote code. Then I started actually watching the watch repair videos. La…

in the event an EMP knocks out all your electronics, is having a functioning watch something that really matters? also, where are you that an EMP is a realistic concern?

I do a fair bit of camping. One solo trip, I opted to leave behind all the normal gadgets and discovered I had no chronological tooling with. Skies were overcast -- and I suspect I ate breakfast early, lunch by 8, and supper by noon. Was surprisingly disquieting to have a few days in a row without knowing where the sun was in the sky.

Re: How Watches Work

#104

Post by technothrasher »

bee_rider wrote: post #61
jioawpfj wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the event an EMP knocks out all your electronics, is having a functioning watch something that really matters? also, where are you that an EMP is a realistic concern?

If you are the only one with a working watch, is your time definitionally correct, off by a bit, or completely incorrect?

As long as we haven't lost the sun too, we can sort it all out again reasonably quickly.

Re: How Watches Work

#106

Post by desine »

emodendroket wrote: post #88
xcambar wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they do, and that is a very poetic thing to consider. On one hand, you can marvel at how little they drift during a single power reserve. Could be seconds, which is barely noticeable in everyday life. On the other hand, some others (Seiko 5...) can drift minutes in a single reserve... And so what? In a day and age when we measure everything with maniac precision even during a random person's day, it's beautiful…

I don't really find it beautiful being 15 minutes late because I haven't adjusted my watch in a while. This is really a big thing that put me off.

In this modern age, you'll often come across synchronized digital clocks. Whether on your computer, phone, workplace, bank, etc. For me, it has become second nature to adjust my watch's time once every few days. I end up comparing my watch vs a clock a couple of times per day, and deciding the difference is great enough to fix, once a week or so (on a cheap, inaccurate Seiko 5, I would expect less frequency with a better timepiece)

Re: How Watches Work

#107

Post by yupper32 »

emodendroket wrote: post #88
xcambar wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they do, and that is a very poetic thing to consider. On one hand, you can marvel at how little they drift during a single power reserve. Could be seconds, which is barely noticeable in everyday life. On the other hand, some others (Seiko 5...) can drift minutes in a single reserve... And so what? In a day and age when we measure everything with maniac precision even during a random person's day, it's beautiful…

I don't really find it beautiful being 15 minutes late because I haven't adjusted my watch in a while. This is really a big thing that put me off.

The watch I have is rated to +-2 seconds a day. It'd take 15 months of not adjusting my watch to be 15min late.

That's pretty amazing to me that basically a spring and some gears can be that good at keeping time.

Re: How Watches Work

#108

Post by desine »

emodendroket wrote: post #95
desine wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair that's like half my love of them. Like a fresh blank canvas, perfection is boring.

What's the point of an imprecise measure of time as a backup in case of EMP attack?

Precision is relative. It's more precise than me looking at the sun, for instance.

Re: How Watches Work

#109

Post by SilverRed »

heelix wrote: post #103
jioawpfj wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the event an EMP knocks out all your electronics, is having a functioning watch something that really matters? also, where are you that an EMP is a realistic concern?

I do a fair bit of camping. One solo trip, I opted to leave behind all the normal gadgets and discovered I had no chronological tooling with. Skies were overcast -- and I suspect I ate breakfast early, lunch by 8, and supper by noon. Was surprisingly disquieting to have a few days in a row without knowing where the sun was in the sky.

My go to practical watch is the casio terrorist watch. Only costs a few $, gets 10 years on one battery, can take a beating. And I don't care if I break it.

On normal days I just wear an Apple Watch and I can't ever bring myself to wear one of my fancy watches because I love the fitness tracking features.

Re: How Watches Work

#110

Post by SilverRed »

bee_rider wrote: post #61
jioawpfj wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the event an EMP knocks out all your electronics, is having a functioning watch something that really matters? also, where are you that an EMP is a realistic concern?

If you are the only one with a working watch, is your time definitionally correct, off by a bit, or completely incorrect?

Especially as mechanical watches drift a few minutes each day.
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