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How Watches Work

fratellowatches.com

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Re: How Watches Work

#21

Post by unethical_ban »

martinkraft wrote: post #9

For those who are interested in superior technology, start reading about quartz movements and the piezoelectric effect. Citizen Watch Company recently release the most accurate quartz watch ever, accurate to 1 second per year . Contrast that to the mechanical watches that Rolex—one of the best mechanical manufacturers—produces and the best they can do is an accuracy of about 1 second per day . Hundreds of times less…

I respect Quartz watches. In fact, I've thought about getting a Citizen eco-drive. I've had a timex for years.

But I got into mechanical watches earlier this year - a Hamilton Pilot and a Field. There is a beauty in the combination of accuracy, complexity and the lack of reliance on electricity that I find fascinating, just as someone can appreciate a sailboat or a record player for their amazing engineering.

I haven't figured out how to express it clearly, but things like mechanical watches, pour-over/press coffee, record players, coal grills. They all involve a lack of electricity and lack of network connectivity. The heat is right there from the coal. The coffee was ground and made by /me/. The power comes from the sails. The watch moves from my winding it - it depends on me. The sound is imprinted on the record - The source of the sound, right there on a platter, vibrating a needle, not from a coded bitstream I can only access with an internet subscription, a computer and a music subscription.

Anyway. There is a better essay somewhere in here. My point is, I get the superiority of Quartz over mechanical re: accuracy and maybe even ruggedness, but there is a lost romance.

Re: How Watches Work

#22

Post by throwaway210222 »

joshocar wrote: post #20
martinkraft wrote: post #9

For those who are interested in superior technology, start reading about quartz movements and the piezoelectric effect. Citizen Watch Company recently release the most accurate quartz watch ever, accurate to 1 second per year . Contrast that to the mechanical watches that Rolex—one of the best mechanical manufacturers—produces and the best they can do is an accuracy of about 1 second per day . Hundreds of times less…

> Mechanical watches are an emotional rather than rational technology, and hey if that's what you're into: mechanical watches and horse-drawn-buggies and gas lanterns then that's totally cool. You could say the same thing about people who are into classic muscle cars. "Hey, if like driving around in a model T and braking down every 5 miles then that's totally cool." Everything is emotional. Does anyone really need a…

> Everything is emotional.

No it really isn't. HN is not the correct forum for this sweeping psychobabble.

> Does anyone really need a GPS synced watch that is accurate to the nanosecond? No, people want it because they think it's cool.

No, we buy these accurate watches because a) there are only a few such watch makers, and b) they all use an even smaller pool of GPS chips. And its these chips that have the precision that bugs you so.

> You must be so fun at parties.

Not your finest comment

Re: How Watches Work

#23

Post by KaiserPro »

Another type of movement which is fun is the tuning fork movement: https://www.watchonista.com/articles/bulova-accutron-tuning-...

For those of you of a patriotic persuasion, its a US invention, something they did better than the swiss.

I like them (even though I'm not american) because they are good looking movements, and have some hilariously tight engineering tolerances

They also used to power planes and satellites before cheap low power robust quartz and eventually atomic clocks.

Re: How Watches Work

#24

Post by KaiserPro »

NinjaViking wrote: post #7
CydeWeys wrote: post #6

I got pretty into watches during the pandemic. It's definitely one of those expensive hobbies.

Not necessarily! You can get plenty of nerd mileage out of Orient, Seiko and Vostok automatic/mechanical watches for a reasonable amount of money.

+1 for orient.

I have a sexy 70s quartz omega, but my daily watch is an orient ray raven II. I've regulated it myself, so its now about +- 35 seconds a month (which is better than most rolexes.....)

even cheaper are pocket watches, and they are much larger and easier to play with.

Re: How Watches Work

#25

Post by desine »

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. Last week, I got a box of books, tools, and expendables. Today, when I get home, I'll have a box of broken pocket watches to tear into and probably irreparably mess up.

When I was a kid, my grandfather and I tore down some old watches as a rainy afternoon activity one day. I was fascinated. It wasn't until I listened to the podcast Shit Town (S-Town) that I thought about horology as a hobby again.

One interesting thing I learned, is that if you're looking for a career change, you can become a certified watch maker for free. Many of the schools are sponsored by the big name watch manufacturers, and tuition is free. It's a full time education, so you'll need enough financial runway to survive for a year or two, but you'll come out with no debt as a certified watch builder/repairperson.

Re: How Watches Work

#26

Post by pkulak »

martinkraft wrote: post #9

For those who are interested in superior technology, start reading about quartz movements and the piezoelectric effect. Citizen Watch Company recently release the most accurate quartz watch ever, accurate to 1 second per year . Contrast that to the mechanical watches that Rolex—one of the best mechanical manufacturers—produces and the best they can do is an accuracy of about 1 second per day . Hundreds of times less…

That Caliber 0100 really is amazing. Looks great too. I like HAQ, but there's something about Seiko designs that just doesn't do it for me.

All that said, I still think you get more for your $7,500 from a luxury mechanical watch. The accuracy of a watch matters so little to me at this point, that's it's almost gone negative; I kind of enjoy setting the time every once in a while. :D

Re: How Watches Work

#27

Post by joshocar »

throwaway210222 wrote: post #22
joshocar wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Mechanical watches are an emotional rather than rational technology, and hey if that's what you're into: mechanical watches and horse-drawn-buggies and gas lanterns then that's totally cool. You could say the same thing about people who are into classic muscle cars. "Hey, if like driving around in a model T and braking down every 5 miles then that's totally cool." Everything is emotional. Does anyone really need a…

> Everything is emotional. No it really isn't. HN is not the correct forum for this sweeping psychobabble. > Does anyone really need a GPS synced watch that is accurate to the nanosecond? No, people want it because they think it's cool. No, we buy these accurate watches because a) there are only a few such watch makers, and b) they all use an even smaller pool of GPS chips. And its these chips that have the precision…

> And its these chips that have the precision that bugs you so.

I never said it bugs me. I own a Citizen solar powered watch. I also own a mechanical watch and a smart watch. I would probably by a GPS synced watch.

I stand by my comment that everything is emotional.

Re: How Watches Work

#28

Post by hellbannedguy »

aranchelk wrote: post #10
hellbannedguy wrote: post #2

To those that are interested in Watchmaking. 1. All books by Henry Fried. (A. many books overlap info., but if reasonably priced are work buying.) 2. All books by DeCarle. (see A above.) 3. George Daniel's book. 4. All past issues of AWCI magazine. 5. Oh yea, get Questions, and Answers for AWCI test questions. (Don't pay a lot for these books, pamphlets. They can be found, but you need to hunt.) 6. Decide if you want…

Do you have a Google Form or something where people can sign up for an email notification when you open your shop?

Not yet, but I'm on FB. I have a neglected page that tries to teach Watch Repairing--It's called "Watch Repairing". My page has a b/w picture of my bench.

You can message me here--I believe:

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=732457960219638&ref=co...

Re: How Watches Work

#29

Post by anadem »

KaiserPro wrote: post #23

Another type of movement which is fun is the tuning fork movement: https://www.watchonista.com/articles/bulova-accutron-tuning-... For those of you of a patriotic persuasion, its a US invention, something they did better than the swiss. I like them (even though I'm not american) because they are good looking movements, and have some hilariously tight engineering tolerances They also used to power planes and satellite…

I had a Bulova Accutron with tuning fork movement, which I lost. Some months later while napping I hear a quiet hum, and find the watch rolled up in a carpet .. it was a watch with inbuilt locator function!

Re: How Watches Work

#30

Post by samatman »

martinkraft wrote: post #9

For those who are interested in superior technology, start reading about quartz movements and the piezoelectric effect. Citizen Watch Company recently release the most accurate quartz watch ever, accurate to 1 second per year . Contrast that to the mechanical watches that Rolex—one of the best mechanical manufacturers—produces and the best they can do is an accuracy of about 1 second per day . Hundreds of times less…

My daily driver is an Apple Watch. It does a dozen small things which add up to a great deal of utility. Sure I have to charge it every day, but it's worth it. Needless to say the time is always accurate, and I can display it however I want just by flicking a finger across the surface.

When I dress up, I put on one of my mechanicals (I have three and will probably add more before I'm done). There's just something cool about an intricate gear-driven machine on my wrist, and they look good: a dress watch is jewelry which happens to tell time.

Quartz watches kind of fall into the middle for me. It runs on electricity, but it won't tap my wrist with two different patterns which tell me if I'm turning left or right when I'm driving, and I can't tell it to remind me in an hour to take the laundry out of the dryer. It won't track my heart rate and I can't play 2048 on it.

So, boring. But that's just my taste, I'm glad you enjoy quartz watches even though they're obviously inferior as technology to a good smart watch.

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