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How Watches Work

fratellowatches.com

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Re: How Watches Work

#61

Post by bee_rider »

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?

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

Re: How Watches Work

#62

Post by xcambar »

emodendroket wrote: post #60
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…

To be fair automatic watches drift substantially over time.

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 to lose some control and gain back some leeway with regards to time.

I love that it is "about 22:00" rather than 22:03:37.

Re: How Watches Work

#63

Post by JohnBooty »

tintt wrote: post #50

Mechanical watch is a mesmerizing device. Makes you wonder though, why there was so little progress around mechanical technology (not only watch specific) lately? My car can talk to me, steer, retain speed by following other vehicles, but the most amazing mechanical innovation it has is a frustratingly slow, whining seat memory function. It’s not only boring, it also relies on a century old tech. Watch are the same,…

    but the most amazing mechanical innovation it has
    is a frustratingly slow, whining seat memory function
What do we mean by "lately?" The humble old internal combustion engine has made some really impressive progress in the past several decades.

Engines are roughly 2X better now in the categories that matter: power output, fuel efficiency, and expected lifetime. Some of the fuel efficiency gains have of course been canceled out by increased overall vehicle weight, so it's easy to overlook how much more efficient the engines themselves are.

In 1986, a Ford Mustang GT had a 5.0L V8 that produced 200HP.

In 2021, a Ford Mustang GT has a 5.0L V8 that produces 460HP.

A 2021 base model Ford Mustang has an engine that produces 310HP from only 2.3L of displacement.

(Not that Ford is special in this regard; I just picked the Mustang because they've produced a 5.0L V8 for most of the brand's lifetime and it's fun to compare a 1986 5.0L engine versus a 2021 5.0L engine...)

Re: How Watches Work

#64

Post by desine »

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?

Even as the world ends, I will enjoy a few last perfectly soft boiled eggs over my camp stove, and contemplate the meaning of existence. And a major US metropolitan area, near several military bases, airports, and missile launch sites. So more than most of the population.

On a more serious note, as a bit of a "prepper" - it's not hard to cover the essentials. Once past that, working timepieces greatly simplify coordination and other group efforts. Additionally, I would expect decent trade value out of them, should the unlikely but tragic circumstances occur.

Re: How Watches Work

#65

Post by JohnBooty »

CydeWeys wrote: post #6

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

Glad I'm not the only one. It was one of my ways of coping with the pandemic. For me it gave me an incentive to take care of myself and get dressed every day even though I wasn't leaving the house. You?

Re: How Watches Work

#66

Post by desine »

Cd00d wrote: post #47
ubermonkey wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s how it starts! For me, my mechanical watch obsession started when I inherited my father’s mid-70s Rolex. Back then, they weren’t as insanely out of reach as they’ve become; they were a very robust watch that would Just Work for a long, long time, and which looked nice. (Remember, this was only about 15 years after Sean Connery wore a Submariner in Dr No; Rolex was even LESS upmarket in the 60s, which was a tim…

I too fell off my mechanical watch obsession when I added a smartwatch to my life. My current Fitbit keeps better time, is as waterproof as my dive watches, and give me so much more. It makes me sad sometimes, as the mechanical marvel of watches is beautiful, but in the end, I had a Seiko SKX-007 that needed some maintenance, and I was quoted $600. It was a $200 watch and they were going to swab the movement. That wa…

I got into it after my smartwatches, oddly enough. I didn't wear a watch between the mid-90s young kid with a Timex Expedition and the late 2010's adult with an Apple Watch. It was getting in the habit of the smartwatch that made me desire to wear something different again.

Re: How Watches Work

#67

Post by JohnBooty »

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…

I love mechanical watches too, but surely some cheap digital watches stashed in a shielded box would be the more effective post-EMP timekeeping device, right?

Re: How Watches Work

#68

Post by desine »

emodendroket wrote: post #60
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…

To be fair automatic watches drift substantially over time.

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

Re: How Watches Work

#69

Post by JohnBooty »

approxim8ion wrote: post #59
opmac wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seiko 5 is probably the cheapest, worthwhile mechanical watch. You can always get cheap Chinese and Russian watches as well but they will be of lesser quality and reliability than the Seiko. So to answer your question directly - probably not. But I would recommend checking out Orient watches. They have a decent set of mechanical watches of all different styles, not much more expensive than the classic Seiko 5, but de…

This is funny because Seiko has notoriously terrible quality control, from misaligned bezels and/or chapter rings to dodgy bracelets across their entire lineup, even the more expensive ones. About Orient: they are pretty much poised to take the spot that Seiko has occupied for entry level mechanical watches, as Seiko themselves move further up market. I love the design of their Bambino and some of the OrientStar offe…

It seems to me that the the QC issues are largely cosmetic, but are mostly with the Prospex models (some of their priciest models!) and seem to have intensified in the last few years.

I've heard from watch geeks with friends in "the business" that Seiko is aware of the issue thanks to the negative online word-of-mouth these issues have generated, but I don't know how reliable that hearsay is. (Really, though, Seiko would have to be blind not to be aware of the issues...)

We'll see if Seiko is actually aware and if that actually results in an improvement. If so I suspect that it will take some time for results to be seen given the lag time between manufacture date and watches winding up in consumers' hands.

Re: How Watches Work

#70

Post by JohnBooty »

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?

    in the event an EMP knocks out all your electronics, 
    is having a functioning watch something that really
    matters?
If you know what time it is, you can use your watch as a fairly accurate compass in an emergency.

https://www.citizenwatch-global.com/s/support/exterior/direc...

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