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How Watches Work

fratellowatches.com

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Re: How Watches Work

#71

Post by hangonhn »

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.

This is definitely not cheaper but just wanted to share this link on the Piaget Altiplano Watch so people can see how thin it can be:

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/piaget-altiplano-ultimate-...

The degree mechanical watches push the boundary of miniaturization (outside of lithography) is amazing.

Re: How Watches Work

#72

Post by desine »

xcambar wrote: post #62
emodendroket wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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

Agreed. I view myself as a pretty casual person, someone who's not overly concerned with the minutae of modern life. But with a digital watch, it's "12:47" and not "a quarter to one", which to me sounds infinitely cooler. With a slightly inaccurate mechanical movement, I fall into the latter manner of speaking, which is more what I want to be. Weird psychological preferences, but something that counts, to me.

Re: How Watches Work

#73

Post by JohnBooty »

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 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 at any reasonable market rate.

Those Seiko 7S26 movements are something like $50 new and even an amateur can perform the swap in a short amount of time without specialized tools (edit: well, maybe a hand puller, but that's cheap) and there are plenty of videos showing how.

There's no actual watchmaking knowledge required. That would only be required if trying to repair a module rather than simply swap it out.

The SKXxxx models are something of a classic but are hard to find now that they've been discontinued for a while; if you still have your broken model it may be worth more than you paid for it.

Re: How Watches Work

#74

Post by quickthrowman »

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.

I’m very fond of this watch, I picked mine up during a Macy’s sale for $300: https://www.hamiltonwatch.com/en-us/h69439931-khaki-field-me...

There are few different dial and strap combos, I just ordered a steel bracelet for mine.

It’s a bit thinner than the Seiko 5 SNK803 or SKX007, is a reasonable size (38mm) and the hand wound movement reduces the thickness since there’s no rotor. There isn’t a day/date complication either, just a three hand watch.

Re: How Watches Work

#75

Post by alexjplant »

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 understanding is that NH35-powered watches are generally 13mm minimum (the divers at least) because the Seiko movements are generally on the thicker side as far as three-handers go. I'd look for something PT5000-powered on AliExpress like the offerings from Escapement Time [1].

[1] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001053227921.html

Re: How Watches Work

#76

Post by agloeregrets »

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 got a Seiko 5 as well, non-sports model. SNK809. I absolutely adore the little thing, it blows my mind just how little energy it needs to operate. Even when fully unwound, the slightest nudge gets it ticking at exactly the right speed. What an incredible work of engineering for so cheap.

Re: How Watches Work

#77

Post by desine »

JohnBooty wrote: post #67
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?

Shielding itself is not perfect. Probably enough for the simple circuitry of an analog quartz. But it's not guaranteed. It's a buffer that reduces a wave by a few to a few dozen dB. A EM pulse through even a properly grounded faraday cage will still replicate another smaller wave internally.

Just let me collect my tiny mechanical toys, dammit, don't ask questions.

Re: How Watches Work

#78

Post by martinkraft »

desine wrote: post #64
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?

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 coordi…

You can make a solar clock in your fictional scenario.

Re: How Watches Work

#79

Post by desine »

martinkraft wrote: post #78
desine wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 coordi…

You can make a solar clock in your fictional scenario.

not precise enough to soft boil eggs, and not as easily as remembering to wear my automatic for an hour a day, or wind my manuals once per day.

I'm failing to understand why this is so contentious outside of "anti-prepper" attitudes.

Re: How Watches Work

#80

Post by domesmack »

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 was in the hole about 3 years ago, I bought a book, some tools, and a couple of broken movements off of eBay with the thought that I’d just “ dive in and learn how they work “, but I stalled out. Without a set direction I found the space of things that could be wrong with my sample broken movement to be too large. Hell, I didn’t even know if all the components were there.

It’s something I’d like to get into, hopefully with some hand holding. I’m curious what resources you’re using, and if there’s some kind of loose curriculum to ease the beginning efforts.

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