Are Automatic Watches Worth It? 5 Reasons To Choose Mechanical Watches
In my last post, I went over 5 reasons to choose quartz watches. Those are wristwatches essentially powered by a battery, utilising an electrical circuit to tell the time. I like quartz watches and I tend to wear them a lot, however, I also like mechanical watches.
These are watches that use physical mechanisms, such as gears and springs to tell the time; without the need for an electrical input.
They definitely offer something different and I’m going to cover 5 reasons you should consider choosing a mechanical watch.
Craftsmanship and History
The primary reason I think people wear mechanical watches is for the craftsmanship that goes into creating this type of timepieces. Due to the fact that quartz watches are so easily produced and involve so little complexity; many watch enthusiasts see them as a bit shallow and boring. Almost as if they have no soul – just another piece of metal fired off a production line in a factory.
In an age where almost every device we touch is powered by electricity, it’s amazing that there is something that can tell the time so accurately without it. The level of craftsmanship and precise engineering that goes into creating such movements is clearly above the vast majority of quartz watches.
When you buy a mechanical watch you’re almost buying into the history of traditional watchmaking, dating back centuries. With a quartz one, not so much.
Connection
Because mechanical watches require human input to keep functioning, I do feel like you build more of a connection with your watch. Whether you’re winding the watch or moving your wrist with an automatic, it’s relying on you to keep it alive. When you stop, it will die.
With quartz watches, they just keep on ticking until the battery is flat, so you often don’t build much of a relationship with the piece.
Perceived quality
While you can get really fantastic quality quartz watches, I do think that mechanical watches tend to ‘feel’ higher quality; regardless of the specifications. It could be the increased weight that you get with mechanical watches, when compared to quartz equivalents, giving the illusion of better quality.
I guess you could even say that the addition of a mechanical movement inherently makes a watch better quality than a quartz one; due to the higher level of craftsmanship required to make them.
Movement appearance
One thing I love about mechanical watches is the appearance of the movement. When you look through an exhibition case-back at the movement inside, it’s amazing to see the watch whirring away. There’s almost something magical about it. While others may not be able to see it when it’s on your wrist, occasionally, it’s something you’ll find yourself glancing at for sure.
Smooth second hand
To go along with that is the smooth second hand. Rather than just the 60 ticks per minute you get with quartz watches, automatic watches have far higher beat rates. This results in a second hand that bobs along multiple times between the markers, giving a sweeping motion. This alone, in my opinion, makes a watch look a lot more premium, compared to the plain ticks of a quartz watch. It’s also one of the reasons I like the mecha-quartz hybrid movements, which still give you that smooth look, but with the accuracy of quartz.
