Why it makes sense to shell out thousands of dollars for 'outdated' watch technology
Hollis Johnson
Unlike most fashion accessories, watches are complicated objects, and the choices watch purchasers must make are incredibly numerous and varied. Do I go for mechanical or quartz? What differentiates one brand from another? What complications do I need? Is the difference in price really worth that amount of money?
For every man who fancies himself a discerning gentleman, however, I'm about to make one of those decisions extremely clear. Choose the mechanical watch every time.
Mechanical watches are, in a word, outdated. They're less accurate than a battery-powered quartz watch. The best mechanical watches are within a few seconds of accuracy, but still may lose 5-10 seconds a day. Quartz watches, on the other hand, are perfect by design, and may only lose about 4 seconds a month.
And yet, mechanical watches are still significantly more interesting. They're more complicated, incorporating all the expertise and knowledge of watchmaking of the 20th century. They have a much larger number of tiny moving parts inside, and require hours and hours of painstaking labor to make. They're impressive pieces of machinery - monuments to the height of mechanical achievement in an analog world.
"A mechanical watch allows us to express our appreciation for something done the best it can be done," writes Fashionbeans' watch columnist Robin Swithinbank.
Hollis Johnson
But mechanical watches can also be viewed as a conscious step backward. A reminder of a simpler, less technology-obsessed time, when the most complicated piece of machinery you'd encounter on a daily basis was the combustion engine.
"There's something very anti-tech and hipster about mechanical timepieces," tech entrepreneur and watch enthusiast Kevin Rose told me in July. "A rejection of technology."
Mechanical watches are outdated technology. And yet, people are willing to shell out thousands of dollars for them. A mechanical watch identifies you as a discerning buyer: one that cares about the tiny details, one that appreciates history and heritage, and one who spends their wealth wisely and intelligently.
Don't mistake me - I'm not advocating you run out to the nearest boutique and buy a top-of-the-line $20,000 Patek Phillippe. Beautiful as they are, that wouldn't be a smart move. What if you grow to hate winding your watch with the movement of your wrist, or resent having to reset it every time the power runs out? You need to make an informed decision.
Dennis Green / Business Insider
Just like a real car enthusiast would never be caught dead with an automatic transmission, anyone who calls themselves a watch fan will choose the mechanical every time.
If you want to be involved in the office conversations revolving around watches, there's only one way to do it.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- In second consecutive week of decline, forex kitty drops $2.28 bn to $640.33 bn
- SBI Life Q4 profit rises 4% to ₹811 crore
- IMD predicts severe heatwave conditions over East, South Peninsular India for next five days
- COVID lockdown-related school disruptions will continue to worsen students’ exam results into the 2030s: study
- India legend Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 ambassador
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market