Chris Hobson
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I've always had a fascination for watches. I like to window shop whenever we go to the McArthur Glen shopping centre near York. I learned a lot more about them from a thread that I started that was about the really crazy prices that the high end watches command. I've also started watching a lot of YouTube videos on the subject which were very informative.
I never quite understood the attraction of mechanical watches now that we have quartz movements that are much more accurate. Now I understand that a mechanical movement can always be repaired, no matter how bad a state it is in, so has the potential to last forever, hence the higher value. A dead quartz movement is usually impossible to repair. Sometimes the movement can be replaced, replacement quartz movements are fairly cheap. The problem is that, unless it is a very basic movement, a replacement is unlikely to be available. I have also learned that a flat battery needs to be removed or replaced immediately to avoid ruining your quartz movement. A fairly recent development has been solar powered watches which just need exposure to light in order to keep working. There are now watches that use the satellite network or the Internet and are self correcting so that you know that they will always show the correct time. After agonising about buying myself a new watch that I didn't really need, I splurged on a Victorinox Swiss Army day-date watch. I'm really happy with it and wear it a lot. I tend to like the military or pilot watches for their rugged practicality, but I also see the need for a more dressy watch to wear when going out somewhere posh, a restaurant or the theatre. So here is my wish list if I do decide to become a collector.
1) Victorinox day-date Swiss Army. Tick
2) Aesop Tourbillon 7041. A dress watch with a fabulous showy mechanism. These used to be prohibitively expensive but are now being mass produced in China.
3) Sturmanski open space day-date NH36-1891771. Russian Military style watch.
4) Casio G Shock GAW-100B-1AER. These come with a bewildering range of features. In the end I go for one with radio control, solar power and an analogue face.
5) Swatch SY235400. Mechanical dress watch that is relatively inexpensive due to clever design with fewer moving parts and being made entirely by machines.
6) Lilienthal Berlin Chronograph Metiorite III. Another dress watch This one has a thin slice of a meteorite in the face. Yes it's a gimmick but it means that each one is unique.
7) A pocket watch. This is a whole new rabbit hole that I have only just begun to explore. I will probably have to buy a waistcoat as well.
I never quite understood the attraction of mechanical watches now that we have quartz movements that are much more accurate. Now I understand that a mechanical movement can always be repaired, no matter how bad a state it is in, so has the potential to last forever, hence the higher value. A dead quartz movement is usually impossible to repair. Sometimes the movement can be replaced, replacement quartz movements are fairly cheap. The problem is that, unless it is a very basic movement, a replacement is unlikely to be available. I have also learned that a flat battery needs to be removed or replaced immediately to avoid ruining your quartz movement. A fairly recent development has been solar powered watches which just need exposure to light in order to keep working. There are now watches that use the satellite network or the Internet and are self correcting so that you know that they will always show the correct time. After agonising about buying myself a new watch that I didn't really need, I splurged on a Victorinox Swiss Army day-date watch. I'm really happy with it and wear it a lot. I tend to like the military or pilot watches for their rugged practicality, but I also see the need for a more dressy watch to wear when going out somewhere posh, a restaurant or the theatre. So here is my wish list if I do decide to become a collector.
1) Victorinox day-date Swiss Army. Tick
2) Aesop Tourbillon 7041. A dress watch with a fabulous showy mechanism. These used to be prohibitively expensive but are now being mass produced in China.
3) Sturmanski open space day-date NH36-1891771. Russian Military style watch.
4) Casio G Shock GAW-100B-1AER. These come with a bewildering range of features. In the end I go for one with radio control, solar power and an analogue face.
5) Swatch SY235400. Mechanical dress watch that is relatively inexpensive due to clever design with fewer moving parts and being made entirely by machines.
6) Lilienthal Berlin Chronograph Metiorite III. Another dress watch This one has a thin slice of a meteorite in the face. Yes it's a gimmick but it means that each one is unique.
7) A pocket watch. This is a whole new rabbit hole that I have only just begun to explore. I will probably have to buy a waistcoat as well.
