Weird isn't it. We spend literally thousands of pounds on quality time pieces... that actually don't keep the time all that well.

Accepted norms are + or - 2 seconds loss per day, losing + or - 1 second is seen as "above standard".
Left for a year, these + watches might have me miss the 1720 from Waterloo by over 12 minutes!

So, get a £10 Casio digital and time keeping must surely improve.

For me, I like the watch that makes my Dad go, "New watch, son?... nice, let's have a look"
And that makes me feel proud... that he's proud of my success, not my watch.

You?

 

Why...? For those of us interested in the human phenomenon, all expressions in art and science are a revelation of genius we have inherited from our ancestors.

Those who collect watches, I'm sure if we had enough money, time and space, also would do with cars and planes.

There is a mix of design and engineering in these objects that makes us confident that the human being is much more than the news and the government would have us believe.

Watches......Such exquisite work from the hands of a man.

 

A second a day is 1 in 86,400. Our watches are constantly moving, may be handmade, using tools and techniques refined over 400 years and often keep just as good time 60 years later. Its an incredible achievement if you think about it. Personally, I love the idea of the craft and workmanship and sheer engineering on my wrist, often for a few hundred pounds. Quartz is often just too easy, although with a good story...

 

I keep a good quartz watch, I use it to set & regulate my real watches and to tinker in the garage. Its more accurate, reliable and tough than any of my mechanical watches. If and when the quartz gets done in by a leaking battery or goes in partial trade for something else, I buy another quartz piece to continue its job.

But the mechanical watches..... Mmmmmmm, can't get enough! These aren't just tools, they're the work of craftsmen, hand made by Swiss or American artists. Open the back of a quartz watch, its a neat pack of electromechanical engineering, nice, compact, perfect and without soul. Open the back of a highgrade watch and you get so much more: hand finished gold train, motor barrel, beautifully finished plates and the chance to completely glaze over while watching the balance wheel do its thing.

Its the differance between running a 2012 Honda or a 1962 BMW. The Honda is faster, smoother, more reliable. corners better, gets better mileage etcetera etcetera etcetera but in the end its just an appliance. The BMW is a bitch to start, jiggles around at idle, smells kinda bad when its hot, cost a mint to fix when something breaks and brings you to tears at least once a year..... but its sooooooo sweet when its running right.

look at the picture below..... have you ever seen electronics that pretty?

 

Nice thoughts Fritz, totally agree, I start with old pocket watches lot of years ago, once in a while I wind up and and I hear the unrelenting time.

 

Beautiful watch! And a great bike example too. I share your passion for great design and skilled engineering. This one is still on my "will-get-it-one-day" list. A bit younger than your 1962 BMW, but iconic in its class. Just like the Centenary on my Omega wish list. But that one takes less space in the garage of course.... (pictures from Google for illustration purpose only).

 

For the design. Sure, the $17 Casio will work fine, but are you going to find a design that you like? That's my thinking anyway.

 

What did you say about electronics?

 

Why? Because we're nuts. Luckily, expensive watches are socially acceptable in most places.

 

The warmth of gold on the wrist, the sensuous touch of fine leather, the ticking of a watch, knowing that you have arrived with a fine timepiece, greatest feelings in the world.

 

You know..... if garage space is a problem, there are solutions.
You just have to wait for the wife to go out before doing it.



This took three hours of furniture moving to pull off, luckily the family room has a door into the garage. And yes she was less than amused but it was worth it for the look on her face! (The vitually new Honda birt bike in the living room was also funny as hell because she came home with a friend, it was allowed to stay until riding season returned)...

Our family motto: Nothing's trouble if it makes trouble.

 

Ooooooo, Oooooo !!
Mr. Kotter, I know the answer!
Ooooooo, Ooooooo,,,pick me!!

There is very little logic and lots of false choices when analyzing Veblen goods.

"why would I spend fifty thousand bucks on a watch when I could buy a BMW, instead?!".

 

Fifty grand? Buy the BMW, a nice R90S or an R69US, AND.... some really nice gold vintage Omega.

And you'll have enough change for a nice Casio quartz watch so you know what time it is when your sitting by the side of the road because your BMW died while you were on your way to drop of the broken Omega for service.

I once fixed the ignition advance in the BMW using the spring from a 98 cent pen, I had to as I was sitting in a farmers field miles from anywhere with the ignition stuck at full advance. It worked fine for years on those bits of spring. Try that with an electronic system.

mind you, I've never had one of those strand me in the middle of nowhere to start with....... I think I'l go buy a Casio today.

 

4 BMW's actually, if we are talking motorcycles. But more difficult to strap on your wrist of course.....

Nice Jawa with cool race fairing Fritz and not at all out of place there. Used to see a lot of them in the Netherlands at the time.

 

Have had youngens at work give me a bit of stick for wearing/buying expensive watches.


They wear G-Shocks and drive expensive V8 cars ,and could never drive a Toyota Camry(not that I would) Or spend money on a watch

Laugh when I tell them the have a Toyota Camry Equivalent on their wrist.

 

Yeah the V8 ute,s or tricked up 4x4s are the norm up here. Watching car vessels drop off mostly 4x4s and one or two family cars and a heap of boats is weird. Never seen so many tyre shops in one city......

 

There shall be no conflict.

One shall enjoy the company of an accurate electronic watch. While admiring the fine craftsmanship of his fine mechanical piece.


Wrist watch in general is no longer necessary for 'time keeping'. We all have cell phones, there's the time, and time is available everywhere, even on gas pumps. ------- why buy expensive mechanical watches then? It's human nature to desire for the better. Mechanical things are always more exciting.

A friend of mine, a professional diver who harvest abalones usually ~50m below water , very tough job and he use a 'diving computer' to calculate everything. So a 'dive watch' with 'dive bezel' is absolutely useless to him, but he never dives without his deepsea 16660. I was curious and asked him why, and he said, rather amusingly: ' James bond had one, it's very cool.'

Well, I think the old Bond had the original submariner?..... And new Bonds use omega Seamaster...