
Swatch’s new affordable mechanical watch - tomkwok
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fashion/2015/07/forget_the_apple_watch_the_most_revolutionary_new_timepiece_on_the_market.single.html
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buserror
I looked at all the recent smartwatches for a while -- I hadn't worn a watch
in 20 years. TL;DR, I didn't buy one -- instead I discovered the world of real
mechanical watches which I had totally ignored for years and bought some of
these instead... I really wonder how many people went thru this same
process... I mean, 'disposable income' can buy a smartwatch that will be
landfill in 3 years, OR it can buy something that'll still run in 30 years
with a bit of luck... as far as the 'nerdy factor' (and 'new toy' factor) is
concerned, a mechanical watch does hit quite a few sweet spots too...

So that Swatch doesn't 'do' it for me here -- you can already buy automatic
watches with chinese movements for a LOT less than $150 -- in fact, you can
get one for $15 (check aliexpress); with movements that are actually quite
nice and fairly precise (most of them). Oh and they are not sealed, so can be
serviced.

Mechanical watches of reasonable quality need to be services at <=5 years
intervals; so one can assume that Swatch useful lifetime without a way to
service it will be in fact rather similar to an Apple Watch in the end.

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kuni-toko-tachi
The Seiko 5 is a great mechanical watch at the same price point and has been
around for many years. This Salon article is half ad for Swatch and clickbait
for Apple fans.

