> The mechanism for this alone, with the rotor visible in the rear, is really fascinating to watch.
I can see the appeal of visible gears. But most mechanical watch aficionados seem to satisfy with the thought that the gears EXIST.
> it competes on craftsmanship
Not entirely sure what that means. It's not like smartwatches don't feature ingenuous engineering and quite a bit of manual assembly labor.
> it won't be outdated in a few years as will every modern smartwatch
That always seemed an exceedingly silly argument to me. Mechanical watches have been outdated for DECADES. By the 1980s, they were thoroughly outclassed in accuracy, functionality, and price.
Sure, in a few years, today's smartwatches will have been surpassed by better models, while odds are that the mechanical watch maker will, at best, have slapped a new paint scheme on the same old model. But in a few years, today's smartwatches will still outclass mechanical watches. And I don't see what's superior about stagnant technology.
> something that will be functional and repairable decades from now
For sufficiently small values of "functional", as apparently being off by 15 seconds a day is considered "well within their quality standards".
I can see the appeal of visible gears. But most mechanical watch aficionados seem to satisfy with the thought that the gears EXIST.
> it competes on craftsmanship
Not entirely sure what that means. It's not like smartwatches don't feature ingenuous engineering and quite a bit of manual assembly labor.
> it won't be outdated in a few years as will every modern smartwatch
That always seemed an exceedingly silly argument to me. Mechanical watches have been outdated for DECADES. By the 1980s, they were thoroughly outclassed in accuracy, functionality, and price.
Sure, in a few years, today's smartwatches will have been surpassed by better models, while odds are that the mechanical watch maker will, at best, have slapped a new paint scheme on the same old model. But in a few years, today's smartwatches will still outclass mechanical watches. And I don't see what's superior about stagnant technology.
> something that will be functional and repairable decades from now
For sufficiently small values of "functional", as apparently being off by 15 seconds a day is considered "well within their quality standards".
https://forums.watchuseek.com/f419/jaeger-lecoultre-watch-ac...