The Apple Watch Inspired me to Buy a Mechanical Watch!

I was sorely tempted to buy the Motorola 360 – it looks gorgeous. But then the Apple watch marketing blitzkrieg hit and I was treated to image after image of a “meh” looking smartwatch. Surprisingly, it had an effect on me. It instilled a yearning to get…

…a mechanical watch instead.

Wait what? Yeah, you heard me right. A mechanical watch with cogs and gears. One that might even require winding if I don’t move around enough! “But why?” you sputter? Mechanical watches do nothing. They just tell the time – and not very well at that.

Fair point.

But you see, a non battery powered, non-quartz watch has something that a smartwatch doesn’t. It’s a real machine in the traditional sense of the word. And probably the only gadget in my life today that isn’t electronic. So this makes it absolutely unique in a world filled with electrical power and non moving parts.

With little clicks, ticks, tiny cogs and jewels, a mechanical watch is very reassuringly real. It’s a mind numbingly complex little world unto itself. A self contained universe requiring me to power it. I was surprised at the sudden desire to have something ticking along on my wrist completely “off the grid” so to speak.

So I searched, and searched. And guess what – they don’t come cheap. I debated long and hard about the “Swiss” label and almost settled on a Hamilton Khaki, but Anupa pulled me back from the brink. She made me see that if I wanted a watch for the mechanical aesthetics, then I must be able to look inside it. So we finally bought a well made Seiko instead.

Now I’m not a horologist – I know just enough to be satisfied that Seiko watches are very well made and reliable, even though they’re not “Swiss”. But then I reminded myself – what did I want a mechanical watch for? Swiss watches are incredibly well made, but there’s also a bit of snob value attached to them. Hamilton, which I was considering earlier, is part of the Swatch group and though they nominally have the “Swiss” label, not all their parts are manufactured in Switzerland.

So short of splurging literally thousands of dollars on a 100% “Swiss” watch, I decided to get something to fulfill my unique needs instead.

And this morning, my shiny new automatic Seiko arrived! Here are some pictures:

I love the “Open Heart” design. It has 24 jewels out of which I can just make out purple and topaz yellow. The sweeping second hand is powered by the 4R39 movement – reassuringly ticking along at 21,600 beats an hour. It’s heavy – as befitting an old world machine, and yet manufactured with breathtaking precision.

It sits with me incongruously amongst my tools of the digital age. My laptop, my smartphone, my Wi-Fi router, my MMO games, and my digital piano. It asks nothing of me other than that I wear it regularly and barring that – to at least give it a wind now and then. It’s like having a second heart beating on my wrist. A heart of steel and stone. The very last relic of a dead era of days without electricity.

And it’s that very dichotomy which appeals to me. I have no use for a smartwatch. But a compact encasing of cogs and gears? That appeals to me very much indeed.

What do you think of this post?
  • Agree (7)
  • You're an asshole (3)
  • Don't Agree but Interesting (1)

14 thoughts on “The Apple Watch Inspired me to Buy a Mechanical Watch!”

  1. What an irony…we have a mechanical Rolex …crying out to be used ..only we cant ” see ” inside…guess that has it’s own charm..enjoy !

    Reply

  2. I don’t see the need, and I have no desire, for, “smart” watches. But mechanical? What’s the point? You’ve already got a perfectly good time piece on your phone. Mechanical can’t keep time; if they have the date at all, they probably think there’s 31 days in every month; they don’t have an alarm, light, or other amenities; etc.
    I prefer a good old-fashioned simple digital quartz watch thanks. Even the cheapest will normally have: alarm; light; proper date keeping; reliable for years on a tiny battery; stop watch and timer; and 24 or 12 hour time.
    But¸ it’s all for fashion? Well, get a fancy one then, still all the advantages though.

    Next you’ll say you like writing with a quill, something that’s simply not as good as the modern alternative, or more impractical, but “it looks nice, and I like the ‘aesthetic'”. Well, I guess that’s fine for you. It just seems, a bit, I don’t know. As silly as wanting to read websites on a tiny watch screen (or whatever it is you actually do with a smart watch).

    Reply

    • In reply to Michael.

      Exactly. I’m not wearing a watch to tell the time. In fact, I think I’m going to deliberately set the time wrong :)

      I’m wearing a mechanical watch simply because the idea of having a ticking machine with gears and wheels on my wrist tickles me!

      Reply

      • In reply to bhagwad

        Ah cool. And if people say, “do you know what the time is”, you can simply reply “no”. (Personally I’d rather put all those gears and wheels in a grandfather clock or similar, but that’s a little less portable.)

        Reply

  3. personally I wear a digital watch and swear by it; I like having just glancing down and seeing the time, maybe the date, i don’t always have my phone on me and i don’t want to get it out and turn it on just to see the time/date. not a fan of mechanical watches at all for this reason, too much effort

    though that’s not why you’re getting it so, enjoy

    Personally I would like to say i find smartwatches ridiculous; I’d be fine with a smartwatch that showed you various stuff and that’s all, like a better digital watch, but what’s the point of fiddling with your watch when you could fiddle with your phone instead? if you’re going to do something major just whip out your phone already

    Reply

  4. I bought this exact same watch today for almost the exact same reason.

    and i love it

    how is your experience with it?

    Reply

  5. uh..it says ” automatic”. does that mean that you don’t have to wind it? kind of takes some of the fun away? but I like them too. titan makes them in India I think. But they look like they were built 10 years ago, even when new.

    Reply

Leave a Comment