Wristwatches Back to Which Watch?
The advent of
the quartz mechanism in recent years has taken the mass produced watch to
new heights. For the serious collector though, the quartz watch has a much
less significant role. Most watch collectors look for mechanical designs to
add to their collections. This is because the mechanical watch is an
evolution of hundreds of years of inspiration, innovation and ingenious
design, which have been brilliantly and precisely engineered to read what we
take as given - the time.
The mechanical wristwatch is a plethora of levers, gears and springs endlessly pulsating away. More complicated pieces such as chronograph, calendar or alarm watches make items more collectable. In fact the more complicated the movement the better, since collectors will marvel in the sheer beauty and brilliance of a complex piece - often irrespective of that the face may look like.
Many different figures are quoted, but it has been said that up to 40% of wristwatches being produced in Switzerland today are mechanical movements. These may be manual wind or automatic self winding. Mechanics are fighting back against electronics, and quite rightly too. The mechanical watch that has evolved and been perfected over several hundred years will not lay down and die. Age old heritage has a big following and a big market and stands proud against the subversive newcomer in its chintzy coat of quartz.
As a buyer, why should you pay as much or more for a quartz watch? Quartz movements are knocked out of Far Eastern factories for less than US $1 each. Yet manufacturers charge you as much for a mechanical watch that has been produced by skilled craftsmen, taken years to design, undergone weeks of manufacture, weeks of hand finishing and weeks quality testing.