Mechanical watches

[Werne]

I much more prefer mechanical watches over the new battery powered ones. Doesn't matter if they are pocket watches, wrist watches, wall clocks, I just love them. And since I have a whole bunch of them I might as well show them off. So, here's what I got:

 

The two wrist watches I carry most of the time, 36 years old Swiss Atlantic and a 42 years old Russian Raketa. I found the Atlantic a few years ago while I was on the beach with my girlfriend, it was buried in the sand. I cleaned it up, bought the wrist band and I now use it during the summer, since it's waterproof. Though I like Raketa more, it's heavier, it has a stainless steel wrist band, I can see what time it is much easier and it can take a hell of a beating. The only problem is that it's not waterproof so I need to take it off before swimming or washing my hands. Raketa cost 3$, pretty cheap for an awesome watch. And both need to be winded manually. Here's a pic (the yellow one is Atlantic):

 

When it comes to wrist watches, I also have some automatic ones, like Seiko 5 that's currently being repaired and my great-grandfather's Dulfi he got as a retirement present after 50 years in military service, he gave it to me.

 

And now to pocket watches.

 

I have two Russian Molnija pocket watches, one is a standard stainless steel pocket watch with a lid and the other one doesn't have the front lid, and there's a train on the back. Here are pics (I can't take pics since they are disassembled so I found these on the internet, the same thing):

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Molnija_pocket_watch.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/7/6/5/1/4/webimg/508365382_o.jpghttp://www.mechanikus.hu/gifs/w_MolR.jpg

 

Total cost of these two pocket watches was 1$. My brother was playing with them and they fell on the floor, now I need to replace the winding axis on them.

 

I also have a 230 years old pocket watch that's actually the one I love the most, it's currently being restored so I don't have a pic. That watch is in my family for a long time. It has a silver case decorated with sculpted flowers, silver face and golden hands with decorative carvings. It's much larger than today's pocket watches and the details on the carvings are astonishing. Estimated price of that thing is somewhere around 15 000$ but I'll never sell it.

 

And I have a Lorus wall clock, I think it's Canadian. I honestly don't know how old it is, it's been hanging on the wall when my father was born, which was 47 years ago, so it means it's older. It's pretty simple in design, wooden case and a basic manual-winding mechanism with a pendulum. It's usually a few minutes late but at least you know what time is it, give or take a few minutes. Here's a pic of it (you can see my brother in the glass while taking the pic, since my cellphone died):

 

And that's it. I don't like battery powered ones so I keep these oldtimes running. I just don't trust batteries and electronics. And yeah, I made this topic because I'm bored to tears and I have nothing better to do that write about watches.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Werne

[WizardOfAtlantis]

Those are pretty nice! I like the story of finding the Atlantic buried in the sand. http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/biggrin.gif

I completely agree with you about not liking the batteries. They are very practical, but it's almost like the battery itself somehow magnifies the concept of impermanence of the object which it's in all by itself. Somehow, in my mind, a mechanical clock much more embodies the idea of the continual measurement of the flow of time, because all we have to do is wind it ourselves. But with a battery-powered mechanism, if we're out of batteries, we lose all of the clock/watch's utility.

Of course, as the world turns now and as things stand as they're standing, I'm not very good at remembering to wind my clocks. http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/tongue.gif

[M48A5]

I used to feel the same way about the battery watches until I found a Seiko about 20 years ago. It has given me good service every since. Every couple of years I go to the jewelery store and have the batteries replaced.

The last time I went, I wanted to get the adjusting stem replaced since it was slightly bent after being dropped. The jeweler said it would be about a week. When I went back, they apologized and said they couldn't get the parts so the batteries were free. I will be sure to continue patronizing that store.

[Werne]

@WizardOfAtlantis Yeah, forgetting to wind them is a bit of a problem, though they work for 48 hours before they stop. I have two that wind automatically when I wear them on my wrist but I rarely wear them since Raketa works just fine. The only problem is finding someone to repair them, there are only two guys in the city capable of fixing a mechanical watch and they are old enough to retire. The rest don't even know what a mechanical watch looks like on the inside.

 

@M48A5 I had a battery watch when I was a kid, I replaced the batteries myself. But I didn't like it because it was just too light and when it stops you need to find the battery, which is a problem. Taking it to the jewelry store is not an option, replacing the battery costs almost the same as the new watch (25$ for the watch, 20$ for changing the battery). A mechanical one you carry to the watchmaker once every 15-20 years for cleaning and oiling and it works just fine for the next 15-20 years. Or you can just do it yourself.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Werne

[WizardOfAtlantis]

Yeah, forgetting to wind them is a bit of a problem, though they work for 48 hours before they stop. I have two that wind automatically when I wear them on my wrist but I rarely wear them since Raketa works just fine. The only problem is finding someone to repair them, there are only two guys in the city capable of fixing a mechanical watch and they are old enough to retire. The rest don't even know what a mechanical watch looks like on the inside.

How does the watch wind itself when you wear them on your wrist??http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/unsure.gif

It saddens me when craftsmen like watch repairmen, even shoe makers, are becoming extinct like dinosaurs, and the only ones you usually find are old like relics from another time themselves. http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/wacko.gif

 

 

[Werne]

@WizardOfAtlantis It's a bit hard for me to explain how it works but wikipedia has a pretty good description of a self-winding mechanism. And yeah, it's sad that there are no more decent watch repairmen. There are a lot of shoe makers here though, there are more than 30 in my city, not counting the ones that work at home because they don't have their own shop. I guess shoes are important to people.

 

But the worse is that no one is even interested in learning about fixing old watches. There's not a lot of profit in it so nobody cares. When these two still working guys retire I'll be forced to either send my watches to Germany or Russia for repairs, or learn how to do it myself, which I already started (I got a good eye for details).

[Flintlockecole]

Old watches huh. I've got three from the 1800's that still tick the day they were made. One of them needs to smacked every so often.

 

Also you've got a nice collection there.

[WizardOfAtlantis]

Thanks for the link, Werne. I'm going to go check it out right away. I had no idea something like that existed!

I'm glad there are shoe makers in your city. My wife and I know only one by us here in Rome. I'm sure there are others, but I don't know where they are. Sad. This guy can make old leather boots look like new with his magic!

[AliasTheory]

To expand on the topic -- it's also kind of sad watches period are becoming extinct. Not many really refers to a watch because "it only does one thing." Everyone looks at a smartphone or something else.

 

And I like my wristwatch. It's not digital and I love watching the hands move...to me, that is the symbol of time.

Edited April 19, 2012 by AliasTheory

[Vindekarr]

I can totally understand Werne, there's something truly beautiful about a beautifuly, hand made machine, especialy one on this tiny scale. A similar reason to why I love fixing up old cars/motorbikes.