3 ms·

Quartz watches have been the pragmatic time telling choice for decades. More accurate and cheaper than mechanical. Plenty, possibly the majority, of watch enth

Quartz watches have been the pragmatic time telling choice for decades. More accurate and cheaper than mechanical. Plenty, possibly the majority, of watch enthusiasts today have never experienced a time when their mechanical watch was simply a practical tool. So I can't see people who care about quality dying out.

TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
When we're talking about unbelievably expensive mechanical products that tell the time with less accuracy than a cheap quartz movement, "quality" is perhaps not the best word. These products - like overpriced fashion brands - are pure capitalist virtue signalling. They're personal advertising tokens and power objects, intended to display to the world that the wearer/buyer is conspicuously untroubled by any material scarcity. It's not about quality in any of the usual senses of the word - except maybe in the archaic sense that being that kind of rich is self-defined as being "a person of quality".
- jiveturkey 8y ago
  all of the enthusiasts i know hide their watches. it’s about an appreciation for craftsmanship. edit: i guess i do know a lot of folks that wear a watch for brand status but those aren’t enthusiasts.
  - bigiain 8y ago
    I don't hide mine, but mine are bought for odd personal reasons. The one I have on right now is _probably_ a real 1957 Sputnik 1 Poljot commemorative watch. It could be a fake, but if it is it's got the pre 1962 movement in it, so its at least "period"... And I don't actually care, it only cost me $70. I also have a somewhat-less-likely-to-be-genuine 17-jewel Sturmanskie Soviet Airforce watch like the one Yuri Gagarin wore into space in 1961. Again, I don't actually care if it's genuine or not - I like the idea of it enough. Somebody might have gone to enough effort to make a plausible fake out of period-correct parts, and sold it to me for ~$80 - good on them... I still get to use it as a story-starter...
- bartread 8y ago
  > These products - like overpriced fashion brands - are pure capitalist virtue signalling. I think people might think that's true, and I'm sure some people buy watches to show off but they're sure to be disappointed because here's the thing: nobody notices the watch you're wearing (except for, occasionally, other watch enthusiasts). I felt a bit self-conscious the first few times I wore a "proper" luxury watch, but pretty soon realised nobody was paying even the slightest bit of attention. Now I don't even think about it.

TheOtherHobbes 8y ago

When we're talking about unbelievably expensive mechanical products that tell the time with less accuracy than a cheap quartz movement, "quality" is perhaps not the best word. These products - like overpriced fashion brands - are pure capitalist virtue signalling. They're personal advertising tokens and power objects, intended to display to the world that the wearer/buyer is conspicuously untroubled by any material scarcity. It's not about quality in any of the usual senses of the word - except maybe in the archaic sense that being that kind of rich is self-defined as being "a person of quality".

jiveturkey 8y ago
all of the enthusiasts i know hide their watches. it’s about an appreciation for craftsmanship. edit: i guess i do know a lot of folks that wear a watch for brand status but those aren’t enthusiasts.
- bigiain 8y ago
  I don't hide mine, but mine are bought for odd personal reasons. The one I have on right now is _probably_ a real 1957 Sputnik 1 Poljot commemorative watch. It could be a fake, but if it is it's got the pre 1962 movement in it, so its at least "period"... And I don't actually care, it only cost me $70. I also have a somewhat-less-likely-to-be-genuine 17-jewel Sturmanskie Soviet Airforce watch like the one Yuri Gagarin wore into space in 1961. Again, I don't actually care if it's genuine or not - I like the idea of it enough. Somebody might have gone to enough effort to make a plausible fake out of period-correct parts, and sold it to me for ~$80 - good on them... I still get to use it as a story-starter...
bartread 8y ago
> These products - like overpriced fashion brands - are pure capitalist virtue signalling. I think people might think that's true, and I'm sure some people buy watches to show off but they're sure to be disappointed because here's the thing: nobody notices the watch you're wearing (except for, occasionally, other watch enthusiasts). I felt a bit self-conscious the first few times I wore a "proper" luxury watch, but pretty soon realised nobody was paying even the slightest bit of attention. Now I don't even think about it.