3 ms·

Old "tools" like vintage watches, cameras, etc are pretty cool. In my experience they were built to be more serviceable, but also due to less precise manufactur

Old "tools" like vintage watches, cameras, etc are pretty cool. In my experience they were built to be more serviceable, but also due to less precise manufacturing, there were seemingly a lot more tolerances built into the designs. It's great watching people restore Rolexes, Leicas, etc. Similar to the video here, I have my grandfathers Rolex. He wore it while trimming hedges and doing all sorts of yard work. Why not, it was his only watch and he needed to tell the time! If it's so good it ought to be able to stand up to the abuse! It's also not like he serviced it regularly, and after being in a safe for 20 years after his passing, I put it on, moved around for a day with it.. and it started to keep time about as accurately as specified. These days you see the exact opposite behavior. Everyone has just become so precious about their goods. "It's really expensive so I need to protect it / use it sparingly / use great caution". Look at the entire ecosystem of protective cases for iPhones/Apple Watches/etc. On upscale cars you have the obsession with paint protection films, ceramic coatings, etc. In some cases its warranted - we got my wife a (not Rolex) expensive watch 10 years ago, and the thing has had to go in for service every 2-3 years for weeks at a time to get it to keep time properly. Even if some companies like Tesla have notoriously thin paint, no ones cars are rusting in 5 years like they did in the 80s.

dylan604 4y ago
>These days you see the exact opposite behavior. Everyone has just become so precious about their goods. "It's really expensive so I need to protect it / use it sparingly / use great caution". Look at the entire ecosystem of protective cases for iPhones/Apple Watches/etc. On upscale cars you have the obsession with paint protection films, ceramic coatings, etc. what the wha??? i see people give their toddlers their mobile devices who then gleefully whack it on whatever surface is convenient. i see people just toss their devices around. case or no case. so many people don't even think of it as an expensive device since it's just a part of their monthly fees. seemingly, only the people that buy the phone outright are familiar with the actual costs. with insurance plans and cheap replacements, people care less about the fragility of the thing and just think of it as a kitchen utensil. so i guess the circles you and i run in are quite drastically different in this regard.
- steveBK123 4y ago
  I think you said it yourself - case or no case. Look at all the people who use cases on their phones, theres an entire ecosystem for it that never existed for startacs. I think its evolved over time but it seems like the majority of people have some sort of case on their phones. Same for portable game systems like the Gameboy brick we all used naked vs all the cases on the switch, etc.
  - lexapro 4y ago
    I only have a case so that the iPhone cameras don't stick out and I can lay it flat on the table without wobble. I know other people who have it because they want better grip or they just want to customize the looks of their phone. Protection is not always the #1 reason.
    - medellin 4y ago
      Also apple seemingly keeps making the factory case worse. I use to never use anything on my phone with the old iphones that had the all metal cases. Would drop it all the time and never had an issue. Now i drop my phone once and the back is shattered. Honestly getting pretty sick of the direction apple has gone with the iphone. I just want the iphone 7 with better battery life and some hardware upgrades.
      - doubled112 4y ago
        Many manufacturers are headed that way. Why are we building things that are held, dropped, put into pockets, tossed, etc out of glass again? Even on the surfaces that don't need to be.
        JohnBooty 4y ago
        I agree with the disadvantages of glass, but there's also a huge design advantage in terms of radio reception, right? They probably looked at the numbers and realized 98% of people put cases on their phones anyway so the disadvantages of glass weren't too bad.
bad_alloc 4y ago
> there were seemingly a lot more tolerances built into the designs. Tolerances for good(!) watches are in the range of 0.01mm to 0.001mm for some components. With polishing and a lot of testing this can be achieved on manual machines.
MSFT_Edging 4y ago
I do urge you to get it serviced. Even though its sealed, long service intervals wear down the teeth of the tiny gears and hurt the watch in the long term.
- timr 4y ago
  The bigger issue with a watch that old (esp if it has been in a safe for 20 years) is that the lubricants have broken down and/or the gaskets have dried out and the watch is no longer waterproof.
rcpt 4y ago
> Old "tools" like vintage watches, cameras, etc are pretty cool. Yes definitely. I just purchased a Tektronix 2232 to mess around with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYqE_F2USAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYqE_F2USAM My plan is to try making oscilloscope music (https://g.co/kgs/SmYmBL https://g.co/kgs/SmYmBL) and from what I read the old analog scopes make much better XY plots compared with new digital ones
quartesixte 4y ago
> and the thing has had to go in for service every 2-3 years for weeks at a time to get it to keep time properly. You can stretch this out to 5 years and get away with it. Also, most mechanical watches need some kind of servicing (usually relubrication) along that time frame. Hence why before the quartz revolution, local watchmakers were both a staple of any community and a necessary service. You should really see to it that the Rolex is serviced by a reputable watchmaker. 20 years is a long time, even for a Rolex. Rolexes can last decades upon decades if properly cared for.
- mperham 4y ago
  The current recommended Rolex service interval is 10 years. I suspect most people simply ignore servicing until it doesn’t keep accurate time anymore.
- steveBK123 4y ago
  No I can't, my wifes stupid Longines mechanical literally stops keeping time every 2-3 years. Either stops or starts running very very fast.
  - quartesixte 4y ago
    That’s definitely abnormal behavior. And your local watchmaker just tells you this is how it is?
JohnBooty 4y ago
I have my grandfathers Rolex. He wore it while trimming hedges and doing all sorts of yard work. Why not, it was his only watch and he needed to tell the time! [...] These days you see the exact opposite behavior. Everyone has just become so precious about their goods. Well... Rolexes were a lot more affordable in previous decades! https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/history-of-time/rolex-submariner-price-history.html https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/history-of-time/rolex... In the 1950s a Rolex Submariner cost about $1,500 in inflation-adjusted dollars and were some of the most rugged watches you could buy because they were designed for actual diving use. Today Rolexes start closer to $10,000 and there are obviously far more rugged and functional choices, such a $50 Casio G-Shock. So, I don't know. I see people wearing their pricey smartwatches for all kinds of adventure stuff. I'm not sure that people are babying their watches these days.

dylan604 4y ago

>These days you see the exact opposite behavior. Everyone has just become so precious about their goods. "It's really expensive so I need to protect it / use it sparingly / use great caution". Look at the entire ecosystem of protective cases for iPhones/Apple Watches/etc. On upscale cars you have the obsession with paint protection films, ceramic coatings, etc. what the wha??? i see people give their toddlers their mobile devices who then gleefully whack it on whatever surface is convenient. i see people just toss their devices around. case or no case. so many people don't even think of it as an expensive device since it's just a part of their monthly fees. seemingly, only the people that buy the phone outright are familiar with the actual costs. with insurance plans and cheap replacements, people care less about the fragility of the thing and just think of it as a kitchen utensil. so i guess the circles you and i run in are quite drastically different in this regard.

steveBK123 4y ago
I think you said it yourself - case or no case. Look at all the people who use cases on their phones, theres an entire ecosystem for it that never existed for startacs. I think its evolved over time but it seems like the majority of people have some sort of case on their phones. Same for portable game systems like the Gameboy brick we all used naked vs all the cases on the switch, etc.
- lexapro 4y ago
  I only have a case so that the iPhone cameras don't stick out and I can lay it flat on the table without wobble. I know other people who have it because they want better grip or they just want to customize the looks of their phone. Protection is not always the #1 reason.
  - medellin 4y ago
    Also apple seemingly keeps making the factory case worse. I use to never use anything on my phone with the old iphones that had the all metal cases. Would drop it all the time and never had an issue. Now i drop my phone once and the back is shattered. Honestly getting pretty sick of the direction apple has gone with the iphone. I just want the iphone 7 with better battery life and some hardware upgrades.
    - doubled112 4y ago
      Many manufacturers are headed that way. Why are we building things that are held, dropped, put into pockets, tossed, etc out of glass again? Even on the surfaces that don't need to be.
      - JohnBooty 4y ago
        I agree with the disadvantages of glass, but there's also a huge design advantage in terms of radio reception, right? They probably looked at the numbers and realized 98% of people put cases on their phones anyway so the disadvantages of glass weren't too bad.

bad_alloc 4y ago

> there were seemingly a lot more tolerances built into the designs. Tolerances for good(!) watches are in the range of 0.01mm to 0.001mm for some components. With polishing and a lot of testing this can be achieved on manual machines.

MSFT_Edging 4y ago

I do urge you to get it serviced. Even though its sealed, long service intervals wear down the teeth of the tiny gears and hurt the watch in the long term.

timr 4y ago
The bigger issue with a watch that old (esp if it has been in a safe for 20 years) is that the lubricants have broken down and/or the gaskets have dried out and the watch is no longer waterproof.

rcpt 4y ago

> Old "tools" like vintage watches, cameras, etc are pretty cool. Yes definitely. I just purchased a Tektronix 2232 to mess around with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYqE_F2USAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYqE_F2USAM My plan is to try making oscilloscope music (https://g.co/kgs/SmYmBL https://g.co/kgs/SmYmBL) and from what I read the old analog scopes make much better XY plots compared with new digital ones

quartesixte 4y ago

> and the thing has had to go in for service every 2-3 years for weeks at a time to get it to keep time properly. You can stretch this out to 5 years and get away with it. Also, most mechanical watches need some kind of servicing (usually relubrication) along that time frame. Hence why before the quartz revolution, local watchmakers were both a staple of any community and a necessary service. You should really see to it that the Rolex is serviced by a reputable watchmaker. 20 years is a long time, even for a Rolex. Rolexes can last decades upon decades if properly cared for.

mperham 4y ago
The current recommended Rolex service interval is 10 years. I suspect most people simply ignore servicing until it doesn’t keep accurate time anymore.
steveBK123 4y ago
No I can't, my wifes stupid Longines mechanical literally stops keeping time every 2-3 years. Either stops or starts running very very fast.
- quartesixte 4y ago
  That’s definitely abnormal behavior. And your local watchmaker just tells you this is how it is?

JohnBooty 4y ago

I have my grandfathers Rolex. He wore it while trimming hedges and doing all sorts of yard work. Why not, it was his only watch and he needed to tell the time! [...] These days you see the exact opposite behavior. Everyone has just become so precious about their goods. Well... Rolexes were a lot more affordable in previous decades! https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/history-of-time/rolex-submariner-price-history.html https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/history-of-time/rolex... In the 1950s a Rolex Submariner cost about $1,500 in inflation-adjusted dollars and were some of the most rugged watches you could buy because they were designed for actual diving use. Today Rolexes start closer to $10,000 and there are obviously far more rugged and functional choices, such a $50 Casio G-Shock. So, I don't know. I see people wearing their pricey smartwatches for all kinds of adventure stuff. I'm not sure that people are babying their watches these days.