10 ms·

Calendar types in watches

179 points by farslan 2y ago

joshlemer 2y ago
Anyone know about any mechanical wall clocks, grandfather clocks, or mantle clocks (? I mean ones that stand on their own) which show the date? It seems that this is a really commonly sought after feature of wrist watches but for some reason hard to find or non existent in mechanical non-wrist clocks.
- quartesixte 2y ago
  Unfortunately they're not really a thing. Some grandfather/grandmother clocks came with moon phases, but innovation never made it further. IMO mostly has to do with the fact that mechanical clocks didn't see much innovation over the past century. The most talented watch makers have gone on to watches and people largely stopped buying Grandfather clocks. Not to mention, other obvious problems of weight, material costs, and the increased size requiring more power to turn all those gears.
  - joshlemer 2y ago
    Dang that's a shame. One would think though, if the mechanical design is already done for wristwatches, it should be trivial to port that design over to full-sized clocks, literally just scale the mechanism up!
    - al_borland 2y ago
      I think at this stage of the game, none of these things are made for utility, they are made to flex watchmaking skill. Building something big isn’t as impressive and building something small. Unless you’re talking about the air clocks of Paris. Those are still rather impressive, because of the scale [0]. [0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gol_p2aWrJg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gol_p2aWrJg
  - dylan604 2y ago
    Every 24 hours, advance the DoW through 360°/7 increments. At the same time, every 24 hours advance the DoM through 28, 29, 30, 31 increments. How do you now keep DoW and DoM in proper sync when DoM needs to be updated ~every other month?
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  Probably because you can more easily refer to a calendar on a wall when the clock doesn't move.
  - knodi123 2y ago
    Imagine how well it would be received if you said "My grandfather clock has a date display- except it's manual, you have to twist a little knob once a day to keep it correct." That's how I feel about wall calendars.
    - abdullahkhalids 2y ago
      You can build a habit of doing it every morning, like brushing your teeth. The physical act of fixing the date every day can help ground you and slow down the passage of days.
      - knodi123 2y ago
        Hm. Maybe so, interesting thought.
- WillAdams 2y ago
  I have a mechanical wall clock in storage which shows the day of the week as well as the date --- it was made in Japan --- it's in storage 'cause it was over-tightened and the main spring broken, and rather than being repaired, it was just re-fastened, so now it runs fast and gains a couple of minutes each month (the chime is also rather loud for a 1,200 sq. ft. home).
- joshlemer 2y ago
  FWIW I've seen some DIY enthusiasts do some really cool things, I think this one for instance turned out really cool and would be a breathtaking wall piece. Even better if it ran and was powered fully by the counterweight mechanism rather than electronically https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_8_N8HKOXw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_8_N8HKOXw
mik1998 2y ago
Calendars is a part of why I've been wearing Casio digital watches for a long time.
- knodi123 2y ago
  The display on the Timex Expedition is my favorite. For some reason I just find it more readable than a casio- maybe it's because the display segments are closer together? Or the greater font-size contrast in the time vs date?
- al_borland 2y ago
  I spent years looking for my perfect travel watch after being bit by the watch bug. After looking for years (literally 10 years), I’ve found it and couldn’t be happier… the Casio world time. My first thought was to go for a GMT, but those can’t handle time zones that aren’t on the hour, like India. Trying to find a mechanical watch that solves for this is very difficult. I was stuck in this purgatory for so long. I don’t remember what led me to the Casio, but whatever it was made me completely reevaluate what I wanted out of the watch. The quartz movement became a feature, thanks to the 10 year battery. I can grab it and go whenever I need, and change the battery whenever I renew my passport. The low cost is a feature, as I don’t have to treat it well or worry about it, or worry that it will make me a target. If anything happens, oh well, it was $40. It has 37(?) timezones and can handle the odd ones, and handles DST independently for each timezone. Its fantastic. I don’t think any mechanical watch can do what it does, and if one can, it would cost more than my house and take the better part of a day to set. The Casio is one of the cheapest watches I own, but whenever I put it on it makes me so happy, because it reminds me I finally solved my travel watch problem. I just finished my first trip with it and already saw the value of the independent DST function. I’ve found some mod sites that sell nicer cases and bands to make it more durable, but I decided that defeats some of the purpose, as the cheapness is a feature. It was helpful to find out an eraser can be used to remove some of the ridiculous text on the case. That makes it look much better.
  - AlanYx 2y ago
    I love the look of the Casio World Time with some of the screen color filter mods. Those are quite inexpensive if you're willing to install them yourself.
throw0101b 2y ago
Personally I find it more handy to know day (of week) than date (of month), but I don't think I've every seen a watch that does day-only, usually either date-only or day-date.
- madcaptenor 2y ago
  I think the idea here might be that people already know what day it is but they have to think about the date.
  - throw0101b 2y ago
    > I think the idea here might be that people already know what day it is but they have to think about the date. I don't know about you, but for myself I find the days kind of blur together (especially (during-COVID, post-COVID) WFH). I rarely need to know day-of-month.
  - tialaramex 2y ago
    That might even be true for many of the population, but I'm exactly in the target demographic of people who get unsure of such things. My favourite ever gift from friends was that people bought me (last century, long before smartphones) a 24 hour radio synchronized digital alarm clock which knew the day and full date including year. Because while often I know 0600 from 1800, not always, and on a particularly bad day maybe I'm not even sure which week this is. I didn't need the year really, but it felt appropriately completionist, just in case.
    - throw0101b 2y ago
      > My favourite ever gift from friends was that people bought me (last century, long before smartphones) a 24 hour radio synchronized digital alarm clock which knew the day and full date including year. I know a retiree that got this as a (sort-of, sort-of-not joke) gift because she mentioned that she sometimes forgets the day: * https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/products/513-1419v4 https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/products/513-1419v4 (Works best near a window where the radio signal from Colorado can be heard.)
mmcgaha 2y ago
My eyes are so bad now that I would rather have a no date. Strangely the no-date watches tend to be out of my price range.
- aidenn0 2y ago
  The Seiko Essentials series has several watches without complications; some have a street price of under $200.
  - buescher 2y ago
    Some even omit the second hand which is the most technically correct version of "without complications". Also the most traditional/formal for a men's dress watch or women's watch.
- jddj 2y ago
  For an automatic with no date, the bulova hack is quite nice if the vintage field look works for you. The one I had was great for the price, probably the most accurate automatic I ever owned but that could well be luck.
- al_borland 2y ago
  There is also an issue where some cheap no-date watches use a complication with a date, and just don’t cut out the dial to show it. I try to watch out for this whenever I’m looking for a watch.
- throw0101b 2y ago
  > My eyes are so bad now that I would rather have a no date. Strangely the no-date watches tend to be out of my price range. Have a look at Fleiger-style ("pilot watches") watches: * https://timeandtidewatches.com/best-flieger-watches/ https://timeandtidewatches.com/best-flieger-watches/ * https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a97397/flieger-watches/ https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a97397/flieger-watches/ * https://teddybaldassarre.com/blogs/watches/flieger-watches https://teddybaldassarre.com/blogs/watches/flieger-watches Models available ranging from US$150 to $15000.
jmyeet 2y ago
Patek Phillippe has a complication not mentioned on this list that is one of the most complex complication ever built: the Calibre 89 [1] that can keep track of when Easter is (to a point). Another contender is the Vacheron Constantin 57260 [2]. Here [3] is a good demonstration of how a perpetual calendar works. [1]: https://hausmann-co.com/en/the-patek-philippe-calibre-89-the-first-watch-to-indicate-the-date-of-easter/ https://hausmann-co.com/en/the-patek-philippe-calibre-89-the... [2]: https://www.prestigetime.com/blog/worlds-most-complicated-watch.html https://www.prestigetime.com/blog/worlds-most-complicated-wa... [3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YERho3Q4Abo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YERho3Q4Abo
- smitty1110 2y ago
  Ah yes, the Hebrew calendar on the 57260 is sorta mind-bending to figure out. It's hard to imagine figuring that out by mere observation and tabulating records. Their more recent Berkley Grand Complication [1] took things a step further with a Chinese Perpetual Calendar, which is kinda hard to explain. The article linked does a better job than I would at walking through the system. 1: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-vacheron-constantin-berkley-grand-complication https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-vacheron-const...
beckerdo 2y ago
A very good article, well explained, and I appreciate the photos of fine watches. As shown, date complications are very tough to calculate and there are many levels of features. However, the phases of the moon complication is not discussed in much depth here. Is it a simple calculation independent of the date?
- blacksmith_tb 2y ago
  Not a watchmaker, but I would expect those complications to just use average values to show the current lunation[1]. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase#Calculating_phase https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase#Calculating_phase
- int08h 2y ago
  The average duration between any two moon phases is 29.530589 days. Many watches use 29.5 days between phases for simplicity. This results in the watch's moon phase display being off by one day for every two years the watch operates. There are a few watch manufacturers that use epicyclic gear trains to make the moon phase calculation more precise. An example: the Ochs und Junior moon phase watch will operate for 3,478.27 years before its moon phase display is off by one day (https://www.ochsundjunior.swiss/watches/moon-phase/ https://www.ochsundjunior.swiss/watches/moon-phase/).
zokier 2y ago
Perpetual calendar complications are approaching the territory of mechanical computers and thus hold interest to me. It is interesting challenge to think of how to accomplish some other alternative calendars mechanically.
user_7832 2y ago
As much as I will most likely never spend 6 figures on a watch, I greatly appreciate their engineering. Tangential, does anyone know how easy is it to design and build your own movement?
- sndean 2y ago
  I don't know about the difficulty, but you can look at the complexity of this ETA 6497 movement on GrabCAD [0]. After seeing this a while ago, it made sense to me why small/new brands generally use a Seiko NH35 or something similar that they can buy in bulk. [0] https://grabcad.com/library/eta-6497-1-complete-watch-movement https://grabcad.com/library/eta-6497-1-complete-watch-moveme...
  - user_7832 2y ago
    Thanks a lot! Sounds like reverse engineering a complicated (heh) watch movement could be a fun challenge to start with!
- throw0101b 2y ago
  > As much as I will most likely never spend 6 figures on a watch, I greatly appreciate their engineering. How about in the US$ 9000 range? Frederique Constant Manufacture Slimline Perpetual Calendar: * https://www.chrono24.com/frederiqueconstant/manufacture-slimline-perpetual-calendar--mod2541.htm https://www.chrono24.com/frederiqueconstant/manufacture-slim... (Perhaps as a gift to yourself for a major milestone: 50th birthday, retirement, etc.)
  - user_7832 2y ago
    Thanks for the suggestion, certainly possible I think. Honestly it depends a lot on how my career/income turns out, but the watch looks good!
dot5xdev 2y ago
Question for folks who live in non-English speaking countries: do you guys wear watches with calendars in English? Last time I was in a mall in Mexico City, I asked a guy behind the counter of some store if they had any watches that had either the months or days of week in Spanish... surprisingly, the answer was no. English only.
- throw-the-towel 2y ago
  Same thing in Russia, only the old Soviet-era watches have calendars in Russian.
- jhbadger 2y ago
  Weird. My Seiko 5 automatic (about $150, probably one of the cheapest self-winding mechanical watches) has the days of the week in English, Spanish, and French. Weirdly, (but I suppose it makes sense if you think about how the gears work), if you look at the watch at an odd time (like say 3am) it is showing the day in one of the two non-selected languages.
- tijtij 2y ago
  I have a cheap Casio watch that has both Spanish and English days
- ginko 2y ago
  You can get German versions for most Swiss and German watches I believe. For instance: https://thewatchguy.de/watch/18039-day-date-the-german-tropical-lemon-perfect-bracelet/ https://thewatchguy.de/watch/18039-day-date-the-german-tropi... It's a matter of replacing a dial: https://jmpwatches.com/products/rolex-datum-tages-scheiben-date-day-disc-beige-caliber-3155-deutsch-german https://jmpwatches.com/products/rolex-datum-tages-scheiben-d...
- czarit 2y ago
  I have a Champion watch that (inexplicably) has days marked in English and Portuguese. It was purchased in Sweden.
  - 2y ago
jhoechtl 2y ago
Hah, the author of the go-vim plugin!
thristian 2y ago
Being used to the world of software, where only ignorant and amateurish systems don't handle the 400-year rule in the Gregorian calendar, it's eye-opening to find out that people are paying thousands of dollars for a time-keeping device that needs the date to be manually fixed five times a year.
- piltdownman 2y ago
  First off, not all Calendar complications are made the same. The standard Patek Phillipe Annual Calendar needs only one correction per year – from February 28 or 29 to March 1. The 'plain calendar' complication needs adjusting five times a year for months of less than 31 days, but the far more popular perpetual calendar requires no adjustment whatsoever. Secondly, your argument is fairly analogous to having to tune a Violin when perfectly good Violin virtual instruments and samples exist, indistinguishable for the use-case in question. By framing the question like that you're kind of missing the point about Horology and owning mechanical trinkets for the sake of marvelling at their construction and innovation.
  - kahnix 2y ago
    While the rest of what you said is true, perpetual calendars require setting for the year 2100, still a while to go though!
    - cge 2y ago
      The article points out some mechanisms that account for that. However, at that time scale, I have to wonder whether the mechanism can, or should, run for over a century without stopping, which would seem to imply running without being cleaned or serviced beyond a certain point.
  - AlecSchueler 2y ago
    There's still a big difference in the sound of an actual violin and a digital recreation. But both a mechanical and digital watch will display the same information.
- 2y ago
robxorb 2y ago
An excellent visual+interactive deep-dive into the internals of a basic mechanical watch - inc. complication for a simple date: https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/ https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/

179 points by farslan 2y ago

Anyone know about any mechanical wall clocks, grandfather clocks, or mantle clocks (? I mean ones that stand on their own) which show the date? It seems that this is a really commonly sought after feature of wrist watches but for some reason hard to find or non existent in mechanical non-wrist clocks.

quartesixte 2y ago
Unfortunately they're not really a thing. Some grandfather/grandmother clocks came with moon phases, but innovation never made it further. IMO mostly has to do with the fact that mechanical clocks didn't see much innovation over the past century. The most talented watch makers have gone on to watches and people largely stopped buying Grandfather clocks. Not to mention, other obvious problems of weight, material costs, and the increased size requiring more power to turn all those gears.
- joshlemer 2y ago
  Dang that's a shame. One would think though, if the mechanical design is already done for wristwatches, it should be trivial to port that design over to full-sized clocks, literally just scale the mechanism up!
  - al_borland 2y ago
    I think at this stage of the game, none of these things are made for utility, they are made to flex watchmaking skill. Building something big isn’t as impressive and building something small. Unless you’re talking about the air clocks of Paris. Those are still rather impressive, because of the scale [0]. [0] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gol_p2aWrJg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gol_p2aWrJg
- dylan604 2y ago
  Every 24 hours, advance the DoW through 360°/7 increments. At the same time, every 24 hours advance the DoM through 28, 29, 30, 31 increments. How do you now keep DoW and DoM in proper sync when DoM needs to be updated ~every other month?
kayodelycaon 2y ago
Probably because you can more easily refer to a calendar on a wall when the clock doesn't move.
- knodi123 2y ago
  Imagine how well it would be received if you said "My grandfather clock has a date display- except it's manual, you have to twist a little knob once a day to keep it correct." That's how I feel about wall calendars.
  - abdullahkhalids 2y ago
    You can build a habit of doing it every morning, like brushing your teeth. The physical act of fixing the date every day can help ground you and slow down the passage of days.
    - knodi123 2y ago
      Hm. Maybe so, interesting thought.
WillAdams 2y ago
I have a mechanical wall clock in storage which shows the day of the week as well as the date --- it was made in Japan --- it's in storage 'cause it was over-tightened and the main spring broken, and rather than being repaired, it was just re-fastened, so now it runs fast and gains a couple of minutes each month (the chime is also rather loud for a 1,200 sq. ft. home).
joshlemer 2y ago
FWIW I've seen some DIY enthusiasts do some really cool things, I think this one for instance turned out really cool and would be a breathtaking wall piece. Even better if it ran and was powered fully by the counterweight mechanism rather than electronically https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_8_N8HKOXw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_8_N8HKOXw

mik1998 2y ago

Calendars is a part of why I've been wearing Casio digital watches for a long time.

knodi123 2y ago
The display on the Timex Expedition is my favorite. For some reason I just find it more readable than a casio- maybe it's because the display segments are closer together? Or the greater font-size contrast in the time vs date?
al_borland 2y ago
I spent years looking for my perfect travel watch after being bit by the watch bug. After looking for years (literally 10 years), I’ve found it and couldn’t be happier… the Casio world time. My first thought was to go for a GMT, but those can’t handle time zones that aren’t on the hour, like India. Trying to find a mechanical watch that solves for this is very difficult. I was stuck in this purgatory for so long. I don’t remember what led me to the Casio, but whatever it was made me completely reevaluate what I wanted out of the watch. The quartz movement became a feature, thanks to the 10 year battery. I can grab it and go whenever I need, and change the battery whenever I renew my passport. The low cost is a feature, as I don’t have to treat it well or worry about it, or worry that it will make me a target. If anything happens, oh well, it was $40. It has 37(?) timezones and can handle the odd ones, and handles DST independently for each timezone. Its fantastic. I don’t think any mechanical watch can do what it does, and if one can, it would cost more than my house and take the better part of a day to set. The Casio is one of the cheapest watches I own, but whenever I put it on it makes me so happy, because it reminds me I finally solved my travel watch problem. I just finished my first trip with it and already saw the value of the independent DST function. I’ve found some mod sites that sell nicer cases and bands to make it more durable, but I decided that defeats some of the purpose, as the cheapness is a feature. It was helpful to find out an eraser can be used to remove some of the ridiculous text on the case. That makes it look much better.
- AlanYx 2y ago
  I love the look of the Casio World Time with some of the screen color filter mods. Those are quite inexpensive if you're willing to install them yourself.

throw0101b 2y ago

Personally I find it more handy to know day (of week) than date (of month), but I don't think I've every seen a watch that does day-only, usually either date-only or day-date.

madcaptenor 2y ago
I think the idea here might be that people already know what day it is but they have to think about the date.
- throw0101b 2y ago
  > I think the idea here might be that people already know what day it is but they have to think about the date. I don't know about you, but for myself I find the days kind of blur together (especially (during-COVID, post-COVID) WFH). I rarely need to know day-of-month.
- tialaramex 2y ago
  That might even be true for many of the population, but I'm exactly in the target demographic of people who get unsure of such things. My favourite ever gift from friends was that people bought me (last century, long before smartphones) a 24 hour radio synchronized digital alarm clock which knew the day and full date including year. Because while often I know 0600 from 1800, not always, and on a particularly bad day maybe I'm not even sure which week this is. I didn't need the year really, but it felt appropriately completionist, just in case.
  - throw0101b 2y ago
    > My favourite ever gift from friends was that people bought me (last century, long before smartphones) a 24 hour radio synchronized digital alarm clock which knew the day and full date including year. I know a retiree that got this as a (sort-of, sort-of-not joke) gift because she mentioned that she sometimes forgets the day: * https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/products/513-1419v4 https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/products/513-1419v4 (Works best near a window where the radio signal from Colorado can be heard.)

mmcgaha 2y ago

My eyes are so bad now that I would rather have a no date. Strangely the no-date watches tend to be out of my price range.

aidenn0 2y ago
The Seiko Essentials series has several watches without complications; some have a street price of under $200.
- buescher 2y ago
  Some even omit the second hand which is the most technically correct version of "without complications". Also the most traditional/formal for a men's dress watch or women's watch.
jddj 2y ago
For an automatic with no date, the bulova hack is quite nice if the vintage field look works for you. The one I had was great for the price, probably the most accurate automatic I ever owned but that could well be luck.
al_borland 2y ago
There is also an issue where some cheap no-date watches use a complication with a date, and just don’t cut out the dial to show it. I try to watch out for this whenever I’m looking for a watch.
throw0101b 2y ago
> My eyes are so bad now that I would rather have a no date. Strangely the no-date watches tend to be out of my price range. Have a look at Fleiger-style ("pilot watches") watches: * https://timeandtidewatches.com/best-flieger-watches/ https://timeandtidewatches.com/best-flieger-watches/ * https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a97397/flieger-watches/ https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a97397/flieger-watches/ * https://teddybaldassarre.com/blogs/watches/flieger-watches https://teddybaldassarre.com/blogs/watches/flieger-watches Models available ranging from US$150 to $15000.

jmyeet 2y ago

Patek Phillippe has a complication not mentioned on this list that is one of the most complex complication ever built: the Calibre 89 [1] that can keep track of when Easter is (to a point). Another contender is the Vacheron Constantin 57260 [2]. Here [3] is a good demonstration of how a perpetual calendar works. [1]: https://hausmann-co.com/en/the-patek-philippe-calibre-89-the-first-watch-to-indicate-the-date-of-easter/ https://hausmann-co.com/en/the-patek-philippe-calibre-89-the... [2]: https://www.prestigetime.com/blog/worlds-most-complicated-watch.html https://www.prestigetime.com/blog/worlds-most-complicated-wa... [3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YERho3Q4Abo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YERho3Q4Abo

smitty1110 2y ago
Ah yes, the Hebrew calendar on the 57260 is sorta mind-bending to figure out. It's hard to imagine figuring that out by mere observation and tabulating records. Their more recent Berkley Grand Complication [1] took things a step further with a Chinese Perpetual Calendar, which is kinda hard to explain. The article linked does a better job than I would at walking through the system. 1: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-vacheron-constantin-berkley-grand-complication https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-vacheron-const...

beckerdo 2y ago

A very good article, well explained, and I appreciate the photos of fine watches. As shown, date complications are very tough to calculate and there are many levels of features. However, the phases of the moon complication is not discussed in much depth here. Is it a simple calculation independent of the date?

blacksmith_tb 2y ago
Not a watchmaker, but I would expect those complications to just use average values to show the current lunation[1]. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase#Calculating_phase https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_phase#Calculating_phase
int08h 2y ago
The average duration between any two moon phases is 29.530589 days. Many watches use 29.5 days between phases for simplicity. This results in the watch's moon phase display being off by one day for every two years the watch operates. There are a few watch manufacturers that use epicyclic gear trains to make the moon phase calculation more precise. An example: the Ochs und Junior moon phase watch will operate for 3,478.27 years before its moon phase display is off by one day (https://www.ochsundjunior.swiss/watches/moon-phase/ https://www.ochsundjunior.swiss/watches/moon-phase/).

zokier 2y ago

Perpetual calendar complications are approaching the territory of mechanical computers and thus hold interest to me. It is interesting challenge to think of how to accomplish some other alternative calendars mechanically.

user_7832 2y ago

As much as I will most likely never spend 6 figures on a watch, I greatly appreciate their engineering. Tangential, does anyone know how easy is it to design and build your own movement?

sndean 2y ago
I don't know about the difficulty, but you can look at the complexity of this ETA 6497 movement on GrabCAD [0]. After seeing this a while ago, it made sense to me why small/new brands generally use a Seiko NH35 or something similar that they can buy in bulk. [0] https://grabcad.com/library/eta-6497-1-complete-watch-movement https://grabcad.com/library/eta-6497-1-complete-watch-moveme...
- user_7832 2y ago
  Thanks a lot! Sounds like reverse engineering a complicated (heh) watch movement could be a fun challenge to start with!
throw0101b 2y ago
> As much as I will most likely never spend 6 figures on a watch, I greatly appreciate their engineering. How about in the US$ 9000 range? Frederique Constant Manufacture Slimline Perpetual Calendar: * https://www.chrono24.com/frederiqueconstant/manufacture-slimline-perpetual-calendar--mod2541.htm https://www.chrono24.com/frederiqueconstant/manufacture-slim... (Perhaps as a gift to yourself for a major milestone: 50th birthday, retirement, etc.)
- user_7832 2y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion, certainly possible I think. Honestly it depends a lot on how my career/income turns out, but the watch looks good!

dot5xdev 2y ago

Question for folks who live in non-English speaking countries: do you guys wear watches with calendars in English? Last time I was in a mall in Mexico City, I asked a guy behind the counter of some store if they had any watches that had either the months or days of week in Spanish... surprisingly, the answer was no. English only.

throw-the-towel 2y ago
Same thing in Russia, only the old Soviet-era watches have calendars in Russian.
jhbadger 2y ago
Weird. My Seiko 5 automatic (about $150, probably one of the cheapest self-winding mechanical watches) has the days of the week in English, Spanish, and French. Weirdly, (but I suppose it makes sense if you think about how the gears work), if you look at the watch at an odd time (like say 3am) it is showing the day in one of the two non-selected languages.
tijtij 2y ago
I have a cheap Casio watch that has both Spanish and English days
ginko 2y ago
You can get German versions for most Swiss and German watches I believe. For instance: https://thewatchguy.de/watch/18039-day-date-the-german-tropical-lemon-perfect-bracelet/ https://thewatchguy.de/watch/18039-day-date-the-german-tropi... It's a matter of replacing a dial: https://jmpwatches.com/products/rolex-datum-tages-scheiben-date-day-disc-beige-caliber-3155-deutsch-german https://jmpwatches.com/products/rolex-datum-tages-scheiben-d...
czarit 2y ago
I have a Champion watch that (inexplicably) has days marked in English and Portuguese. It was purchased in Sweden.
- 2y ago

jhoechtl 2y ago

Hah, the author of the go-vim plugin!

thristian 2y ago

Being used to the world of software, where only ignorant and amateurish systems don't handle the 400-year rule in the Gregorian calendar, it's eye-opening to find out that people are paying thousands of dollars for a time-keeping device that needs the date to be manually fixed five times a year.

piltdownman 2y ago
First off, not all Calendar complications are made the same. The standard Patek Phillipe Annual Calendar needs only one correction per year – from February 28 or 29 to March 1. The 'plain calendar' complication needs adjusting five times a year for months of less than 31 days, but the far more popular perpetual calendar requires no adjustment whatsoever. Secondly, your argument is fairly analogous to having to tune a Violin when perfectly good Violin virtual instruments and samples exist, indistinguishable for the use-case in question. By framing the question like that you're kind of missing the point about Horology and owning mechanical trinkets for the sake of marvelling at their construction and innovation.
- kahnix 2y ago
  While the rest of what you said is true, perpetual calendars require setting for the year 2100, still a while to go though!
  - cge 2y ago
    The article points out some mechanisms that account for that. However, at that time scale, I have to wonder whether the mechanism can, or should, run for over a century without stopping, which would seem to imply running without being cleaned or serviced beyond a certain point.
- AlecSchueler 2y ago
  There's still a big difference in the sound of an actual violin and a digital recreation. But both a mechanical and digital watch will display the same information.
2y ago

robxorb 2y ago

An excellent visual+interactive deep-dive into the internals of a basic mechanical watch - inc. complication for a simple date: https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/ https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/