4 ms·

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, b

by devin 2y ago

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.

lb1lf 2y ago
As for obsession with in-house movements, I like to observe to the obsessed that the most in-house brand of them all are... ...Seiko. They even make their own lubricants. (Wearing a nifty Seiko as I type this, but also own a handful of other Japanese, Swiss and German watches.)
- dismalaf 2y ago
  Seikos are extremely underrated. Also most people don't know, but they even make watches as intricate as the most expensive Swiss brands. Like this one which retails for a cool $365,000 USD: https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g Or you can get a nice everyday mechanical watch for as little as a couple hundred.
  - kazinator 2y ago
    Also a Seiko fan here. I posted this several years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 (link no longer works)
  - fennecbutt 2y ago
    Seikos are great. I just wish they'd put spring drive into a lot of their cheaper watches. The majority of expensive watches, even handmade, are only so expensive because of brand...or the fact that the case is solid fucking platinum/gold. That's cheating!
quickthrowman 2y ago
Right. Even George Daniels bought mainsprings and hairsprings (along with sapphire crystals and dial engraving, probably rose engine work?) for his 25 handmade watches. > In total he (George Daniels) created 25 handmade watches which were completely made by himself (23 pocket watches and 2 wristwatches) other than the crystal, the mainspring, the engraving of the dials and the hairspring. One pocket watch remains incomplete and is not included in this total number of pocket watches produced by George Daniels. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker)
- defrost 2y ago
  Even Valerii Danevych used a metal spring ... https://www.ahci.ch/members/valerii-danevych/ https://www.ahci.ch/members/valerii-danevych/ https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/valerii-danevych-wooden-watches-miniature-timepieces/ https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/valerii-danevych-wooden-wat...
dismalaf 2y ago
> For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced. At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.
- _carbyau_ 2y ago
  > At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity. Annnnd at this level I'm out. I mean, cool engineering solving a particular problem, near impossible tolerances, astounding art/materials all appeal on some level - but "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything.
  - dismalaf 2y ago
    > "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything. For most people, no. But for some people, who can buy anything, whose friends can buy anything, it means a lot to have something others can't buy. I'm with you though. I'm happy wearing a Seiko or other well-built but not expensive watch.
    - _carbyau_ 2y ago
      Yeah. I have a Seiko I found as a kid, got serviced and then it has sat in a drawer for 30 years. Probably junk now. I use my phone these days. But if I wanted a watch I'd probably go for a Casio G-Shock solar - may or may not go for a variant with fancy GPS timing or scuba-proof. Features that take care of problems I might have.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  I would argue that pretty much any mechanical watch isn't about quality as a timepiece these days. Quartz watches work really well for keeping the time, honestly better than any mechanical watch ever will. But that's ok - I still love my mechanical watches out of sheer appreciation for the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into such things. They have their own appeal.
aziaziazi 2y ago
> M0.6 thread. All the screws were hand made That man doesn’t cheat.

by devin 2y ago

lb1lf 2y ago

As for obsession with in-house movements, I like to observe to the obsessed that the most in-house brand of them all are... ...Seiko. They even make their own lubricants. (Wearing a nifty Seiko as I type this, but also own a handful of other Japanese, Swiss and German watches.)

dismalaf 2y ago
Seikos are extremely underrated. Also most people don't know, but they even make watches as intricate as the most expensive Swiss brands. Like this one which retails for a cool $365,000 USD: https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g Or you can get a nice everyday mechanical watch for as little as a couple hundred.
- kazinator 2y ago
  Also a Seiko fan here. I posted this several years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 (link no longer works)
- fennecbutt 2y ago
  Seikos are great. I just wish they'd put spring drive into a lot of their cheaper watches. The majority of expensive watches, even handmade, are only so expensive because of brand...or the fact that the case is solid fucking platinum/gold. That's cheating!

quickthrowman 2y ago

Right. Even George Daniels bought mainsprings and hairsprings (along with sapphire crystals and dial engraving, probably rose engine work?) for his 25 handmade watches. > In total he (George Daniels) created 25 handmade watches which were completely made by himself (23 pocket watches and 2 wristwatches) other than the crystal, the mainspring, the engraving of the dials and the hairspring. One pocket watch remains incomplete and is not included in this total number of pocket watches produced by George Daniels. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker)

defrost 2y ago
Even Valerii Danevych used a metal spring ... https://www.ahci.ch/members/valerii-danevych/ https://www.ahci.ch/members/valerii-danevych/ https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/valerii-danevych-wooden-watches-miniature-timepieces/ https://www.keepthetime.com/blog/valerii-danevych-wooden-wat...

dismalaf 2y ago

> For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced. At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.

_carbyau_ 2y ago
> At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity. Annnnd at this level I'm out. I mean, cool engineering solving a particular problem, near impossible tolerances, astounding art/materials all appeal on some level - but "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything.
- dismalaf 2y ago
  > "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything. For most people, no. But for some people, who can buy anything, whose friends can buy anything, it means a lot to have something others can't buy. I'm with you though. I'm happy wearing a Seiko or other well-built but not expensive watch.
  - _carbyau_ 2y ago
    Yeah. I have a Seiko I found as a kid, got serviced and then it has sat in a drawer for 30 years. Probably junk now. I use my phone these days. But if I wanted a watch I'd probably go for a Casio G-Shock solar - may or may not go for a variant with fancy GPS timing or scuba-proof. Features that take care of problems I might have.
bigstrat2003 2y ago
I would argue that pretty much any mechanical watch isn't about quality as a timepiece these days. Quartz watches work really well for keeping the time, honestly better than any mechanical watch ever will. But that's ok - I still love my mechanical watches out of sheer appreciation for the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into such things. They have their own appeal.

aziaziazi 2y ago

> M0.6 thread. All the screws were hand made That man doesn’t cheat.