Mechanical Pocket Watch
April 21, 2013 8:31 AM Subscribe
I browsed pocket watches on amazon.com and I noticed that nearly all mechanical ones show the skeleton movement (gears) inside. And it is not pleasant on the eyes. Why do manufacturers not hide the inner workings with cover, like the old times? Do they try to say implicitly "Look, we said mechanical and you see it yourself, no battery inside" ? Or is there some other reason for producing these ugly watches?
Best answer: The novelty of a mechanical watch in the 21st century is that it is mechanical. It's the entire reason to buy one for most people. Why wouldn't you want to make it conspicuous? If you just wanted to know what time it is, you'd look at your cell phone.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:46 AM on April 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:46 AM on April 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I'm guessing they show the gears because Steampunk nerds go crazy for gears, and they're the sort of people who buy pocket watches these days. It's just trendy, is all.
There's still plenty with covers, though; they outnumber skeleton watches 3:2 on the first page of Amazon results. (Those ones are mostly quartz, though.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
There's still plenty with covers, though; they outnumber skeleton watches 3:2 on the first page of Amazon results. (Those ones are mostly quartz, though.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Do they try to say implicitly "Look, we said mechanical and you see it yourself, no battery inside" ?
That is my understanding, yes, from talking with a watchmaker about ten years ago when I considered buying one. Once upon a time all watches were mechanical, so there was nothing to show off in that regard. Today (1) mechanical is rarer, and (2) it's apparently more common for those folks to build aesthetic into their design. Consequently, it becomes something to show off.
posted by cribcage at 8:49 AM on April 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
That is my understanding, yes, from talking with a watchmaker about ten years ago when I considered buying one. Once upon a time all watches were mechanical, so there was nothing to show off in that regard. Today (1) mechanical is rarer, and (2) it's apparently more common for those folks to build aesthetic into their design. Consequently, it becomes something to show off.
posted by cribcage at 8:49 AM on April 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I think you are unusual in your opinion the movement is ugly.
The entire concept of a mechanical watch now is an atavism and the fact that it is mechanical is the selling point. So yes, the visible demonstration of the watchwork is valuable to many purchasers. Also well made mechanical watches (ie, over $1000) often have beautifully decorated and finished mechanisms inside. Even a closed watch with invisible works will often have lots of decoration and fine finishing of the mechanism; why not display all that craftsmanship?
Also you should separate watches that have visible movements on the face (often called "skeleton watches") from watches with a closed front face but an open back ("display back"). Full skeleton watches are rare and expensive, but display backs have become quite common. When the watch is worn the display back is invisible, it's a secret for the watch owner.
posted by Nelson at 8:52 AM on April 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
The entire concept of a mechanical watch now is an atavism and the fact that it is mechanical is the selling point. So yes, the visible demonstration of the watchwork is valuable to many purchasers. Also well made mechanical watches (ie, over $1000) often have beautifully decorated and finished mechanisms inside. Even a closed watch with invisible works will often have lots of decoration and fine finishing of the mechanism; why not display all that craftsmanship?
Also you should separate watches that have visible movements on the face (often called "skeleton watches") from watches with a closed front face but an open back ("display back"). Full skeleton watches are rare and expensive, but display backs have become quite common. When the watch is worn the display back is invisible, it's a secret for the watch owner.
posted by Nelson at 8:52 AM on April 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: The watches you will find on Amazon are typically low to medium range, if you look at some top end brands there are plenty of less showy examples.
I think you just have expensive taste.
posted by Lanark at 9:23 AM on April 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I think you just have expensive taste.
posted by Lanark at 9:23 AM on April 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Most watches do NOT have the "skeleton dial" you are referring to. I agree with you on the aesthetics: it is busy and visually "noisy." Evidence of a watch's mechanical nature should come from a see-through case back or the smooth sweep of the seconds hand. The idea of exposing the inner working to public view is deeply rooted in concepts of modernism and post modernism in design and architecture.
As Lanark says, once you look beyond the low-end offerings of amazon, or particularly vintage items, you will not find these aesthetic flourishes.
posted by deanc at 10:29 AM on April 21, 2013
As Lanark says, once you look beyond the low-end offerings of amazon, or particularly vintage items, you will not find these aesthetic flourishes.
posted by deanc at 10:29 AM on April 21, 2013
Best answer: The trend towards skeletal presentation is a relatively new thing. When all watches were covered, opening part of the case was novel, and attractive. Now it has reversed. Unimaginative watch manufacturers do skeleton watches exactly because they lack creativity and design sense. They've jumped on the bandwagon. There are many many low-grade knock-off brands, such as Invicta, who are the ones primarily responsible. You should stay away from all these as a rule and only buy from manufacturers that have some degree of integrity. Amazon isn't a place to learn about time pieces. You might find a good price there for some watches, but you shouldn't attempt to educate yourself browsing there. Use it for point of sale only.
I collected watches for a short period until I realized that taste is doomed to irretrievably escalate as you learn more. This can make it a very expensive hobby (by the end I was buying $8000 Omegas w/ George Daniels's co-axial escapements because I knew the difference. A good Daniels escapement, properly serviced, keeps better time than Quartz and is a joy to own).
My favorite brands before quitting where Orient, Omega, Seiko, Steinhart. All relatively affordable while providing excellent quality. A really good site for self-educating about watches is watchuseek.com. My advice is browse there and buy a Seiko. You can get a wonderful Seiko or Orient from $80-200 that you can't hardly beat for 10x-20x that amount. They're better than Rolexes in most cases.
posted by halatukit at 12:44 PM on April 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
I collected watches for a short period until I realized that taste is doomed to irretrievably escalate as you learn more. This can make it a very expensive hobby (by the end I was buying $8000 Omegas w/ George Daniels's co-axial escapements because I knew the difference. A good Daniels escapement, properly serviced, keeps better time than Quartz and is a joy to own).
My favorite brands before quitting where Orient, Omega, Seiko, Steinhart. All relatively affordable while providing excellent quality. A really good site for self-educating about watches is watchuseek.com. My advice is browse there and buy a Seiko. You can get a wonderful Seiko or Orient from $80-200 that you can't hardly beat for 10x-20x that amount. They're better than Rolexes in most cases.
posted by halatukit at 12:44 PM on April 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'm guessing they show the gears because Steampunk nerds go crazy for gears, and they're the sort of people who buy pocket watches these days. It's just trendy, is all.
Dead wrong, Sys Rq. My parents owned a jewelry shop as I was growing up three decades ago, and such watches were very popular then, too. They've been around much longer than steampunk.
posted by IAmBroom at 7:49 PM on April 21, 2013
Dead wrong, Sys Rq. My parents owned a jewelry shop as I was growing up three decades ago, and such watches were very popular then, too. They've been around much longer than steampunk.
posted by IAmBroom at 7:49 PM on April 21, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by aroberge at 8:41 AM on April 21, 2013 [5 favorites]