5 Reasons Why You Need a Mechanical Watch
April 4, 2020There’s no doubt that smartwatches are beneficial to our daily lives, but owning a mechanical watch can be equally rewarding. The main purpose of a wrist watch is to tell time, hence the term chronometer.
It’s a tool that has been partially responsible for keeping the world moving. What initially started out as a pocket watch, eventually became a time-keeping tool and fashion accessory to millions of people around the world.
It’s astonishing that a rudimentary system of gears, mainspring and balance wheel are able to provide motion to the second, minute and hour hands of a mechanical watch. It’s an engineering marvel, being able to tell time fairly accurately without the use of an electronic circuitry.
A mechanical watch is powered by the movement of your wrist. Said movement winds a mainspring, which acts as its power source. This piece of retro tech is still as fascinating today as it was introduced to the world, and here’s why you need one:
#1 – You Never Have To Charge It
Most smartwatches have to be charged daily. It’s this tedium that have resulted in many abandoning the idea of purchasing a smartwatch. A mechanical watch however, has no battery. As long as you wear it daily or very other day, it will keep ticking. The more expensive ones have a 48-hour power reserve.
#2 – They Hold Their Value
Mechanical watches will never go out of style. Due to their complex and beautiful movements, they are considered as jewelry rather than ‘just a tool’. The depreciation is minimal at best, with some of the more important ones going up in value with each passing year.
Batteries in smartwatches deteriorate over time, requiring them to be charged more often then when they were new. That’s a non-issue with mechanical timepieces. They will keep ticking for decades without any issues.
#3 No Planned Obsolescence
Smartwatches don’t age well. Over time, the hardware won’t be able to cope with demands and the batteries won’t fair any better. A mechanical watch won’t become obsolete, ever. As long as you look after it well, the watch can be handed down from one generation to the next.
#4 It’s A Matter Of Convenience
It’s the most versatile timepiece in existence. The absence of an external power source means that you never have to worry about it losing time (provided that you’ve got it regulated).
#5 – No Cracked Screens
Unlike smartwatches, most mechanical watches are fitted with sapphire crystal glass, which is able to handle incredible abuse without showing any signs of damage.
The mechanical watch still has a place among the Apple Watches and Android smartwatches of today. It’s a post-apocalyptic timepiece that is self-reliant, never needing human intervention for at least a decade or two – my Tissot is proof of that.
