I believe I’ve ranted a few times [hyperbole alert] on this back porch against modernity, and quite often against things that operate automatically as opposed to being physically operated by the user.
I know that automation makes things easier; it’s just that this ease comes at the expense of control, and I don’t like that. Here are two examples:
Bolt-action over semi-auto rifles. I know that it’s a lot of fun shooting an M1 Garand or M1 Carbine; I’ve done it often, and love it. But nothing gives me more satisfaction than working a fine bolt action, whether a Mauser turnbolt or a Schmidt-Rubin straight pull. Yes, it’s a bigger hassle to rechamber a cartridge manually than to have a mechanical doodad do it for you — although I would suggest that reloading a 30-round magazine is an even bigger PITA, as all the mag-loading assist devices on the market would suggest.
Manual transmission over automatic gearboxes. As with the above, there is a case to be made for the labor-saving nature of the auto gearbox — in stop-start traffic, for example — but with a stick shift, one is always in better control of the vehicle. I know, I’ve suggested that one doesn’t drive an automatic car as much as just steer it, and I’m not altogether wrong, either.
Now I’m going to add yet another category to the manual/auto dichotomy.
Some time back I was given a watch as repayment for a favor — I hasten to add that said repayment was absolutely not requested nor even expected — and this is the watch, a Tissot Heritage:
Note the supreme simplicity of the watch face: easy-to-read numerals, no date, and… a manual action. It’s the first manual watch I’ve owned since I was a pre-teenager, and I love it with a passion. I even wear it around the house, unlike all my other watches.
One of the things that has always bothered me about quartz (battery-powered) watches is that the damn batteries have to be replaced about every year, requiring a trip to the watch-repair place or jeweler. (I purchased a lifetime replacement policy which at least takes away the nagging cost of replacement — best $100 I ever spent — but it’s still a hassle to schlep my dormant quartz watches over to the mall, every damn year.) I have two of these things, and I love them both, for different reasons. They are the (l-r) Tissot 1853 and Dooney & Bourke Explorer:
(I know, the D&B is overly-complicated and a little bulky, but when I saw it back in 2003 I fell in love with it despite all that, and bought it on the turn.)
Neither of the above cost more than $300.
My only automatic watch is a Seiko Sports (about which I’ve ranted before):
The issue I have with this watch is that when the spring runs down (and it does that overnight), it is a huge PITA to reset the day and date. To keep it going, I would have to buy one of those winding motor thingies, and… oy, they break, stop working (just read the 1-star comments) and that would irritate the living shit out of me. En passant, they’re all made in China except for the German ones which can cost well over $500 (!!!). So… no.
The Seiko is the only, and last automatic watch I will ever own.
I don’t mind winding the Heritage every morning — it’s like making the coffee, pouring the breakfast gin or brushing the teeth: a simple daily maintenance chore, and the watch-winding can be done while I’m reading the newspaper. But it keeps time well, it looks great on my wrist, and… well, that’s really all I need from a watch.
Of course, it doesn’t end there. Having established that principle, I immediately went to Teh Intarwebz to see what other steam-powered watches I could get if Teh Lottery Gods were to ever get their shit together:
And if the lottery money was BIG:
As a rule, I don’t like gold watches… but Vacheron’s looks fantastic — and hey, everyone should have at least one gold dress watch, right?
And finally, this one because it’s a truly eccentric way of putting the date function onto a watch:
Needless to say, it is by far the most expensive watch ($25,000) on the list, but I did say a BIG lottery win, after all.
And every last one is a mechanical-wind action.
An easy way to keep an automatic watch fully wound up (100% charged, so to say) is to store it in the fridge when not using it. The watch, not the fridge. The gentle vibration of the fridges engine provides enough motion to keep the watch fully wound up.
The hot-cold cycling is bad for the watch since condensation could ruin the mechanics. Also, automatic watches have a rotor that has to be rotated in order to wind the watch. Simple fridge vibrations won’t do that (however your moving it around to get your next beer might).
Being the owner of three “bolt-action” clocks, I can say the winding gets old after a while. One clock is a 24.5 hour clock which never gets wound and just sits. The other two are 8-day clocks which mostly get wound on-time and don’t go dead.
All three of my wrist watches (Seiko, Steinhart, and Rolex) are automatic. The Rolex gets worn every day and never needs winding, however I do reset it and wind it weekly, to keep the time on track. The other two tend to just sit in the drawer until it’s their time up to bat (which is rare).
All three watches have 48-72 hour power reserves and thus never go dead as long as they’re worn daily.
“…with a stick shift, one is always in better control of the vehicle.”
=========
Yep. You’re more in tune with your ride and more in control. You have to “listen” to it to know when to up shift, down shift, engaging the clutch from a take off, etc.
The only downside to a manual transmission is that in heavy urban traffic it’s a little more difficult to shift gears while talking on the phone and juggling a Wendy’s triple and a big Gulp.
All of my watches are semi-auto .. all three of them .. but I only wear two. The third, and most expensive, has quit keeping accurate time. I called the manufacturer (Raymond Weil) .. the watch needs to be “serviced” on average every five years or so, at between $250 and $300 a whack. Had I known this up front, I’d have never purchased the fookin’ thing.
On a somewhat related note .. I quit wearing digital watches more than three decades ago. Mom’s a retired primary ed teacher (3rd and 4th grade, mostly). Year after year after year, she had one crop of mindless urchins after the next who either (1) could not tie their shoes (because Velcro) or (2) could not tell time. Turned out that the darlings’ well-meaning families only had digital clocks in their houses. When I learned this, as an homage to mom’s efforts to reverse this sinful trend, I ditched my digitals and went to analog faces only. And a pox upon those damnable electronic watches which project a digital image of an analog face. Gah.
Look up Laco of Pforzheim.
I bought one, the other two were presents.
They all keep pretty good time.
I figured if they were good enough for the Luftwaffe, they were good enough for me.
Hello Kim: I am a fan of Seiko watches, my wife bought me one years ago and I have purchased one ever since. My current one I bought about 10 years ago and it is solar powered. No more messing around with batteries. It has a simple face, similar to your Tissot, but in black, and a day/date window, which I find useful as I am a retired old fart and frequently have no idea what day it is. Simple is usually better after all. Maybe check these out. I have always used watches as a tool to display the time and not as a fashion piece. I enjoy your blog so keep up the good work.
Welcome, Mick, and thankee for the kind words and helpful comment.
I used to have a nice Timex Ironman until the buttons got solvent-welded to the case. So, I quit wearing a watch altogether. There are clocks all over my home and workplace so I don’t need one there and if I’m out and about, my cellphone shows me the correct time for wherever I am.
The only jewelry I wear is a plain gold wedding band.
I would never keep a watch that needed a battery every year. My Luminox 3600 (a beaut but discontinued) has had 1 battery change in 20 years. Even my 25 dollar Casio is good for 5 years.
I think we have the same Seiko 5 Sports field watch or similar variations. It’s not bad. It meets my needs and doesn’t let me down too much.
I don’t like going for a battery. I think I’d get the tool and change it myself if I had to do that often enough.
A Seiko Coutura was my first automatic winding watch and it’s great. The problem is that the pins in the metal band have become unreliable so I had to retire the watch. that thing just plain ran. If I didn’t wear it for a few days, it kept time internally and giving it a little shake from its nap, the hand would spin like a fan to catch up with the current time.
Buy a good watch and it will be enjoyed for years.
JQ
PS you’re right about manual transmission cars and trucks. I don’t even care about driving in traffic jams. The right hand is kept occupied so I don’t tell other drives that I am less than pleased with their alleged driving skills.
@ima, yep, the Hamilton that I bought cost ~$200 for a battery change that HAS to be done at the factory. . . found that out the first time I went for a battery change ouch.
And Kim, I have four pocket watches that have to be wound just before sleep-time and again just after wakie-wakie time; also the damn automatics which won’t run overnight. And then there’s the ex-Russky sub clock that’s a seven day wind up. So I wear a Timex Ironman that I found in a box 10(?) years after I bought it., heh, heh.