I bought a mechanical watch about five months ago and honestly, it’s been great. I’ve been through… way too many smart watches over nearly ten years and was getting tired of not getting more than two-three years out of them before something failed. It seemed wasteful. Yeah, standalone GPS tracking and what not was neat, but I nearly always have my phone on me these days. I wore watches, granted Iron Man and not mechanical, all through middle and highschool and ditched them when cellphones really started becoming ubiquitous. It’s funny how I’ve come full circle.
Have you ever tried garmin watches? They’re not as “smart” as the Apple Watch or Android wear. But they have battery life measured from weeks to months, and have a lot longer of a lifespan than the smarter ones.
They’re by far more focused on fitness tracking though, so if a regular watch is an option then they’re probably the opposite of what you’re into.
I am aware of them, but given my general lack of focused fitness I am fairly ambivalent about a fitness tracker. I do spend a decent amount of time chasing my kida outside and take the stairs/park far away at work, but my smartphone does a good enough job at tracking those activities.
A smart watch/fitness tracker makes sense if you’re actively engaging in use cases that they will enhance, but that’s not the case for me right now. I just want an easy way of knowing what time it is and I’ve learned to manage notifications on my phone so the important ones still catch my attention.
I’m not a proper “watch guy,” because I don’t have the money for it, but I’ve built up a little connection of Soviet mechanical watches, several of them space-themed. It’s a really fun way to dip into that hobby.
It’s kind of you to ask. I never get to show them off. Here are some so-so photos in an album. I ordered custom bands for each–that was my “customization/personalization.” All less than $100 (probably with bands included, even). I like how they’ve turned out, so far:
The first one is a Sputnik watch (the letters on the gold center part spell Sputnik in Cyrillic and the little Sputnik spins), the second is a Raketa Moonphase (they have tons of cool color options throughout the years). The third is from 1975, commemorating the Apollo-Soyuz-19 collaborative mission or “space handshake.” The fourth is not space-themed, but is, I believe supposed to be based on a Soviet tank operator’s watch(?), but I’m not totally sure on it, as it’s listed elsewhere as a Gagarin pilot’s watch. It’s an old Soviet one, not one of the reissues they’ve started offering Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the movements, but they’re really cool, some have visible rubies and whatnot.
I’m also not a proper “watch guy”. I have one watch I wear daily and two vintage watches that don’t run very well and I don’t have the $$ to repair so they sit in a drawer.
Soviet watches are a great rabbit hole. Thankfully, I’ve managed to stay on the sidelines for the most part. I do have a CCCP automatic that will only keep time for more than one day if I wind it, but that’s it. There are a whole bunch of interesting designs out there though.
I bought a mechanical watch about five months ago and honestly, it’s been great. I’ve been through… way too many smart watches over nearly ten years and was getting tired of not getting more than two-three years out of them before something failed. It seemed wasteful. Yeah, standalone GPS tracking and what not was neat, but I nearly always have my phone on me these days. I wore watches, granted Iron Man and not mechanical, all through middle and highschool and ditched them when cellphones really started becoming ubiquitous. It’s funny how I’ve come full circle.
Have you ever tried garmin watches? They’re not as “smart” as the Apple Watch or Android wear. But they have battery life measured from weeks to months, and have a lot longer of a lifespan than the smarter ones.
They’re by far more focused on fitness tracking though, so if a regular watch is an option then they’re probably the opposite of what you’re into.
I am aware of them, but given my general lack of focused fitness I am fairly ambivalent about a fitness tracker. I do spend a decent amount of time chasing my kida outside and take the stairs/park far away at work, but my smartphone does a good enough job at tracking those activities.
A smart watch/fitness tracker makes sense if you’re actively engaging in use cases that they will enhance, but that’s not the case for me right now. I just want an easy way of knowing what time it is and I’ve learned to manage notifications on my phone so the important ones still catch my attention.
I’m not a proper “watch guy,” because I don’t have the money for it, but I’ve built up a little connection of Soviet mechanical watches, several of them space-themed. It’s a really fun way to dip into that hobby.
deleted by creator
It’s kind of you to ask. I never get to show them off. Here are some so-so photos in an album. I ordered custom bands for each–that was my “customization/personalization.” All less than $100 (probably with bands included, even). I like how they’ve turned out, so far:
https://imgur.com/a/j2HNL9j
The first one is a Sputnik watch (the letters on the gold center part spell Sputnik in Cyrillic and the little Sputnik spins), the second is a Raketa Moonphase (they have tons of cool color options throughout the years). The third is from 1975, commemorating the Apollo-Soyuz-19 collaborative mission or “space handshake.” The fourth is not space-themed, but is, I believe supposed to be based on a Soviet tank operator’s watch(?), but I’m not totally sure on it, as it’s listed elsewhere as a Gagarin pilot’s watch. It’s an old Soviet one, not one of the reissues they’ve started offering Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the movements, but they’re really cool, some have visible rubies and whatnot.
deleted by creator
I’m also not a proper “watch guy”. I have one watch I wear daily and two vintage watches that don’t run very well and I don’t have the $$ to repair so they sit in a drawer.
Soviet watches are a great rabbit hole. Thankfully, I’ve managed to stay on the sidelines for the most part. I do have a CCCP automatic that will only keep time for more than one day if I wind it, but that’s it. There are a whole bunch of interesting designs out there though.