LogFAQs > #954692540

Mead posted...

why?

The best watches in terms of absolute accuracy are going to be quartz. They lose a couple seconds a month or so. Automatic watches can lose up to 45 seconds a day or more. high quality ones are under 10 seconds with certified ones a second or two a day at the most.

However, automatic watches get a lot of interest despite their accuracy flaws because of several reasons.

The first is the fact there is no battery. Winding the watch(if it does wind) and wearing it will keep it running for roughly 40-80 hours depending on the particular movement inside. Some fancier watches go much longer. My Hamilton goes for 80 hours and is around 5 seconds a day. I timed it once at 5, but I haven't really kept track since. It is accurate though for an automatic. The fact there is no battery and that the power source is your own wrist movements makes it feel personal. You can have all of this data in some cases on a device you literally power. Not just hours, minutes, seconds and the date you can get even crazier things without any electricity. That leads me into some of the things you can do with no battery.

GMT hand(a 4th hand, usually, for keeping track of a second time zone)
Chronograph(stopwatch)
Annual calendar
Perpetual calendar(accounts for leap year)
Day-date
Moon phase
Power reserve indicator
I can do all of that(save moon phase, though some can) on my Casio Pro Trek. Shit hits the fan this is the watch I want, but it is WAY more interesting having one of these complications on a mechanical watch, or even a quartz without digital displays.

The second is as pointed out, all the gears. Some watches, such as my Hamilton have an open caseback so you can see the balance wheel move and the Escapement running. Some watches also have open faces wherein this view is provided on the front.

The third is the fact most luxury watches are automatic, so if you're looking at buying a lot of these brands, that is the movement you shall get. Those should be amazing accuracy, 1 second a day or so, for like a Rolex, Omega, etc.

The fourth is the sweep of the second hand. On automatic watches the second hand does not click like a quartz watch. You see clearly defined ticking motions for the second hand. On automatic watches, the second hand goes around the dial 21,600 beats per hour to over 30,000 times for high beat, providing this kind of interesting sweeping motion. Some watches, such as the Grand Seiko Spring Drive(not a true automatic as it uses automatic and quartz elements) have such a smooth sweeping motion it doesn't even look like 60 second pass in a minute, yet it does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9inJqtlauBs