A French company (SilMach) backed by Timex Group is claiming to have opened a new chapter in watchmaking with the creation of a silicon motor that matches the accuracy of quartz-based movements with the elegance of a mechanical watch’s sweeping hands.
I’m a tech guy and don’t give a crap about the sweeping motion of a watch hand. I’d rather have a watch that tells me the time, date, my messages, and vitals while also being able to configure how it looks plus change that any time I like. Way more useful than, “Wow, look at that hand sweep by!”
I guess I just don’t “get it” when it comes to watches like this. Is there something I’m missing?
The sweeping motion of a mechanical watch is somewhat incidental. Yes, higher-end watch movements will beat at a higher rate than cheap ones, thus making their motion more smooth and their timekeeping more accurate. However, after a certain price point (let’s say, >1k USD) that ceases to be a factor and choices like material, brand, complications (aka “features”), and finish make up most of the expense. Beyond that (>100k USD), you get to the price point of watches as high end art.
Anyway, for me as a tech guy, it’s about style and simplicity. I want a beautiful, legible dial in a form factor that doesn’t make my wrist look like a toothpick. I have a compulsion to always know the time, while also wanting to disconnect from my phone for certain things. A smart watch is too phone-like for me.
Often those “higher rate” movements are wasted anyway on a timekeeping device that doesn’t have any way to set the time precisely.
Quartz, on a network connected watch, is able to be reliably within tens of milliseconds of the official time which is a level of accuracy you’re never going to get on a watch where you manually set the time. It’s physically impossible to control your fingers with timing as short as that. There’s no way you can press the button within 100 milliseconds of a reference timepiece time unless you spend an hour trying again and again then check how far off you were.
This is a solved problem. I’m all for finding new and interesting ways to solve it… but I don’t like the claim that this is a “new chapter” in watchmaking.
it’s fun, just look at it go
I feel like jumping hands are more fun though
you’re not a tech guy, you’re a tech enthusiast.
someone who understands computers will reduce the “smart” devices in their home to the minimum.
As a programmer, I’m pretty sure I understand computers. It all comes down to who you trust because at the end of the day we all have smart phones with us just about 24/7 with the potential to access just about every aspect of our lives in real-time. Personally, I don’t really trust any company so I limit what I put into my smart phone.
It’s basically just style. I don’t get why people worry about wearing specific brands of shoes, or why some folks still insist on wearing ties. Conversely, some strange people don’t understand why I like to wear a cloak while out walking on a blustery fall day.
Some people just really like watches with hands.
I think it’s interesting just because it’s an innovation. Personally I’m not very interested in smart watches. Everyone’s different though