Do you think this cheap watch is going to be rubbish

[WolfLoverPro]

I might buy this 

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Luxury-Automatic-Mechanical-Watch-Men-s-Skeleton-Gold-Steel-Stainless-Wristwatch/391757327991

 

lol I know it’s cheap but I normally spend £5 on watches lol 

 

reason on I wanna buy is cuz it says it has that second hand that constantly moves not a tick which I just want it

 

idk what do you think

[Froody129]

Well as long as it keeps the time it works, buy it and find out. It's not like it's that much money.

 

I've seen some of these cheap watches and usually the mechanism is okay but the finish fades and scratches very quickly

[wasab]

They are usually knockoffs of the expensive ones. For watch, cheap usually looks like real thing, it tells the times and functions just like the real thing, but it isn’t made out of solid gold and diamond like the real thing so cheap.

[Monkey Dust]

Surely a mechanical watch cannot be made for £15? There must be a battery in there. And a constantly sweeping seconds hand doesn't sound like a mechanical watch either.

[DildorTheDecent]

8 hours ago, Keith W said:

Sellers feedback is cr@p

>Big Chinese seller sells cheap, shit items

"Their feedback is crap"

 

What more did you expect? Honestly...

[kokakolia]

Just buy it for fun and don't expect much. It's a cheap mechanical watch so it should immediately raise a red flag. Generally speaking, mechanical watches suck and have to be over-engineered to keep accurate time. And even then, a run of the mill quartz watch is still more accurate. This is why good mechanical watches cost hundreds of dollars, often thousands if you look at the luxury brands. 

 

If you buy cheap, buy a quartz watch instead. At least you'll have something that keeps time. 

[Dash Lambda]

If you want a cheap automatic, get a Seiko 5.

The one you linked is cheap enough that there's no reason you shouldn't buy it, as long as you're not expecting a worthwhile tool.

 

Also, the second hand doesn't constantly move. The mechanism in a mechanical watch works by making a harmonic oscillator (the balance wheel) start and stop the gear train periodically, they generally tick 4 times a second.

The Bulova Accutron movements used a tuning fork to drive the gear train and operated at a high enough frequency to look continuous, but the only escapement I know of that's actually continuous is the Seiko Spring Drive.

 

4 hours ago, Monkey Dust said:

Surely a mechanical watch cannot be made for £15?

You'd be surprised.

3 hours ago, kokakolia said:

-snip-

Mechanical watches can keep pretty good time. Most decent ones will run within 5-10 seconds per day, though higher end ones can get down to 1 second per day.

And making a mechanical watch accurate doesn't involve over-engineering, just good craftsmanship. The escapement in the $20 watch the OP linked is the same as in nearly every other watch from $10 to $100,000, same parts and same working principle, just poor manufacturing, materials, and QC. Even when they don't use a simple lever escapement, it doesn't change much.

 

Quartz watches are of course more accurate (usually .5 seconds per day), but you give mechanicals too little credit.

[kokakolia]

4 hours ago, Dash Lambda said:

If you want a cheap automatic, get a Seiko 5.

The one you linked is cheap enough that there's no reason you shouldn't buy it, as long as you're not expecting a worthwhile tool.

 

Also, the second hand doesn't constantly move. The mechanism in a mechanical watch works by making a harmonic oscillator (the balance wheel) start and stop the gear train periodically, they generally tick 4 times a second.

The Bulova Accutron movements used a tuning fork to drive the gear train and operated at a high enough frequency to look continuous, but the only escapement I know of that's actually continuous is the Seiko Spring Drive.

 

You'd be surprised.

Mechanical watches can keep pretty good time. Most decent ones will run within 5-10 seconds per day, though higher end ones can get down to 1 second per day.

And making a mechanical watch accurate doesn't involve over-engineering, just good craftsmanship. The escapement in the $20 watch the OP linked is the same as in nearly every other watch from $10 to $100,000, same parts and same working principle, just poor manufacturing, materials, and QC. Even when they don't use a simple lever escapement, it doesn't change much.

 

Quartz watches are of course more accurate (usually .5 seconds per day), but you give mechanicals too little credit.

Well, the Seiko 5 is vastly overrated simply because it's an automatic watch that isn't expensive and that simply works. However, the advantages of buying a quartz watch over it are enticing when you realize that the manufacturing tolerances for the Seiko 5 can be +/- 30 seconds per day. Paraphrasing Nick Shabazz from YouTube "The quartz watch was built to kill cheap mechanical watches like the Seiko 5" The tool argument seems completely absurd to me. If I were using a watch as a tool, I would get a quartz watch 100% of the time. It is so much more accurate. It runs all the time until the battery runs out. It's so cheap that it's practically disposable. And you can easily jam more "useful" features on a quartz watch. Need an alarm, back-light, date and timer!? No problem, the $9 Casio F91W does it all! Need more water  and shock resistance? Get a G-shock. 

 

Further, you always hear watch enthusiasts ramble about the "horology" and "historical significance" about watches to justify the insanely inflated values of famous watches. Well, it's extremely ironic that the Casio F91W has way more historical significance than any other watch ever made, simply because millions of them are sold every year and they're used by militia, terrorists and even presidents. 

 

The major appeal of the mechanical watch in my view is romanticism. It's a gateway to the past. Mechanical watches are also delightfully imperfect with time-keeping and weird mechanical noises. They require more attention in the form of maintenance and making sure that the watch is wound. There's a ritual to that. There's also a craft to watchmaking. 

 

So when so-called watch enthusiasts mostly talk about design, brand history and craftsmanship they're really making a case for how incredible quartz watches are for being more accurate, reliable and so cheap to manufacture. 

 

I just felt the need to rant because I recently got hooked on watch reviews on YouTube and it's starting to feel like a glorification of brands (you will be eaten alive if you say one bad word about Seiko or Rolex) and pointless craftsmanship ("more complications! YAY!" "Look! Expensive materials!").

[Dash Lambda]

3 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

-snip-

I sort of agree with you on paper, but not in spirit.

 

The 7S26 movement (from Seiko 5) is not the most accurate movement by any means, but it's reliable, durable, well-made, and cheap. If it seems particularly inaccurate, it's probably not adjusted properly (of the three 7S26 watches I have, that being two 5s and an Orange Monster, one of them actually loses about 20-30 seconds a day while the other two are within about a minute a week).

I always suggest a Seiko 5 if someone is looking for a cheap mechanical watch, not necessarily if they're just looking for a cheap watch.

 

As for the rest, I actually mostly agree -I just love mechanical watches because I have a fundamental appreciation for mechanical solutions to problems, but I have no interest in luxury watches as the decoration is ultimately meaningless.

 

A watch is a tool. It doesn't matter 'how you use it', it's a measurement device that performs a function. Mechanical watches are not as good as quartz watches in pure function, but they are still extremely good at what they do and are far more interesting than quartz.

 

Even being a mechanical watch guy, I find watches like Seiko's kinetic perpetuals and Springdrive attractive -Actually making quartz mechanically interesting. I'm also hoping someone will actually, finally come along and make a real atomic watch.

 

I do think the watch industry has gotten far too jewelry-like, but that's because all the cheap utility market segments are filled with quartz and so the mechanical watches get pushed into the segments where people are more concerned with shiny rocks and history than a functionally worthwhile device.

 

(Also, just to point out, "it runs until the battery runs out" is not a point for quartz. Automatic watches run as long as they're worn, and they generally require far less maintenance than even replacing the battery in a quartz.)

[Hiya!]

If u are going to spend $15-$35USD for a watch dont get the mechanical watch it might last u for just 1-2 months if not 2week. Digital however might last u more than a year.

[kokakolia]

15 hours ago, Dash Lambda said:

I sort of agree with you on paper, but not in spirit.

 

The 7S26 movement (from Seiko 5) is not the most accurate movement by any means, but it's reliable, durable, well-made, and cheap. If it seems particularly inaccurate, it's probably not adjusted properly (of the three 7S26 watches I have, that being two 5s and an Orange Monster, one of them actually loses about 20-30 seconds a day while the other two are within about a minute a week).

I always suggest a Seiko 5 if someone is looking for a cheap mechanical watch, not necessarily if they're just looking for a cheap watch.

 

As for the rest, I actually mostly agree -I just love mechanical watches because I have a fundamental appreciation for mechanical solutions to problems, but I have no interest in luxury watches as the decoration is ultimately meaningless.

 

A watch is a tool. It doesn't matter 'how you use it', it's a measurement device that performs a function. Mechanical watches are not as good as quartz watches in pure function, but they are still extremely good at what they do and are far more interesting than quartz.

 

Even being a mechanical watch guy, I find watches like Seiko's kinetic perpetuals and Springdrive attractive -Actually making quartz mechanically interesting. I'm also hoping someone will actually, finally come along and make a real atomic watch.

 

I do think the watch industry has gotten far too jewelry-like, but that's because all the cheap utility market segments are filled with quartz and so the mechanical watches get pushed into the segments where people are more concerned with shiny rocks and history than a functionally worthwhile device.

 

(Also, just to point out, "it runs until the battery runs out" is not a point for quartz. Automatic watches run as long as they're worn, and they generally require far less maintenance than even replacing the battery in a quartz.)

The "it runs until the battery runs out" is a huge plus for quartz watches if you're frequently changing between watches. However, if you only use one watch then this point is kinda moot. 

[ItsMitch]

You can't have Luxury and China on the same product page, comes straight from it. Not a fan of it but if you want it. 

[Canada EH]

On 1/20/2018 at 4:33 AM, WolfLoverPro said:

I n

No real life pictures of the watch, so yes it will be rubbish, just bin it and drive your lorry to Aldi mate

[Yoinkerman]

I bought a similar one off alibaba and it works well enough.  You have to set the tone every day(it loses a minute or two a day) but other than that it looks nice

[AshleyAshes]

15 hours ago, Hiya! said:

Digital however might last u more than a year.

When I was a child I got a cheap kids Timex LCD watch for Christmas.  It would beep once every hour.  One day I'm at my parents house, in the basement, some 10 years later, and what do I hear?  That god damn watch beeping from within a toybox. o_____o

[711jrp]

For that money you can get a Casio f-91w and you would then have a good watch and some history.

[79wjd]

15 minutes ago, Yoinkerman said:

You have to set the tone every day(it loses a minute or two a day) but other than that it looks nice

That sounds awful. 

[Yoinkerman]

2 hours ago, djdwosk97 said:

That sounds awful. 

I don't wear a watch to keep time so its meh

[Barbara444]

maybe it's better to look for other suggestions at the same price. But if you finally buy it, you won't lose much as the price is low.