For anyone interested in purchasing a mechanical watch, there are plenty of brands making affordable mechanical timepieces today. Hamilton, Seiko, Tissot, Swatch, Orient, and Timex are a few that come to mind for the sub-$1000 category. It's a fun hobby with a nice community of enthusiasts.
Some advice:
* If possible, wear the watch before buying it. Seeing a watch on your wrist is different from seeing photos of it.
* Avoid the "grey market" and buy from an Authorized Dealer. Grey market watches won't have the manufacturer warranty.
* Avoid replicas and fakes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHgKMA6Bh6U)
Some links:
* The Urban Gentry (https://www.youtube.com/user/theurbangentry) is a YouTube channel run by a horology enthusiast with a positive attitude who does lots of watch reviews.
* The r/Watches subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/watches/) has lots of photos of watches contributed by the community.
* A video on how mechanical watches work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XBb7kJJWg
* S-Town podcast (https://stownpodcast.org/) is an intriguing story about a man who repaired antique clocks.
* Affordable Wrist Time (https://www.instagram.com/affordablewristtime/?hl=en) the tagline is "Promoting watches under $1000."
Some terminology:
* A quartz watch is usually powered by a battery. They tend to be cheaper and more accurate than mechanical watches.
* A mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring.
* An automatic watch has a semicircular rotor inside which automatically spins when the watch moves, winding the mainspring.
* Hacking is a feature that stops the second hand from moving when the crown is pulled out.
Some advice:
* If possible, wear the watch before buying it. Seeing a watch on your wrist is different from seeing photos of it.
* Avoid the "grey market" and buy from an Authorized Dealer. Grey market watches won't have the manufacturer warranty.
* Avoid replicas and fakes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHgKMA6Bh6U)
Some links:
* The Urban Gentry (https://www.youtube.com/user/theurbangentry) is a YouTube channel run by a horology enthusiast with a positive attitude who does lots of watch reviews.
* The r/Watches subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/watches/) has lots of photos of watches contributed by the community.
* A video on how mechanical watches work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XBb7kJJWg
* S-Town podcast (https://stownpodcast.org/) is an intriguing story about a man who repaired antique clocks.
* Affordable Wrist Time (https://www.instagram.com/affordablewristtime/?hl=en) the tagline is "Promoting watches under $1000."
Some terminology:
* A quartz watch is usually powered by a battery. They tend to be cheaper and more accurate than mechanical watches.
* A mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring.
* An automatic watch has a semicircular rotor inside which automatically spins when the watch moves, winding the mainspring.
* Hacking is a feature that stops the second hand from moving when the crown is pulled out.