Why is a mechanical watch cool and different from a quartz watch?

• With a quartz watch, you are relying on battery power + a tiny quartz crystal vibrating at a known frequency. Mechanical watches skip that.
• Mechanical watches are less about super-accuracy (they can lose or gain a few seconds or hours) and more about craftsmanship, tradition, beauty of moving parts, and status.
• They tick - that sound you hear! That's the escapement at work.
• Many watch lovers appreciate them as pieces of art or engineering, rather than just time-keeping tools.

The big components inside a mechanical watch

Here is a tour of what's going on under the dial of a mechanical watch.

• Mainspring - a coiled spring that stores the energy when you wind the watch.
• Gear train/wheel train - a set of gears that transmit the stored energy through the movement and eventually to the hands of the watch.
• Escapement - this clever mechanism lets the energy out in regular little "ticks" or impulses, maintaining the watch's rhythm.
• Balance wheel (and hairspring) - acts like the heart of the watch; oscillating back and forth at a constant rate, which helps keep time.
• Dial and hands - what you see: the hour hand, minute hand (and often seconds hand) that show you the time.

Some watches also include nifty extras (called complications) like calendar displays, moon phases, power reserve indicators, alarms, etc.

History of Mechanical Watches

Mechanical watches evolved out of mechanical clocks in Europe, beginning in the 17th century. Before the quartz revolution (1970s-80s), all watches were mechanical. Then quartz technology took over big time because it was cheaper and more accurate.

Nowadays, mechanical watches are often luxury items - prized for workmanship, heritage, design, and prestige more than for sheer precision.

Why you might choose one (or appreciate one)

• Aesthetic & craftsmanship: Seeing gears move, hearing the tick, feeling the winding… there’s something tactile and satisfying.
• Tradition & mechanics: It’s old-school engineering made elegant.
• Status & collectability: Some mechanical watches are pieces of art or investments.
• It’s fun: Winding a watch, listening to the tick, knowing you’re wearing a mini mechanical engine on your wrist.

A few things to keep in mind

• Mechanical ≠ perfectly accurate: They can gain/lose time, more than a quartz watch.
• Maintenance: These watches may need cleaning, lubrication, and calibration over time.
• Power reserve: Depending on the design, some will run for ~36-72 hours, others longer. If you stop wearing/winding it, it might stop.