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Digital Generation Rediscovers Analog Wristwatches
Hugh Pickens writes "As recently as a half-decade ago, time seemed to be running out for the wristwatch; the mechanical device was declared to be going the way of the abacus. But now the NY Times reports that the 'sundial' of the wrist is experiencing an uptick among members of the digital generation, particularly by heritage-macho types in their 20s and 30s who are drawn to the wristwatch's retro appeal, just as they have seized on straight razors, selvedge denim and vintage vinyl. 'A cool machine that is all moving parts has got to be intrinsically interesting to someone born into this generation,' says Mitch Greenblatt, an online retailer of design-forward watches who is seeing a surge in business, 'because there's just nothing like that in their life.'"
This really isn't much of a surprise. The Steam-punk genre is quite popular with the 20-40 crowd.
Some days I get the sinking feeling Orwell was an optimist.
Stuff that I was into before they went mainstream.
...then it's going to be analog. They don't make gold digital watches. Nothing retro about this at all--people still like jewelry. We don't have articles saying, "Young 30 something women are really going retro with all these diamond wedding rings" or "Young men in their 20s embrace gold necklaces like its 1850."
The train conductor/robber-baron look is coming back
Yeah, not like hard drives or anything.
I'm 36 and I own an analog wristwatch. I've owned several over my lifetime as well. My 5 year old son is familiar and will continue to be familiar with analog wristwatches as most everyone in his extended family wears one. How is this retro, unique or something terribly interesting because it has moving parts and is not digital? Watches have always been fashionable and (IMHO) will continue to be for all generations for the rest of my life. It's not like we're talking about 8-tracks, cassette tapes and to some extent vinyl for example. Those devices will definitely be retro to my kid as they have never (and probably never will be) a part of his life.
At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend I don't care that you're not here with me
I still think that digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
(Besides I have some difficulties to read analog watches).
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
A few years ago I started seeing hipsters wearing those big, ugly, chunky watches from the 70s, it was probably my first "what's wrong with these damn kids" moments...
An ugly watch is not ironic, it's just an ugly watch.
The term 'mechanical' would be more appropriate, though I guess mechanical is still analog. I hope TFA is about mechanical watches not watches with a digital core driving mechanical hands. Anyway a good mechanical wristwatch is a masterpiece of precision design and engineering and there's something intrinsically cool about it being able to measure time almost as precisely as you could by simply dividing down the signal from a quartz oscillator. I see nothing wrong with it, plus it doesn't need batteries, which can be a plus in a postapocalyptic scenario / finding-oneself-stranded-on-a-mountain-with-no-batteries-nearby-just-as-soon-as-they've-run-out-type situation.
Is this news? I'm a mid-twenty-something and everyone I know -- EVERYONE -- wears and has worn true analog watches. Seriously, I know people who would sooner wear tennis shoes with their work clothes than a Casio or Timex watch. Nearly a quarter of my friends wear watches that need to be wound. I would have been more surprised to read that the digital generation was moving back to retro digital LCD watches.
There are some things I like retro because I believe they are better (like DE safety razors) in some utilitarian way.
Analog watches aren't exactly one of them. Compared to a digital: they worse at keeping accurate time, most don't update themselves like "atomic" watches do, and some (like Rolex) may need some maintenance after a while. It's like a Japanese vs. German car - Japanese car is more practical overall, and German cars are often overengineered - but they're important to people who care about making a fashion statement. And I respect watchmaking as an art/science but there are enough old ones around unused that you don't need to buy new.
That said, I find most digital watches ugly. They need an Apple-like brand in terms of design that gets in there and promotes nice materials like a sapphire crystal face, clean lines, and minimalism. A digital watch almost always has ugly styling or just has too much going and is too busy looking. In fact, maybe an iWatch wouldn't be a bad idea.
When I was five years old, I had the Fraggle Rock soundtrack on LP. Twenty Two years later, I still have the record, but am searching for a needle for the same record player. Yes we might be the "digital" generation, but those of us born in the early 80s (25-30 years old now) remember record players, and know how to use them.
TFA confuses "analog" with "mechanical". This confusion is getting more popular by the day, probably because people don't realize that "digital" and "electronic" are not the same thing. Everyone, please note that "analog" should usually only be used to refer to an electronic device containing analog electronics.
As a rule, digital watches tend to look cheap and tacky, I've had analog watches of one sort or another for most of the last 15 years (nothing too fancy, all sub-£100) and they just look better.
Fucking hipsters are ruining everything. Crunchgear has articles about watches now. Old watches go well with mustaches, MacBook Pros and fixies.
Digital wristwatches, which are rarely stylish, are being replaced by cell phones and the litany of other devices with clocks built into them. I don't wear a watch namely because I have no need. If I need to know the time I look at my phone. Analog watches are used for stylistic purposes nowadays, thats pretty much it.
Monstar L
I inherited a lightly-worn 1962-ish Omega Speedmaster a few years ago and quite enjoy wearing it (though not every day, b/c it's so damn heavy). The Speedmaster is now marketed as the "moon watch" because it was worn by the Apollo astronauts. The Speedmaster was a good choice because of the plastic crystal that wouldn't shatter and cause problems in zero-G. It cost me a few hundred $ to get a new main spring and pushers, and works as well today as it did 50 years ago.
I like it because it's a good reminder of what you can accomplish without the latest and greatest technology. Sure you have to wind it every day or so, and sure your $5 Casio keeps better time, but it was good enough to help get people to the moon. Astronauts literally trusted their lives with this thing - the watch was used to sequence maneuvers, estimate oxygen levels and time spacewalks walks. And all this was done with a spring, some gears and highly-precise engineering. If anything, it's a reminder that if you are going to build something, build it right.
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
Hipsters have discovered analog wristwatches.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
Hipsters latch on to another outdated technology... how unexpected.
That's really good news. i was starting to worry that there would soon be no way to explain which way things turn. In a digital world, which way is "clock-wise"?
Watches are, for me, completely useless, as I have a damn phone to get the time, weather and ... Pretty much all I need to know on everyday life. Analog or not, it's not useful for me (and I don't need/like jevelry)
And right now, I have my Dad's old analog on my wrist.
And ok, get off ... etc etc...
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
With smart phones becoming cheaper and larger more people have phones that are difficult to pull out from your pocket and have less than reliable battery life.
This makes having the time on your wrist much more convenient to a potentially time consuming task of getting the time from your smart phone.
"Digital Generation Rediscovers Analog Wristwatches"
It was on my wrist this whole time!
...reading an analog clock is a lost art with many of our young people. I often find my high-school students asking me "Mister, what time is it?" while staring directly at the analog clock in my room. It took me a while to figure out that they do not know how to read time on a clock with hands. So now, at the start of the year, we have a clock-reading activity that I stole from a 3rd-grade workbook.
Seriously.
Or you can get the best of both worlds.
Timex and other make analog/digital watches so you can have it both ways.
This story feels a bit like one of those "suits are making a comeback!" stories.
How in the hell are you suppose to load Linux on one?
I look at the $12,000 Panerai on my wrist and wonder if it ever will go out of style...
http://www.panerai.com/s_page.xpd?id_lingua=2&id_sezione=16&id_prodotto=7289&id_categoria=40
how come nobody else want's one of those?
I'm an old guy - 46 - and I prefer dial/analog watches - although most are quartz.. I can read them faster. With just a glance, I know the time. And, I can't find it, there was a study that showed most people can read the analog time faces faster. IIRC, it has to do with seeing the digital numbers, interpreting them, and it requires extra thought. Try it. Compare the digital readout with the analog readout on your computers clock.
Did Rolex ever make a digital watch?
When I look at a timepiece it's rare that I want to know what time it is. Much more often I want to know "how long since" or "how long until" something. An analog display gives me this info much more quickly than digital.
It's not so much that these "heritage-macho" types are using straight razors so much as they don't really have a lot to shave.
They might own a straight razor, and have it placed just so on their dresser next to a bone-handled shaving brush, but they are certainly not using them.
Wristwatches never went out of style. It's much easier to tell time with a device on your wrist than with a device in your pocket or on your belt.
I'll bet that wristwatches were much less popular in the 60's than they have been since 2000.
You are welcome on my lawn.
this story sounds very plausible, as I'm 26 years old and only a week ago I ordered a self winding wristwatch that features clear view on the mechanics from the front. not having to charge something ever does seem weird to me :)
Just by coincidence I am wearing my "Flintstone" watch instead of one of my analogs. Well actually this one *is* truly analog:
A Fossil sundial watch.
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
Because the remaining 5 people with digital watches decided to go retro ...
why do you dipshits keep posting stories that are behind a pay wall, what is the NY Times stroking your junk?
I wear no time piece at all ... except for my pager and two phones.
... that they no longer think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
They have started going back to analog.
I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
Maybe analog is just better in some situations. I find analog easier to read, and with the right easier to read in bad light. I know other folks who think the same way. Also for the fashion conscious, the right analog watch usually seems to look better than a digital watch. I have both, but I plan to stick with analog going forward. A good quartz analog watch keeps good time, so I don't see what all the fuss is about. Most people at work seem to be wearing them.
You're not understanding the retro-ness of wearing watches because your fashion is completely outdated. The general population stopped wearing watches (myself included) while you were stuck in a dimly-lit cave all this time. Your response is just as amusing as someone saying "How can bell-bottom jeans be back in style when I never stopped wearing them?" LOL at you.
I owned an analog watch from when I was a teen until just last year when it finally needed replaced. It was just over 20 years old and cost a whole 70 dollars. I got another analog watch for 70 dollars a few weeks after the old one died. I don't think I seen one digital watch for every ten analogs I seen on the watch sites. I guess digital was big when it was a novelty item but today I don't know of anyone who wears one.
I hate wearing things on my wrist. I used to carry a pocketwatch before cell phones were common, then I started scratching my cellphone every time I pulled my pocket watch out by its chain. I eventually just started using my phone to tell time because it remained accurate to the minute whereas the watch sometimes was off (and the date was often off too).
Speedometers in cars are analog exactly because of that: it takes no time to interpret analog hands/dials with respect to reading and understanding a 3 numbers figure.
And that's not going to change anytime soon since it's how our brain works. Numbers need to be made sense of, oblique lines don't.
(Besides, doesn't anyone feel that 4s representation in 7-segment displays is wrong?)
I used to wear a watch all the time. When my then-current watch died, I got new one. It didn't last 6 months. I got a different brand, and it, too, died within 6 months. (My previous watches never broke, I just got tired of them after 5 years.) These were all digital watches from Timex (2) and Casio (1). All crap. I then tried a purely mechanical watch (that was more expensive, of course), but it was just too heavy and huge.
So, I stopped wearing one and I really don't miss it. I have my iphone with me almost all the time and it conveniently also keeps time.
Another case of everything being made in China do bare-minimum standards and designed to fail. The watches I bought that died within 6 months weren't the $10 ones, but $40-$50. I figure for that kind of money, they better last more than a year.
Either the band broke (which I'd replace, and it would break again) or I'd wear it out in the rain and it would get water inside despite being "100M water resistant".
I don't know, but it works for me.
Stupid ass british aristocrat telling people that 'shaving your face' is manly. Pft.
Actually that would have been Alexander the Great, a Macedonian aristocrat from 300-something BC if I recall Iron Maiden lyrics correctly. :-)
There are at least two demographics at work here: the hipsters you describe, and another group sometimes referred to as "young fogeys." The latter group tends to be interested in things of yore because they were better, and not just because they are old, e.g. writing calligraphy with a good fountain pen on nice paper, mowing the lawn with a reel mower because it leaves nicer edges, and yes, shaving with a straight razor because it gives a better shave.
In addition to the superior performance (at the admitted cost of vastly increased hassle) there is a sense of pride in learning to do something inherently difficult and potentially dangerous. For more information check out my tutorial videos on youtube, username = jockeys41
I'll also add that it's easy to spot a strait razor poser as he/she will only have one razor, whereas someone who actually shaves with them every day (as I do) will have at least half a dozen in rotation to reduce the honing burden.
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
How quaint.
This is hilarious to those of us who grew up when everything was analog. Having both a wristwatch and a cell phone is a little... don''t know how to put this...
LMAO at the kids! Now if they really got retro and started using slide rules I'd be impressed.
That said (*blush*) I have an analog clock on my wall. Just saw an article on CNN today that said cassettes are making a comeback -- that's even funnier!
What's next, black and white CRTs?
Free Martian Whores!
It's not so much that these "heritage-macho" types are using straight razors so much as they don't really have a lot to shave.
They might own a straight razor, and have it placed just so on their dresser next to a bone-handled shaving brush, but they are certainly not using them.
Check out the shaving forums (yes, there are such things!) Plenty of guys actually use straight razors on a daily basis. Many more have gone the Double Edge route though.
"Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage casings, potassium storage units, and false teeth."
Cell phones are known for having other functionality as well as being able to tell the time. I've never seen the point of strapping a somewhat functional piece of jewelry to my arm when I have a small device in my pocket that tells the time, as well as doing a hundred or more other things that I find useful.
My analog display watch enables hands free operation and is water resistant to 100m. Its a far better choice in the rain or when scuba diving. When hiking/backpacking/camping my cellphone is generally powered down and in a dry bag, reserved for emergencies. "Never seen the point" is taking an otherwise reasonable argument too far.
not signing up for their stupid site to look at crap i barely care about
however I have rocked a Swiss army wrist watch for evar and a day
it is full of win
what time is it?
look at watch
vs
which pocket is smart phone in? dig phone out unlock it to see the god damned time.
also as a left handed person I like the subtle "Hey I'm Left Handed" announcement my watch on my right wrist makes. I can't speak for other lefties but I will sometimes scan for my lefty brothers with watches on their right wrists ....oh btw righties don't wear your watches on the right it is OUR THING =p
actually I am happy to see you, however that is in fact a banana in my pocket.
Cheap digital watches and cell phones are not rugged enough. Rado Diastar for me. Carbide case with sapphire crystal. Drop on a tile floor? Crash into glass doorknobs? Drop into ocean? No problem. Now if Panasonic made a Toughbook watch, I might switch.
Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
My cell is in a holder on my belt with the screen blacked out most of the time. My watch is on my wrist where I can check the time in about a second. It probably takes me at least ten times that long to pull out my phone, turn on the screen, check the time, and put the thing away.
I'll admit I don't have to shave that often, but I resent the "heritage-macho" label, and further resent the implication that I bought my razors out of a sense of fashion. I could go the hipster route by saying I bought my razors back when it wasn't cool (which I did), but I mainly bought them as a way to reduce waste, reduce my bills, and I *hate* shopping (haven't bought or charged a razor since), and as sort of a mini-hobby. I do like sharp things, and being able to put a sharp edge on things even more. Hence the straight razors and nice kitchen knives. Shaving properly with a straight razor also tends to irritate my face less than other methods.
I admit, I only wear a wristwatch while exercising, and that's because it's an HRM. I do have a windup pocketwatch, which I used to wear all the time in lieu of a wristwatch because I don't like the feel of wristwatches on my skin, but it would get scratched too much, and the smartphone serves the timekeeping purpose well enough. I mostly keep the pocketwatch (which again, takes no batteries) for showmanship at the big band dances I play at (for checking the time for countoff). The ticking is also comforting to me.
Nathan's blog
Analog watches will always succeed as time pieces because the picture conveys the "meaning" of time(keeping).
Analog watches convey information more efficiently than digital watches, just as a picture of, say, the bison in Yellowstone, conveys more meaning than a descriptive paragraph of the scene.
If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law;
Next you'll start hearing about how "OS/2 is making a comeback!" Kids these days.
I used to be an analog snob until I saw an engineer at our company use the calculator on his wristwatch (before everyone one had smart phones) during a meeting to come up with a few figures... at the time I was doing a lot of grilling and timing is crucial... a digital watch worked much better, so I got one. After that, it's been great - I coached a few teams (academic and sports) and had the stop watch; the alarm clock has been great, and lot more convenient than my smart phone when I'm running down the field with my team...
You know, they do make watches with slide rules on them. Yeah, I've heard plenty of jokes about these from people who've never used one, but they're actually pretty cool, and easy to use—here are some instructions for Casio models.
Are you adequate?
Digital watches are the fad, analog watches have always been around, and never went away, except in the minds of retailers.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
I've always liked analog watches just because it's hard to find a sophisticated/respectable-looking digital watch. Though, admittedly, I'm also one of those people who has a (Perhaps overdeveloped and almost nerd-like) appreciation for the form of things, and so they do appeal to me for various other reasons as well. But I think it's mostly that I can't find digital watches I like.
Earlier this week, I was considering the possibility of making a project out of crafting myself an analog wristwatch once I have my own machine tools. It turns out there's tons of sources on eBay for new watch movements, hands, and the tools you need to assemble/craft your own.
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
I've been using one of these for years.
Mostly random stuff.
My son uses a half hunter pocket watch. He says it is a great conversation starter especially with the ladies.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
If you do any moderate amount of cooking, on your own, you need an analog watch. Preferably a Dive Watch with a timing bezel. Guy Fieri wears one, so does Alton Brown on Food Network. Yeah if you are a chef you have oodles of timers. But Joe average juggling a couple of pots/things in the oven will generally look at his watch, as noted an analog watch conveys in an instant "how much time is left" etc.
A mechanical dive watch is great, looks great, is easy to read in the dark, but generally keeps poor time compared to a quartz watch. On the other hand, you need only get it adjusted every three-five years, many watches need new batteries every year. You can't tell at a glance if a sauce is likely done, biscuits need to come out of an oven, and so on with a digital display on your Iphone. You can on a waterproof watch on your wrist.
MICHAEL WILLIAMS, who runs A Continuous Lean, a men’s style blog, ditched his Timex when he got his first cellphone in 2001.
Tyler Thoreson, the head of men’s editorial for Gilt Man, the flash sale Web site, often kept his forgettable watches stashed in a drawer.
And Eddy Chai, an owner of Odin New York, a downtown men’s boutique, gave up wearing watches regularly in his mid-20s, when he outgrew his Casio.
But after going watch-free for much of the last decade, the three men — all in their 30s and considered style influencers — are turning back time. Mr. Thoreson, 38, is shopping for a vintage gold IWC with a white dial or a Rolex GMT-Master. Mr. Chai, 38, has been wearing a vintage Rolex, loosely dangling around his wrist, “not as a timepiece, but as a piece of jewelry,” he said.
And Mr. Williams, 32, splurged on three watches: an IWC Portuguese, a Rolex GMT-Master II and an Omega Speedmaster, also known as the “moon watch,” since that is what Apollo astronauts wore.
“The men’s-wear set has recently rediscovered the joy of proper mechanical timepieces,” Mr. Williams said. “Right now there is no clearer indication of cool than wearing a watch. If it was your grandfather’s bubbleback Rolex, even better.”
As recently as a half-decade ago, time seemed to be running out for the wristwatch. With cellphones, iPods and other clock-equipped devices becoming ubiquitous, armchair sociologists were writing off the wristwatch as an antique, joining VHS tapes, Walkman players and pocket calculators on the slag heap of outmoded gadgets.
The wristwatch “may be going the way of the abacus,” declared a news article in The Sacramento Bee in 2006. The Times of London had it “going the same way as the sundial.” The Boston Globe, in a 2005 lifestyle feature, was more definitive: “Anyone who needs to know the time these days would be wise to ask someone over the age of 30. To most young people, the wristwatch is an obsolete artifact.”
Or, not.
The “sundial” of the wrist is experiencing an uptick among members of the supposed lost generation, particularly by heritage-macho types in their 20s and 30s who are drawn to the wristwatch’s retro appeal, just as they have seized on straight razors, selvedge denim and vintage vinyl.
"It’s an understated statement about your station in life, your taste level,” Mr. Thoreson said.
He got a taste of the pent-up demand last fall, when Gilt organized a high-end vintage watch sale with Benjamin Clymer, 28, who runs an online magazine for watch enthusiasts called Hodinkee.com. (Mr. Clymer, a former UBS manager, said his site attracts 250,000 unique visitors a month, more than half of them under 40.)
Fourteen of the 17 watches, with an average price of $4,800, sold in the first six hours. Gilt now holds a watch sale every month. “In certain circles,” Mr. Thoreson said, “if you don’t have a substantial timepiece with some pedigree, you feel like you’re missing out on something.”
To be fair, the doomsayers were not entirely wrong. Few people actually need a watch to tell time anymore. Melanie Shreffler, editor in chief of Ypulse, a Web site and market research company that tracks youth trends, observed, “even the high school and college students who wear watches usually pull out their cellphones to check the time.”
But that’s the point. A watch these days may strike some people as an impractical, frivolous and often costly way to express individual style. But that is just another way of saying that it’s fashion.
“Considering how casual most people dress on a day-to-day basis, a glamorous watch is one of the few accessories that can be at once sporty, luxurious and utilitarian,” the designer Michael Kors wrote in an e-mail. Mr. Kors has a line of oversize chronographs, manufact
Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
funny thing is most "analog" watches are battery powered electronics, replace lcd with hand and bobs your uncle!
I'm currently using an all plastic casio, a remake of one of the digital watches that popularized them. It's pretty useful, watertight. I think they've upgraded the wristband too, it does not dry out as fast, and I'm pretty sure they've replaced the light as well. Otherwise, it's the same thing.
It's a bit of a statement with all the huge analog watches by now. It tells people that I don't need to buy an expensive watch. It's very functional, cheap, watertight and pretty nerdy too. I bought it for 7 euro 50 cents, but I've seen it advertized for a while for a measly 2 euro and 50 cents. But the best thing compared to these analogue watches is that it *can actually tell you what day it is* - don't you hate things that don't do their main function well?
And you resent the "macho" label?
What's your instrument, sport? You guys play the standards? I love hearing about other slashdotters who are real musicians. I've written some arrangements for a big band here in Chicago, but have mostly been focusing on film music since 2003.
Let's see...npsimons...you're an alto sax band leader, right? Smooth Johnny Hodges-esque counting off Big Noise from Winnetka? Some Fletcher Henderson tunes? I can see it in my mind's eye. Or maybe a mellow trombone Dorsey-style?
You are welcome on my lawn.
Good point. I do know a few of you types. I have a friend who I believe doesn't own anything made after 1966. You walk into his house and you think you're in some Frank Tashlin movie.
I would try a straight razor, but I fear my wife might get mad at me someday and wait until I go to sleep...
You are welcome on my lawn.
I'm mid 30s. I have a very nice and fancy looking Titanium analog watch. The crystal was, apparently, notoriously fragile and it got a "scratch" after a bump and then after a 2nd bump a few weeks later it cracked clean in half. I retired it.
Annoyed by the fragile nature of the "fancy" watch I dug out my ORIGINAL and PRE-INDIUM Timex Iron-Man watch, (complete with replacement wrist band) put in a fresh battery, and wear that when I need a watch. Now THAT is retro. Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin.
Flappinbooger isn't my real name
Where I live, in Europe, only some engineer would dare sport a digital watch, which would be considered quite bad taste by almost everyone else. This, at least, since mid '80s. Cheap Swatches () may have something to do with that.
I volunteer as an EMT. In the field it is much faster to take vitals with a dial watch. My BOB has one too, I take that everywhere I go that has the potential to be stuck in the wilderness.
They come in the dark, only in the darkest.
Don't forget "classicness" and correctness.
Classicness - Gradnpa's or Dad's watch (smuggled in teh azz of a fellow soldier for many years as a POW, etc). I've got my Dad's that he bought in Zurich before he left the service in ww2.
Correctness - In my '65 Porsche I want an mp3 player since my original radio is AM/FW/SW and not the worlds best. Speakers are easy, there are some cheap radio shack ones that are 6v and the right size to put in. I've got an original radio, and I plan on gutting it and putting a mp3 player board similar to this one into the guts of it. The preset knobs could still be used to shuffle forward/back/etc wtih a little work.
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
The original article seems to be clearly talking about mechanical drive mechanism wristwatches. In fact there are digital display wristwatches with mechanical drive mechanisms I have a number of mechanical drive analog display wristwatches. The thread diverged into a discussion of analog display vs digital display which really has nothing to do with the resurgent appeal of the mechanical drive wristwatch.
I admit to wearing mechanical analog wristwatches more as pieces of beautiful kinetic jewelry more than as a timepiece. A fine mechanical wristwatch is one of the most complex and beautiful pieces of human technology. Witness the tourbillon or a grand complication. They represent almost the pinnacle in attempts to solve complex problems in small spaces by purely mechanical means. In my opinion they are also some of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry or art I have ever seen. They area also of course hideously expensive and are hence a status symbol. Men have limited options in jewelry (at least in my culture). A watch is acceptably masculine but can still also be beautiful and reflect individual style.
I have a Breitling Aerospace (Titanium and Gold) which is all digital but does have analog hands and an LED space for dress occasions and Casio G-Shock for work.
My next watch is going to be a Casio AMW330D-1AV Dive Chronograph and in two years I'll get an Omega Speedmaster for a 40th birthday present to myself.
Analog watches have never been endangered, not even in the 1970s when digital watches were trendy.
But the "all moving parts" line makes me think the story is talking about actual clockwork watches. Ones that you have to wind up every day or so, that don't have a battery at all. It would make a lot more sense for them to be making a comeback on these terms.
Someone had to ask. Clockwise will no longer make sense when we all go digital. I'm sorry to sound like a scratched record when I say things like this about the loss of language phrases, btw...
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
A cool machine that is all moving parts has got to be intrinsically interesting to someone born into this generation,' says Mitch Greenblatt, an online retailer of design-forward watches who is seeing a surge in business, 'because there's just nothing like that in their life.
Cars anyone? Hard drives? Cameras? I don't see what this guy is getting at.
I'm a 43 year old scientist, and recently started working in New York City. I discovered analog mechanical watches back in the early 1990's and really liked the idea of a self-winding accurate time piece due to not requiring a battery, appreciation of mechanical engineering, and a little style. Now working in New York City and receiving some fashion style advice from a coworker helping to increase my chances of finding Mrs. Right, she has steered me in the right direction. Guys, girls notice you how you look too, and this includes the clothes you wear, your confidence, the shoes you wear, and the watch you wear. Yes, wearing a watch in times where everyone has a cell phone is redundant but it also says some about YOU, and the ladies will notice this. Go buy a good analog mechanical time piece and pass it along in the family for a few generations. Take very good care of it and it won't necessarily go down in value either. I have a nice small collection of vintage American pocket watches, one of which is a Waltham Appleton Tracy & Co. railroad watch. American railroad pocket watches are rather accurate time pieces for the time period. I would like to get a watch with a Tourbillon, but these are out of my price range. Here are some helpful links: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Price-Watches-Cooksey-Shugart/dp/1574324594/ref=dp_ob_title_bk http://www.zenith-watches.com/en/#/home/ http://www.iwc.com/en-us/ And for the financially successful Geek with money to burn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AlD0cMHGIM Enjoy your new watch and appreciate the design, time, and engineering that went into making it. It might even help get you a girl.
I do honestly think that an analog face on a watch can be more artistic and more attractive that a LCD. Battery or spring behind the face regardless.
I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
Seriously, they attribute it to analog watches being retro? I'm 18 and I wear one because it looks good. I used to wear a digital one but that was only because I didn't have the money to get a decent one. Seriously, how old are these writers, 50? To not realise the reason we wear analog watches is not because a mechanical device is cool but because the watch looks good. Fucking hell, it's not that hard to realise.
Once upon a time, having not worn a wristwatch for years, I bought a digital watch. After about two years, the battery died. When I went to get it replaced, it transpired that the watch had also died. I repeated this scenario twice. Finally I thought that enough was enough, and that if I ever bought another watch, I'd get something worth keeping, and repairing if necessary. Because you wear your watch every day, and you get used to having it there when you need to tell the time.
Well, I've had a long career in the software business, and I think that I've been through its many annoyances throught the years; stuff that was written in a hurry, stuff that was just simply half-arsed and stuff that was the work of a true professional (I'm talking about other people's work here); that was both elegant and delightful to read back over.
And I kinda like that stuff - done by someone who was an artist as well as just getting the job done. Things like that are just a delight and a pleasure to work with.
There is such a thing as "just feels right" - probably not something you could measure in any rational way, but you can feel it if it is there. I would think that if one had unlimited cash, there are many "good" things one could afford to buy - a Saville Row suite, a Porsche 911, a LearJet, even a big, fuck-off yacht like Larry Ellison.
I bought a Rolex. I could have paid more, but I couldn't buy better. 21 years on, it still does fine - it is the most perfectly engineered little machine, I can wear it on my wrist, and it even tells the time! Yeah, somewhat indulgent, but so what. A small and pleasing luxury which puts the daily grind in a different perspective. Something to remind me that I will aways be something more than a cog in a machine. If something else floats your boat, then do that thing, and I hope it gives you the same small pleasure every day as my silly little watch gives me. One day, it will be my son's, and given care, his son's or daughter's also, and it will still be as cool as fuck. I'll settle for that.
"young fogeys."?
They sound like douchebag nerds.
I'll also add that it's easy to spot a strait razor poser as he/she will only have one razor, whereas someone who actually shaves with them every day (as I do) will have at least half a dozen in rotation to reduce the honing burden.
No, the guy with multiple razors is just a poser with tons of money.
"I'll also add that it's easy to spot a strait razor poser as he/she will only have one razor, whereas someone who actually shaves with them every day (as I do) will have at least half a dozen in rotation to reduce the honing burden."
You should be touching up the razor before each use (and during use as necessary) so having multiple razors doesn't reduce the "honing burden". If you can't tell a freshly honed and stropped blade from one a few shaves old I dare say you shouldn't accuse anyone of being a straight razor poser.
... when these day every damn thing that has electrons coursing through it has a gratuitous clock built in.
If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
...with my grandfather's Casio DW-5600, the original 691 round screw-in-base Japanese-built model. Went through a string of cheap K-mart digital watches, then finally borrowed this one from him when I was in third grade and have worn it just about every day of my life since.
Someday, I'm sure it'll be hip and trendy and cool again, what with its pre-Indiglo backlight and REM function (that does nothing but remind you to remember something by a blinking light...it took me 25 years to figure that out) and second time zone display and habit of gaining three minutes a year and G-Shock protection and being water-resistant enough to shower and swim with (never even gotten close to that 200m claim!)
Until then, well, it tells time, it never needs wound, I haven't needed to replace the battery for at least 7 years now, it's durable, lightweight, and a memory of my father figure. I'll probably give it to my kid when I get ancient.
The lessons of the Depression continue to elude most of us who weren't raised by the folks who were growing up when it hit. Buy quality goods, maintain them well, and continue to use them as long as they do the job for which they were intended in a satisfactory fashion. If you can't buy quality, repair what you have. Live within your means. Let your character, not your possessions, speak for you.
Surely /. can't have a digital watch piece without the Douglas Adams quote describing Earth-people as "so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea."
When I look at a timepiece it's rare that I want to know what time it is. Much more often I want to know "how long since" or "how long until" something. An analog display gives me this info much more quickly than digital.
I agree, though I think that personally I am usually looking for what time it is *not* (not time to go home yet, not time for the meeting etc).
It's funny to ask people what time it is immediately after they have looked at their watch.
Most of the time they will have to look at it again, because they don't actually process the time but only notice what time it is not.
I used to have a self winding Oris watch but it was a bit flakey.
Right now I've got one of these
http://www.amazon.com/Casio-Chronograph-Multiband6-Japanese-Eqw-m600db-1ajf/dp/B004P5NX4G
I got mine for 11500 TWD which wasn't too bad. It looks analog but isn't really - it is radio controlled, solar powered quartz. I can see the time in both Europe and Asia pretty easily which is handy when I call people. You can swap the home and world time zones with a couple of button presses when you get on a plane.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
It's just a matter of what you're used to.
All of the watches I've owned are digital, and as a consequence, I think of time in digital terms. When I see an analogue clock it takes me noticeable effort to convert the angles of the hands into hours:minutes.
Calculating a time difference for me is a matter of adding and subtracting modulo 60, not visualizing hand positions.
I have 5 wristwatches that I regularly wear, only one is digital and that is because it's a dive computer with a dot matrix display. My backup dive watch is good old analog. I remember when digital watches came out in the 70's as a kid. They were black Casio's and a couple other brands, and you had to push a button to light up the red 7-segment LED's to see the time, otherwise they were just a black face. They were sort of cool at the time but not very convenient. I believe there are repro versions of these sold today.
More and more companies and schools are forbidding folks from having their cell phones on most of the day. Frequent flyers might be coming to the same conclusion. That, and even if well-hammered, it isn't really possible to drop ones wristwatch (as opposed to a three-figure talkie box).
And you resent the "macho" label?
What's your instrument, sport? You guys play the standards? I love hearing about other slashdotters who are real musicians.
Not a real musician, but still a slashdotter :-)
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
I totally agree with you.
It's to the point when I glance at my watch and 2 seconds after someone asks me the time, I have to look again because I don't know what time it is exactly, just that it's "close to" something.
~Syberz
No, the guy with multiple razors is just a poser with tons of money.
That's another indication that the person has no idea what they are doing. Most new production razors are very much inferior to razors you find in antique stores that are 50-100 years old. A serious straight razor enthusiast will have bought most of their razors on the cheap and restored them.
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
Anyone who's seen Casio's line of digital watches over the years note that much of their line still has analog watch dials as their primary means of displaying time. As such, I think it's more like people who are used to analog dials on watches still wanting them there even though watches now have digital innards.
You should be STROPPING the razor every time you use it. If you have to hone it every time, you are doing something wrong. A properly honed razor will not need to be honed again until it has given months of shaves. If the blade does not maintain it's edge with only stropping to freshen it, across multiple shaves, the blade is inferior steel. You should not need to strop during use either, having to do so indicates an improper blade/skin angle or a blade with inferior steel.
:)
I have 8 razors I cycle through and although whichever blade I shave with must be stropped each morning, collectively I only have to hone them (with japanese water stones, barber hones, and finally paddle strops pasted with chromium oxide) about twice a year. When I was first starting out I only used one razor and it had to be re-honed after three dozen shaves or so, a little over a month. Even then, the honing is more of a minor blade refresh (start out on a 15000 grit stone and move up) than a proper honing. Once the razor is sharp it is inclined to stay that way unless misused.
Stropping, strictly speaking, isn't honing at all (unless a pasted strop is used, and that's still more akin to deburring than actual honing) it's more a straightening of the edge; the steel along the edge can become wavy after use, this is amplified by poor shaving technique. Myself and several of the others on Straight Razor Place have undertaken many studies of razor's edges via microscopy and there is a general consensus as to what makes a razor sharp and what makes it dull. I'd invite you to head on over to the website and learn and ask questions. From the sound of your experience it sounds as if you've been given one of the metallurgically deficient blades from China, perhaps a Double Arrow or similar, and have erroneously concluded that razors have to be honed every time they are used, which is very much not the case with a correctly tempered and hardened blade (over 60 rockwell) that will hold it's edge.
If you have any further questions or misconceptions please ask, I'm happy to evangelize on the subject
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
This is probably a PR driven story driven by the "Watch Marketing Association" or some such similar organization.
...more than the watches. But it would, since I'm such a fan of old style analogue audio. Restored a late-50s/early-60s record player, built a couple of valve amplifiers. The output valves were in their original packaging, dated 1940 and 1942. The input valves weren't dated, but a little research revealed that they were ex-Soviet military specification from the early 70s. Never owned any music in a digital format.
It has much the same appeal as a good analogue clocks. Precision engineering of fifty or so years ago has such a permanent feel about it. I can be pretty sure I'll never have to replace it. If only computers and mobile phones had the same build quality.
At 40, I'm a bit too young for it to be nostalgia, and a bit too old to called a young fogey.
I've always preferred a watch with hr, min, sec hands to digitals. Digital watches never look nice to me. They look like a calculator on your arm.
But I am a geek, so here's my current watch
I've never been a fan of wristwatch's... that is why, about 3 years ago, I bought myself a pocketwatch! Who's retro now? ;)
I have an analog watch. Its an accessory, jewelry that men can wear without feeling weird.
I had a digital watch. Then cell phone were invented, and the actual "need" for a watch to tell time evaporated if you are going to carry a cell around with you. Its already digital, and it updates its time automatically. If I need to set my analog watch, I take out my iPhone. I don't really need the watch, I could just take out my iPhone. The time it saves me by looking at my arm, as opposed to removing my iPhone from my pocket is negligible. I wear a analog watch because I think it looks cool. I would be that most men fall into this category.
I like analog watches better than the digital ones. Watches don't stay accurate to the minute anyway, so who needs the digital display telling you the exact second it is when that is different from what your dash in your car is telling you. Analog gives you a feeling of time slowly flowing, rather than the start and stop of the digital time.
One thing I found interesting after I started wearing a binary watch (The One), it seems more analog than digital. With a quick glance I can see the hour and that the minutes are somewhere near 15 for example. If I wanted to study the lights closer I could see it is actually 18. So like looking at the minute hand of an analog watch and seeing it is a little past 15, I see the same thing in the lights. The other interesting point about it is that the easiest numbers to notice are in base 2 amounts. Seeing it is 8:32 is easier to notice that 8:30. Although 30 is pretty easy also: 011110, the middle four light on.
-- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
I used to wear a wristwatch religiously, but haven't for about 20 years now. I wanted to get back into wearing one, but never could stand it for more than a day. I agree with you about pocket watches. I used to carry one because I liked the look and feel of it, but it was totally impractical and got scratched a lot. My smartphone is my watch (and many other things) now.
I have nothing against analog watches, but the industry behind them is trying to make them a status thing. Rebranding them as "timepieces", questioning a person's (typically focused on males) class, tying social status to particular models. This has been done since the dawn of the wrist watch, but spam and mall displays reinforce this, which in turn gets reinforced by the consumers who matter to the young upstart go-getter. (executives and other professionals typically -not- in a tech industry) This is the perpetual motion machine which has kept said antiquated industry afloat.
Charisma is the measure of someone's ability to lie with a straight face.
i will go back to analog when a 24-hour model is available. this 12 hour legacy thing is annoying.
and yes, shaving with a straight razor because it gives a better shave.
Utter bollocks. A razor blade is only as good as it is sharp.
There is no difference (I know I shave I can tell) between this 'straight razor' than one of those better quality disposables. Anyone who says different *is* a snob.
I've owned both and I tell you I got fed up with keep that straight edge razor sharp. I hate shaving I don't want to have to maintain the damn blade.
A razor blade is only as good as it is sharp.
Absolutely true. Perhaps I should have said, a straight razor gives a better shave WHEN it has been maintained meticulously and your technique is perfect and you are willing to spend 30-45 minutes doing the prep work and shaving.
I fully agree that using a straight is WAY more hassle than dragging a disposable across your face, but if done correctly, I have found it to give a better shave.
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
your $5 Casio keeps better time
This is a misconception. Your $5 Casio will be off by a tiny fraction; e.g. 1/2 a second per day. But, it will *always* be off by the same amount, so that the error will accumulate - it will be ~3 minutes off after a year.
An analog/mechanical watch such as a Speedmaster - particularly those that are "Certified Chronometers", which are individually tested to a fairly tough standard - will drift. In hot weather they will tend to gain time, in colder weather they will tend to lose (the lubricant changes viscosity with temperature). Time will also vary depending on how often they are worn, and how active the wearer is, and how often and how much they are wound (the more wound they are, the faster they run - only by a microscopic amount, but it is measurable). So, a quality mechanical watch may vary forward and backward by more in a single day than the cheap Casio - but the errors will very often cancel themselves, so that after a year, the Omega may well keep much better time.
If you think more carefully about this, what this tells you is that the quartz watch is actually a better tool for measuring time accurately. Why? Because if its rate error is truly consistent, it can be measured and then used to correct the reading.
This method is how the old mechanical marine chronometers in ships were used to determine longitude. These clocks were designed to eliminate the rate inconsistencies you mention. Each chronometer was calibrated, set, and tested to ensure that the rate error was small and consistent, and then marked with its difference from GMT at testing date and measured rate offset. The users of the clock kept a log of the accumulated daily errors and used this to correct the clock's readings.
The point is that "keeping correct time" is not the same thing in all circumstances; change the criterion, and the quartz clock is more accurate than the mechanical one, precisely because its rate is more constant.
Are you adequate?
Nice mechanical watch are a work of art, I have a 17 jewels Waltam watch from 1930 and each gears are decorated with spirographic looking pattern, she is beautiful.
Jehovah be praised, Oracle was not selected
Maybe it's hearkening back to my teen years in the Cold War, but I cheerfully note that the analog watch on my wrist is self-winding, shockproof/resistent, supplemented by stem winding and therefore I will (until it breaks) know the time/date regardless of power source.
And, if I have a rough idea where the sun is, I'll also know which way north is, forever.
-Styopa