Automatic Sports Watches Retain Their Charm

What’s making today’s gadget freaks turn towards the old mechanical magic?

Let’s take a break from the quartz brigade. That includes analog quartz, digital quartz and smart watches. Instead, let’s discuss the conundrum posed to many of us; especially, the modern-era gadget freaks to whom, the fundamental sense of brand recognition is different from embracing an admittedly excellent quality. The unimaginative and conservative analog designs also appealed to them less than the smart watches; they easily overlooked the reassuring consistency in mechanical designs all these day, despite their reverence reaching unprecedented levels.

The meteoric rise in popularity of smart watches of recent overshadowed the automatic sports watches for some time but as people started realizing a few things about them, the table started turning. What we will talk about from this point onward is certain realizations by people that made them look at and embrace automatic sports watches once again.

Firstly, many found their average smart watches not hardy enough to resist the harsh forces of Nature amidst the wild and they turned paranoid; but as it’s said, being paranoid doesn’t always mean that someone is wrong; at least not in this case. To be curt, they realized that automatic sports watches retain their charm even after decades, whereas digital pieces (including smart watches) qualify more as fleeting trends, often not surviving the span and the hardships people want them to. The demand for automatic sports watches reached unprecedented levels solely due to this fact and no, this applies not just to Rolex or Omega or similar other Swiss giants but also Japanese stalwarts like Citizen, Seiko and Orient and entry-level Swiss brands; Hamilton, Invicta and Tissot being the foremost. These apart, lesser known brands like Ratio and Zeppelin are also present with their respective arsenals; it’s up to you to decide which one you would finally go for.

The hunger is largely for the diver models, followed by chronograph, aviation and compass watches; the demand across the board for automatic, professional sports models spanning from the super-affordable Seiko 5 to the thousands worth Omega has passed the ferocious-stage long back and has currently reached the hysterical mark on the collective emotional scale.

Taking the really reasonable decision; however, will require you to know bit more than just the points mentioned earlier; let’s sum them up neatly before we end. Those not willing to go till the end: Know that when you choose an automatic watch, you’re choosing a meaningful and artistic piece of craftsmanship that will be treasured for many years to come.

Those who are willing to, for them:

• In the world of high-end sports-watchmaking, high-grade, thick gauge, surgical stainless steel is regarded as a much more elevated material than synthetic polymers. Plus, it looks way classier and over time, the signs of wear and tear will add to the overall character of the watch.

Note: Those with a fascination for black watches shall find black, PVD coated steel way more alluring than resin or plastic.

• Precision Craftsmanship that’s not always by the machines but often by humans! This is what you call in-house. This is what makes mechanical watches works of art; the tiny components making up the incredible masterpieces might be shaped with machines but the final assembly – depending on the brand –always receive that human touch; something you can write home about. Smart watches or in that case, any digital timepiece will lack that human touch.

• A smart watch or a digital watch doesn’t go with formal clothing; much less with suits. On the other hand, many of the automatic sports watches pose absolutely no problem to be worn at work. They are things of beauty, even if you look at them from a purely structural perspective.

• Unlike electronic watches running on batteries, automatic mechanical watches must be worn regularly or to be manually wound to keep them running. It forms a deep bond unlike quartz watches; they grow on you with time.

• The heirloom concept best applies to mechanical watches and an automatic sports watch – built to withstand years of abuse – fits this criteria the best. They evoke best that undeniable feeling of heritage and the associated nostalgia, which is not to be found in a quartz-based, battery-driven watch; no matter how technically advanced it is. This is one reason why even smart watch wearers are investing in automatic sports watches all the more these days. It is fact that an automatic watch will outlast an electronic one by years, to be passed down through generations.

The number of options available with automatic sports watches might get you overwhelmed but it also opens up the door for a myriad possibilities about which one should finally embrace your wrist. Frankly speaking, quartz doesn’t deliver so many; finding that one watch to best suit your own unique and specific needs is tough. Either they come with a lot of features and/or functions you don’t need and you pay a lot extra for no reason or they are plain Jane-s to fade into obscurity within a few couple of years. There is no value for tradition in the world of electronics; in the world of mechanicals, it is paramount!

All right, rant done; save the last point. Selecting a fine, mechanical sports automatic timepiece is a lot easier comparatively; all you need to take under consideration is the overall built quality and the purpose for which you are buying it other than making a heirloom out of it. Their symbolic forms are much desired in the world of wearable tool and art; it is something you can brag about even after decades. It also proves your automatic sports watch was born in reliable hands and not just within some automated machinery that’s precise but won’t stop in case a fault occurs during the manufacturing process. This single point is enough for automatic sports watches to retain their charm through the years, even if you don’t want to look at any of their other aspects.