Masahiro Kikuno, Japanese Independent Watchmaker (2017)
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&#x27;s a fun hobby with a nice community of enthusiasts.<p>Some advice:<p>* If possible, wear the watch before buying it. Seeing a watch on your wrist is different from seeing photos of it.<p>* Avoid the &quot;grey market&quot; and buy from an Authorized Dealer. Grey market watches won&#x27;t have the manufacturer warranty.<p>* Avoid replicas and fakes (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=WHgKMA6Bh6U" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=WHgKMA6Bh6U</a>)<p>Some links:<p>* The Urban Gentry (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;user&#x2F;theurbangentry" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;user&#x2F;theurbangentry</a>) is a YouTube channel run by a horology enthusiast with a positive attitude who does lots of watch reviews.<p>* The r&#x2F;Watches subreddit (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;watches&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;watches&#x2F;</a>) has lots of photos of watches contributed by the community.<p>* A video on how mechanical watches work: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=G1XBb7kJJWg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=G1XBb7kJJWg</a><p>* S-Town podcast (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;stownpodcast.org&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;stownpodcast.org&#x2F;</a>) is an intriguing story about a man who repaired antique clocks.<p>* Affordable Wrist Time (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.instagram.com&#x2F;affordablewristtime&#x2F;?hl=en" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.instagram.com&#x2F;affordablewristtime&#x2F;?hl=en</a>) the tagline is &quot;Promoting watches under $1000.&quot;<p>Some terminology:<p>* A quartz watch is usually powered by a battery. They tend to be cheaper and more accurate than mechanical watches.<p>* A mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring.<p>* An automatic watch has a semicircular rotor inside which automatically spins when the watch moves, winding the mainspring.<p>* Hacking is a feature that stops the second hand from moving when the crown is pulled out.