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'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 "grey market" and buy from an Authorized Dealer. Grey market watches won't have the manufacturer warranty.<p>* Avoid replicas and fakes (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHgKMA6Bh6U" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHgKMA6Bh6U</a>)<p>Some links:<p>* The Urban Gentry (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/theurbangentry" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/user/theurbangentry</a>) is a YouTube channel run by a horology enthusiast with a positive attitude who does lots of watch reviews.<p>* The r/Watches subreddit (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/watches/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/watches/</a>) has lots of photos of watches contributed by the community.<p>* A video on how mechanical watches work: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XBb7kJJWg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XBb7kJJWg</a><p>* S-Town podcast (<a href="https://stownpodcast.org/" rel="nofollow">https://stownpodcast.org/</a>) is an intriguing story about a man who repaired antique clocks.<p>* Affordable Wrist Time (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/affordablewristtime/?hl=en" rel="nofollow">https://www.instagram.com/affordablewristtime/?hl=en</a>) the tagline is "Promoting watches under $1000."<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.