> For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.
At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.
I would argue that pretty much any mechanical watch isn't about quality as a timepiece these days. Quartz watches work really well for keeping the time, honestly better than any mechanical watch ever will. But that's ok - I still love my mechanical watches out of sheer appreciation for the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into such things. They have their own appeal.
NASA still specify the best analog watch they tested (twice because when congress found out it wasn’t American they made them do it again only to get the same result).
If you are in a critical situation and surrounded by electronics an analog watch can survive conditions like power failure and temp electronics cannot.
Irrelevant to business people but as a safety feature and emergency backup something fully mechanical and accurate could save your life.
> At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.
Annnnd at this level I'm out.
I mean, cool engineering solving a particular problem, near impossible tolerances, astounding art/materials all appeal on some level - but "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything.
Yeah. I have a Seiko I found as a kid, got serviced and then it has sat in a drawer for 30 years. Probably junk now.
I use my phone these days. But if I wanted a watch I'd probably go for a Casio G-Shock solar - may or may not go for a variant with fancy GPS timing or scuba-proof. Features that take care of problems I might have.
At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.