5 things you need to know before you buy your first automatic watch.

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 Automatic watches are awesome, but if you've never owned one before, there's some things you should be aware of before purchasing. Questions like, how much does it cost to get a watch serviced? what is hacking and hand winding? How often do I need set the time o my watch? All are important to consider.

After watching the video, check out the links below to see some great options for your first automatic mechanical watch.

Watches Shown in this video (With Affiliate Links)

Spinnaker Fluess
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Purchase from Spinnaker:

Some Other Great Entry Level Automatic Watches

Links to Reviews of watches featured in this video:

[pandel]

I bought a seiko5 in 1985. It cost me the half week payment. After 34 years works good. Its the first watch i bought with the payment of my first work

[hatespeech]

I like the feeling of something running on its own. It's like something alive is going on on my waist, doing their day to day purpose, just like me, a human. It is such a meaningful thing for me. Modern watches are accurate af and if I need to know the exact time in exact second, I will just look at my phone but I prefer wearing automatic watch over a battery watch because it just gives me the joy. I don't know why.

[viannarts]

I got an automatic Orient that belonged to my grandfather, it was in my aunt's drawer for 37 years, I picked it up this week and had it on my wrist already for 3 days and still works perfectly! I'm so impressed with it, how is it even possible? Sometimes I put it on my ear and listen to the tic tak, within all the scratches it feels like somehow my grandfather is still around, hard to explain.

[Mizoe]

Back in 2005 I bought a Citizen Eco Drive watch. I never knew how good, durable and accurate these watches are. I basically keep it clean that’s all you have to do to it!!! It does not require a battery replacement, , , , it keeps itself charged up with ambient light!!! In this 18 years I have had it I have worn it every day and it simply works perfectly!!!

[dani_a_biro]

Reseting the time, date and winding a mechanical watch, for me, is part of the experience of owning a watch. You have to give it atention, care for it. It is satisfying for me to check on my mechanical watches and adjust them. Such a relaxing ocupation. But each to his own.

[chemoautotroph]

I got my first Seiko 5 when I turned 18 years old, it was a gift from my mom. That was the year 1982. Believe it or not I still have it and it still runs, and it has never been formally serviced. Somehow the rotor came loose several years ago, so I opened it and screwed it back on. I have replaced the gasket a few times myself, it has been magnetized and demagnetized a couple of times, I’ve adjusted the beat rate also. It still runs on the original bracelet. The movement is a 7009 and the model 8930. I am also a watch hobbyist and this watch is part of the collection, so in its later years it’s been pampered and cherished more than ever. The watch has been to hell and back; it was my only watch for many years; it’s been to the beach, worn while doing mechanics on my cars, it has the scars of a thousand wars, and it still runs. May be I got lucky, but boy I tell you, if they still make them this tough you have nothing to worry about for many, many years with your mechanical watches.

[neilbailey]

Bought a Seiko 5 back in 1975, it has never been serviced, but still works perfectly!

[alandennis]

The Seiko 5 is probably the best introduction to the world of mechanical watches, and it’s been in production for a long time. It’s got tradition, toughness, and it’s super affordable. I’ve had mine for 6 years, never been serviced, has been soaked by rain and been in extreme cold many times. Never gains more than 6 seconds a day in my experience. It still looks lovely despite the beating of warehouse work and heavy outdoor use I’ve put it through. It has these fine scratches all over the crystal and bezel that give it a nice broken in look and feel. It got me into watches because it was the first expensive (relatively, no watch enthusiast will be fooled) looking and nice feeling watch I’ve owned!

[dwglsmo]

We buy mechanical watches because of the engineering appeal. They have a soul that is not expressed in a quartz watch. They are interesting pieces of horological art. Automatic and mechanical watches represent art on the wrist. That is why we love them. We ignore their obvious problems and antique technology. We celebrate them as artistic pieces that are unappreciated in our day. Their imperfection is a tribute to those who aspired to build timepieces, limited in technology, that were the greatest in their day. The latest is not always the greatest. There are those of us who love what was the best in the past and appreciate the science of our for bearers.

[somethingelse]

My Seiko 5 from 1976 has never been serviced, keeps perfect time for a mechanical watch, and is a fantasic watch to wear still. I'm not saying that you are wrong about servicing, just giving my experience of owning a fantastic watch.

[DTOM]

Hi Dave. Just want to say thanks for this video. It was very helpful. I’ve always owned a few quartz watches, but never explored mechanical watches until recently. I really love the history and art behind some of these watches and I will always appreciate their inherent mechanical design. However, a man needs to know his limitations. I realized finally with your video that I don’t have the level of attention or patience that a mechanical watch requires and deserves. Therefore, I’m sticking with quartz. Luckily, I found what I wanted in quartz; Laco entry level Pilot watches (both A & B dials) in 40 mm. I couldn’t be happier.

[Epicus..]

I have my dad's watch. Seiko 5 manufactured February 1974. Still works without a service 🤩

[bron-sconcess.]

When considering buying a mechanical watch, I looked at you SNK803 review. This watch in black, met a lot of my brief. It's an honourable hobby and I admire your integrity, working to a decent, open level of critique.
I'm so glad I've seen this video, because it answers those nagging questions I wasn't sure about. Addressing them with an ethic I like and common sense too, because it's not all about any one logic really, it's personal.
Sound video! Will be a key video in your series! Thanks again!

[johnleonard]

My dad gave me a 1980s Seiko 5 (looks very similar to your seiko 5 thats why I clicked on the video but it has a white dial and the crown is in the middle) that he bought back then. It has never been serviced, repaired, or opened. It still ticking today and it's pretty accurate. This, is the reason why we LOVE mechanical and automatic watches.

[meilyrwilliams]

I’ve still got my Dad’s old SwissAm watch from the 70’s. I don’t wear it often, but it still works great. It’s never been serviced, but keeps time well. I think the only reason he stopped wearing it was because quartz digital watches became popular in the 80’s. They were so accurate, cheap and didn’t require winding. I have a quartz digital Casio for work, my Citizen Eco-drive and my Father’s manual wind up mechanism SwissAm. I’ll probably not buy an Automatic unless I change jobs where I can wear one frequently. My job is a TIG welder, hence the cheap Casio F-108W. I don’t mind getting it beaten up! Great advice in the post, thanks!

[rfeliciano]

I have Seiko 5 automatic since 1985, was HS Graduation gift and it's running just like the day it was given to me. I still wear it for many occasions, and has not let me down not even once. Zero maintenance since was given to me.

[NotThatSlow]

I only recently got a couple of Seiko 5s to play around with the idea of an automatic watch, but I realized pretty quickly that keeping accurate time is not really the point of an automatic (obviously you can spend the money if you really want to make that the point). It's really about appreciating the fact that these devices can turn kinetic energy (you, the wearer, moving around) into mechanical energy in the form of timekeeping. It requires no batteries to be replaced or charged, and the actual way it functions (e.g. the sweep of the second hand vs a quartz movement) is pretty cool to see.

[BalladGrave]

I still have Seiko 5 that belonged to my grandpa, it is more than 30 years old. Nevere did it broke. Wouldn't trade it for any million dollars watch. It is priceless to me. And I absolutely love it, its classic, small and just beautiful...

[captainspirou]

For setting the time on a watch without hacking or winding (like Seiko 5) I found that when you advance the minute hand it typically jumpstarts the watch with whatever little energy might still be stored. So I typically sync the seconds hand that way and then shake the watch a bit to store more energy in the mainspring. After winding it a bit I set the time

[TheAztube]

I own three, I didn’t realize I would have to service them before seeing this video. I’m hoping that won’t cost more than $150 but I still feel good in my mechanical watch. My newest watch is a hack watch, but until this video I never understood what that meant. This was a great video, thanks for the content.