Quartz vs Mechanical...does either one have 'soul'?

[Deleted]

Following on my post about choosing the SKX173 over the 7548-700F, I have come back to the old question of 'does this watch have 'soul'?

I know that most will likely say that mechanical watches have 'soul' because you can hear their heart beat(tic toc).

What it we looked at the quartz module from a different point of view; ie not a listening one.
Perhaps it's the perception that a seconds hand that sweeps vs one the steps makes the difference. Maybe compare a mechanical watch and a quartz watch that have no seconds hands. Is there more soul in one than the other?

Does 'soul' mean it seems to be alive?
That's an easy evaluation to make for the mechanical watch but it is also just as easy if not easier to justify 'soul' for and electronic watch.

What is more alive than and electric circuit? Just because we cannot hear the electronic circuit switching on and off or from '1' to '0', doesn't mean it is dead.

The 'life' energy in a mechanical watch is nothing more than the compression/decompression of a spring. The life energy in an electronic watch is nothing more than the pressure(electro motive force)of a battery.

I do not really see a difference between the two, but then again, my life has been in electronics and understanding how transducers work.

Lots of questions and food for thought but please don't confuse 'soul' with any spiritual concepts 

[HiBeat]

The escapement is the soul. So there's my vote 😁

[suntzu]

Soul

[mikeyt]

I don't think either has "soul" but I have a hard time getting used to the full second pause of the seconds hand on the quartz movement.  Two-hand quartz?  Damfino. 

[saul]

The "soul" of a watch is how it makes me feel about me when I am wearing it.  Do I feel like "me"?  

[cobrajet25]

Should be an option for 'both'.  Sure, a mechanical ticks and tocs.  But an analog quartz watch ticks, too.

A mechanical watch is, well...mechanical.  A quartz watch is electro-mechanical...it still has the same geartrain as a mechanical.  Now, a digital?  Completely soulless, almost to the point that I am afraid of my GW5610 G-Shock suddenly becoming self-aware and killing me.

[saul]

Nov 12, 2019 23:50:35 GMT -8 cobrajet25 said:

Should be an option for 'both'.  Sure, a mechanical ticks and tocs.  But an analog quartz watch ticks, too.

A mechanical watch is, well...mechanical.  A quartz watch is electro-mechanical...it still has the same geartrain as a mechanical.  Now, a digital?  Completely soulless, almost to the point that I am afraid of my GW5610 G-Shock suddenly becoming self-aware and killing me.

G-Squares cannot achieve consciousness. Triple Sensors though...they are precursors to machine uprising.

So if I can have my consciousness uploaded into a Cyberdyne Systems T-880 Hyperalloy Combat Chassis, what kind of watch would I wear?  I mean, obviously I wouldn't need one but as an infiltration unit I would want to blend in.  And don't say an "Arnie", that's too easy.

[saul]

To expand on the almost touchy-feely answer I gave initially...

When I wear clothes, the style (or lack thereof), fabrics, colors, fit, are all part of a sense of self.  I remember in my early 20's a few of my friends adopting a thrift store style consisting of trousers and jackets and shoes and even hats all reminiscent of some sort of mid-century businessman (or some cross between "The Sweet Smell of Success" and "Mean Streets").  They teased (mocked) me for living in tee shirts and jeans and sneakers, as if I were still a high school kid (not withstanding I was the first of us to actually move out of my parents and pay my own damn rent).  35 years later I am still fundamentally in tee shirts and jeans and sneaker-like footwear (lightweight trail boot sort of things).

Same with watches.  There are many that I have and love but rarely wear because they just don't feel like an extension of myself when I wear them.  I am too conscious of them and am almost relieved to take them off.  I love to look at them but they feel like part of a costume when I wear them.

I had, for a number of years, a quartz aversion/snobbery.  My 7548-7000 cured me of that.  For some reason when I wear it I feel like me.  When I am in the mood to wear it the need to put it on is almost a yearning.  No different than how I feel when I must wear my 6105-8110 or 6309-7049, or 6309-729b, or 6139-6005, or 6117-8000, 0r 7548-700H...

[kue]

With a mechanical watch, I feel more in tune with it.

First thing I do before I put on a mechanical is to hand wind or shake, then adjust the time and date.

Whilst I'm walking it winds and if I stop, then it soon stops.

When it needs some TLC then I get to know the insides intimately, it's flaws and it's beauty. Making it run right is an art as much as science.

Each one is unique and behaves differently.

A mechanical can only aim to be accurate, but quartz is expected to be accurate.

[dadistic]

Mechanical watches connect me to a history that goes way, way back. To just about the beginning of human technological development. I find there is a certain gravity to this, maybe a bit of romance.

Quartz technology is just too "new" to have the same impact on me, I was around when it was developed.  Like most electronics these days, it is also too much of a "black box" to get my interest going. Less so than a modern smart phone, but it still marks the beginning of a trend that makes the workings disappear into a microscopic oblivion where they cannot be seen or appreciated by the human eye.

[Deleted]

Nov 12, 2019 23:50:35 GMT -8 cobrajet25 said:

Should be an option for 'both'.  Sure, a mechanical ticks and tocs.  But an analog quartz watch ticks, too.

A mechanical watch is, well...mechanical.  A quartz watch is electro-mechanical...it still has the same geartrain as a mechanical.  Now, a digital?  Completely soulless, almost to the point that I am afraid of my GW5610 G-Shock suddenly becoming self-aware and killing me.

I realized too late that I had not made that an option...can't edit the darn thing

[aladinsane]

To me, a mechanical watch does not have a soul, no watches do, but a mechanical watch is a cool little machine that lives on my wrist and is dependent on my energy either from winding or wrist motion to give it something to work on. I am constantly winding a spring, and the watch is slowly letting that spring unwind.

[camrok]

Anthropomorphism- human attributes to inanimate objects.

Read this.
It’s another perspective on machines having soul.
It’s an eclectic review of some very unrelated inventions that have an obvious human element that gives it soul.

Here’s an extract of his preface.

“The fact is that most machines are just a collection of wires and plastic. The computer, for instance, on which I've written this book has no more of a heart than a Toyota Corolla, which in turn is no more soulful than a Corby trouser press.

But some machines do have a soul. Sometimes, as is the case with Concorde and the AK 47, it's because they possess that most human of qualities, a flaw, and sometimes it's because they were born carrying the genetic fingerprint of a foolish and misguided inventor. Count Zeppelin springs to mind here.”


In this light the 7548 or even more so the tuning fork have just as much if not more soul to their owners than some automatics.

The only reason that automatics are often so aligned with soul based attributes are likely the fact that they are more variable and fallible and likely to vary dependent on its ware, condition, position (crown up down etc) and ?temperature. This is obviously just my opinion.

Some Owners modify their behavior to accommodate and will likely have a position to leave their favorite watch to ensure time keeping or only wear it on an occasions. Ergo Anthropomorphism.

[bradurani]

The soul of a watch is the spirit of its inventors while they were creating it, and the times they worked in.

A watch brought to life during a contest to create a world first has a soul that radiates the competitive spirit, innovation in manufacturing and mechanical inventiveness


A watch built to usher in a new age of technology, by pushing the boundaries of physics, has a soul that reflects the triumph of man over the electron and the great shift of civilization into the electronics age:



A watch that pushed the boundaries of functionality in a cross continental race to capture a changing industry carries the soul of a nation determined to improve it's position in a rapidly modernizing world



A watch built by a company under threat, forced to innovate to not meet its death, while its peers were falling left and right has a soul of stubborn survival, innovation under pressure, and risky business decisions made with everything to lose.



A watch built to push the envelope of what was possible - while everyone else was focused only on cutting costs - has a soul of engineering excellence, and a brash confidence that the best product wins


So does a quartz watch have a soul? Depends when and why it was made. A Seiko Kinetic, a Citizen HAQ, an Apple watch do by my definition. Most others are engineered only to cut costs, which feels soulless to me. Does a Seiko Arnie have soul? Yes. Does an Arnie re-issue? I think so, but it's a different kind of soul. It's a soul based on the watch's ability to let you relive history, rather than it's actual place in history.
Does a mechanical watch have a soul? An F.P. Journe does. Less so my SKX, engineered first and foremost to cut costs, although good design and an unbroken lineage to past glories can bring soul to a watch where technology leaves a void.

These are only my criteria though. The fun thing about being a watch collector is you get to set your own

[Deleted]

Nov 15, 2019 2:32:50 GMT -8 bradurani said:

The soul of a watch is the spirit of its inventors while they were creating it, and the times they worked in.

A watch brought to life during a contest to create a world first has a soul that radiates the competitive spirit, innovation in manufacturing and mechanical inventiveness


A watch built to usher in a new age of technology, by pushing the boundaries of physics, has a soul that reflects the triumph of man over the electron and the great shift of civilization into the electronics age:



A watch that pushed the boundaries of functionality in a cross continental race to capture a changing industry carries the soul of a nation determined to improve it's position in a rapidly modernizing world



A watch built by a company under threat, forced to innovate to not meet its death, while its peers were falling left and right has a soul of stubborn survival, innovation under pressure, and risky business decisions made with everything to lose.



A watch built to push the envelope of what was possible - while everyone else was focused only on cutting costs - has a soul of engineering excellence, and a brash confidence that the best product wins


So does a quartz watch have a soul? Depends when and why it was made. A Seiko Kinetic, a Citizen HAQ, an Apple watch do by my definition. Most others are engineered only to cut costs, which feels soulless to me. Does a Seiko Arnie have soul? Yes. Does an Arnie re-issue? I think so, but it's a different kind of soul. It's a soul based on the watch's ability to let you relive history, rather than it's actual place in history.
Does a mechanical watch have a soul? An F.P. Journe does. Less so my SKX, engineered first and foremost to cut costs, although good design and an unbroken lineage to past glories can bring soul to a watch where technology leaves a void.

These are only my criteria though. The fun thing about being a watch collector is you get to set your own

WOW! You said it all and summed up pretty much what I have felt for some time.  

[sdoocms]

Soular!

[jay48]

Nov 15, 2019 2:32:50 GMT -8 bradurani said:

The soul of a watch is the spirit of its inventors while they were creating it, and the times they worked in.

A watch brought to life during a contest to create a world first has a soul that radiates the competitive spirit, innovation in manufacturing and mechanical inventiveness


A watch built to usher in a new age of technology, by pushing the boundaries of physics, has a soul that reflects the triumph of man over the electron and the great shift of civilization into the electronics age:



A watch that pushed the boundaries of functionality in a cross continental race to capture a changing industry carries the soul of a nation determined to improve it's position in a rapidly modernizing world



A watch built by a company under threat, forced to innovate to not meet its death, while its peers were falling left and right has a soul of stubborn survival, innovation under pressure, and risky business decisions made with everything to lose.



A watch built to push the envelope of what was possible - while everyone else was focused only on cutting costs - has a soul of engineering excellence, and a brash confidence that the best product wins


So does a quartz watch have a soul? Depends when and why it was made. A Seiko Kinetic, a Citizen HAQ, an Apple watch do by my definition. Most others are engineered only to cut costs, which feels soulless to me. Does a Seiko Arnie have soul? Yes. Does an Arnie re-issue? I think so, but it's a different kind of soul. It's a soul based on the watch's ability to let you relive history, rather than it's actual place in history.
Does a mechanical watch have a soul? An F.P. Journe does. Less so my SKX, engineered first and foremost to cut costs, although good design and an unbroken lineage to past glories can bring soul to a watch where technology leaves a void.

These are only my criteria though. The fun thing about being a watch collector is you get to set your own
Brilliant! I prefer mechanicals as well, but certain quartz watches in my collection (a battered Divex that refused to die with seawater ingress) do have soul.