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jmp3r96 OP t1_j4g971n wrote

Reply to comment by agent_flounder in 1970s Mechanical Timex 🙂 Loses a minute a day, but absolutely bulletproof! by jmp3r96

I didn't buy it for the accuracy. I'm a manufacturing engineer, so I jump between working in my office to being out on the shop floor pretty regularly. Nothing heavy-duty, but I wanted something that would still work if I accidentally knocked it. And I wanted something mechanical because I just like mechanical objects.

I'd also like to point out that the Timex movement while inaccurate and crude to some is pretty ingenious in that they were able to break down a complicated watch movement into its most basic components for mass manufacture. From a watchmaker's perspective, it's a junk nightmare. But for me, it's an example of manufacturing engineering at its finest.

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agent_flounder t1_j4gs7rw wrote

For sure! They are awesome. That's why I have several including the one I had as a kid in the 70s (it still runs fine too).

The old ads are true ("takes a licking..."). Those old Timex watches really are tough as nails. For example, the balance staff, instead of a thin, easily broken thing like in typical mechanicals, is 10x thicker with cone ends that ride in inverse cone dishes. You're not gonna break that, I don't care what you do. That design is inherently shock proof without needing to add any tiny, expensive shock protection parts (diashock, incaboc, etc).

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Cottonita t1_j4gy2o9 wrote

Exactly why I started collecting vintage Timexes. I’m amazed at the engineering it took to produce such hardy pieces at affordable prices, and I really like how the designs are so distinctive to their era. One of my everyday watches is from the 1950s and it’s still accurate.

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