Why Do People Say Mechanical Watches Have A Soul?

When you get into watch collecting you will very quickly hear the same thing over and over again from other collectors  …”Quartz watches are not as good as mechanical watches as they do not have a soul.”

I don’t think anyone is literally saying a mechanical watch has a soul, so what do they actually mean by this and why do they think quartz watches are different?

Old vs New Watches 

Quartz and mechanical really is the old verses the new when it comes to how they are made.

Quartz watch movements use modern electrical science to make them work and are often made on assembly lines by automated machines. They are often just made from simple components that can be massed produced and cheaply sold. They are basically no different than any other mass produced object. They are also extremely accurate and reliable at telling the time.

You can read the above paragraph and either think “wow that is so cool that they can do this” or you can read it and think “damn, just another production line of junk for the masses”

If you think the later, you are probably believe that mechanical watches have a soul and the old engineering and production of these is far more special to you than the characterless, yet efficient modern production lines.

(You can read more about – Smart Watches vs Mechanical Watches, What One Should You Get?)

Heart And Soul In The Manufacturing

Personally I think the phrase “mechanical watches have a soul” that we hear today has somehow developed from “mechanical watches are made with heart and soul”

I don’t know if anyone ever said this, but I feel like this is probably the origin of today’s saying, and it somehow got lost from this original version and is now in the form that we see today.

Saying something has “heart and soul put in to it” means that someone put a lot of time, skill, love and effort into making something.
When you see some high end watches, you can defiantly say this is true.

When you look at the craftsmanship and the detail that goes into a luxury mechanical movement it is hard to deny that they are pretty much works of art.

When you also see the tiny pieces in the movement that have been engraved only for the case back to cover it and hide it, that is true love. Putting effort into something that no one will even see is for me the purest definition of “heart and soul”.

The watchmaker is doing this to meet their own perfection levels and high standards. This level of love and care doesn’t really go into the new age quartz movements. Although laser precision cutting and accuracy is very impressive, it’s not the same as seeing someone patiently and caringly spending hours assembling a watch by hand.    

Old World Charm Of Mechanical Watches

When you have a mechanical watch in your hand and you are playing around with it, or even just watching it, you will get a strong feel for the history of watch making along with the romance behind it and almost a sense of nostalgia, even if you were born in the digital age. I think it is this old world charm that we now call the “soul”

There is just something very old fashioned and traditional about a mechanical watch that you don’t get with a quartz watch. Even if you have an analogue quartz, you just don’t get this same feeling as you are not winding it up or you can’t look at the cogs turning through a clear case back and see everything move inside.

It just has that similar feeling people get from driving classic cars. Of course modern cars are way more efficient and reliable, but people just like that old world charm of things. It’s like a physical connection to a different era.

Personal Connection

Another way to look at the “soul” of a watch is through personal connection.

We use our watches everyday and although they are a simple tool to keep the time they can also be so much more than this. Watches are often bought to mark special occasions and every time we look at them they can remind us of that that time.

You also have the fact that each mechanical watch you own will be a little different from the next. I own a number of digital casio’s and they are pretty much the same. I love them, but once you have handled one, you have pretty much handled them all.

It’s totally different with mechanical watches, you have to almost learn their character and build that relationship in your head. Each watch will have its own quirks or even inaccuracies. Winding one watch will feel totally different to another; one might run slightly faster or have a slower power reserve than another. Even if you put them to your ear and listen, they all sound different.

Giving A Mechaincal Watch Energy

When you own a mechanical watch it only works if you wind it up. It is almost like it’s a living thing and we have to care for it and keep it alive.

This can start to become almost a ritual, making sure you are routinely winding your watches and even checking the time is still accurate. 

You just don’t get this a quartz watch. You replace the battery every few years, set the time and it’s done. You just pick it up and put it on. This is of course highly efficient and convenient.

You can sort of lose this with an automatic watch or one with a very long power reserve, but I still find myself doing strange things like giving them all a shake before I go to bed. It’s almost like owning a Tamagotchi again, making sure it’s got everything it needs to have a good night’s sleep.

Conclusion

In reality neither a quartz nor a mechanical watch has a “soul” they are both inanimate objects that we enjoy.

I just think the added work that goes into a mechanical watch, along with being able to see and feel it work, mixed with the romantic nostalgia of them makes people more attached to them. This has seemly spiralled out of control and is now expressed as the watch having “having a soul”

I don’t think it really matters what you call it, or why, but if you enjoy watches, of any type then this is a good thing.

(You can read more about – Why Are People Obsessed With Watches?)