The most epoch-making is self-winding mechanical watch

Mechanical watches pay attention to complexity, such as world time, tachymeter, moon phase display and so on. However, the most epoch-making and most inconspicuous complication is the automatic winding.

In the 1970s, the watch industry exploded with the quartz shock. Mass-produced quartz movements, with their advantages of low price, slim size and no need to wind, have caused a devastating blow to traditional mechanical timepieces, especially wristwatches.

In terms of convenience and precision, quartz movements can almost outperform mechanical movements. The lifespan of a quartz movement varies from a few years to a few decades, but during use, at least during a battery replacement cycle, you really don't have to worry about whether the watch will go. But even so, the surging wave of electronics failed to wash away the trusty self-winding of mechanical watches. Did you know? Self-winding predates manual winding by about half a century. But that's not why self-winding is by far the most popular.

In fact, the number of automatic watch manufacturers dwindled in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were even some predictions at the time that quartz movements would seal the dust of self-winding mechanical watches. One can believe this prophecy for many reasons. But time is like that, fashion is always changing, and the blind admiration for quartz watches didn't last long. Mechanical automatic watches (usually with AUTOMATIC written on the dial) have regained ground, and a good idea is not so easily killed. Growing environmental awareness is also coming into play.

The production of batteries means that they will eventually be disposed of, which increases the pressure on the environment. In fact, however, the fascination with mechanical watches that emerged in the 1990s actually reflects the esteem people still hold for the design and manufacture of highly complex watches. Moreover, the micro-mechanical and electronic systems in the automatic quartz and human kinetic energy further show that the traditional winding rotor (WINDING ROTOR) is still far from the end of the get out of class.

Seiko's SPRING DRIVE system is the best example, this system uses the traditional oscillating weight as the power source, and uses the frequency of the quartz oscillation as the benchmark for the movement speed.