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Apple Watch vs Rolex
- Thread starter r0k
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I have a Rolex and an Apple Watch Pro 1. I respect them both for what they are, and wear them both all the time, sometimes both at the same time, regardless of the rough & tumble - hiking, shooting, diving, driving, horseback, whatever. They're both better with chore-worn patina. But I guarantee my platinum Yachtmaster will still keep perfect time when the AWP will have been recycled and not even missed.
I don't understand this comparison. If one can afford a Rolex, you'd probably just own an AW too. And wear either or depending on what you're doing and where you're going.
It won’t keep perfect time. It’s materially less accurate than many other watches, including the Apple Watch.
It’ll keep good time for a mechanical watch if kept in a winder and serviced every 10 years.
My heart positively bleeds for you. It must have been so hard on your poor foot servants.
Right you are! 😎 ⏳ The YM is 17 years old, now, daily wear 24/7... let's say 35 weeks a year. It graphs around -3 to +5 seconds a day. Still COSC compliant, at least. I shoulda said, "Meaningfully accurate", not "perfect" in the Naval Observatory sense.
Humans aren't capable of perceiving or using perfectly measured time, though skills can emulate Meaningfully accurate timing (e.g., gamers, dancers, racing drivers, pilots, musicians, snipers, etc.).
Far as I'm concerned, real-world perfect means my 911 was far enough ahead of that F-Type to win cat&mouse, or the shuttle leaves at precisely 06:30, or send theatre assessment by 0900 sharp".
What I am NOT doing is manually timing rocket burns to correct Hohmann transfer orbit insertions returning to Earth. However, even THAT miracle had enough slop for the nervous systems of two humans to plod along and get it right.
Perfect is a bad word. I was weak. Bad 'Rat! Bad!
Neither am I, but it still annoys me that despite my best efforts to keep them in sync, the clock on my gas oven and microwave display different times.
Well, any mechanical watch, not just Rolex, but yeah, that's one of the reasons I like classic watches for sure
I don't see them as being comparable....I have two Rolex watches, Datejust and Explorer II, and I love to wear them but the problem is that the functions of the Ultra I have are just too useful. My phone is in my bag, and most of the time I don't need to grab my phone, the Ultra has everything I need right at my fingertips and I don't need to scramble to get to the phone. The Rolex just sits in a winder and doesn't see much wrist time. If I do wear them, I do get a lot of joy....it feels like a marvel of mechanical engineering and will probably outlive me. The Apple watch is a disposable gadget. I also have a Series 5 and now the battery is shot and it won't get the next WatchOS, so it's becoming pretty useless and shoud be recycled.
Fun fact: Some "builder's grade" appliance clocks don't have quartz oscillator circuits to maintain "meaningfully accurate" (new euphamism for "perfect") 1-second oscillation. Rather, they rely on the oscillation of line power at 60 hz. Mains power often varies between 50 hz and 70 hz. A digital display plainly reveal the accumulated divergence.
Among otherwise identical appliances, some might have good clocks, some bad, because the BRAND VENDOR needs to leave some slack in WHITEBOX OEM contracts, in order to meet a price point. They've always played the odds that customers won't make warranty claims. Pandemic time was a reminder to be grateful we can get anything at all.
People who like mechanical watches are similar to people who collect classic cars. it’s a very different feeling putting my Daytona on vs my ultra. Functionality wise the ultra blows the Daytona away. I can hardly see the time on the Daytona but it sure is classic and feels great to wear. It just looks much nicer imho. But for pure form follows function the ultra is the winner. I enjoy both. For those that say they never wear their mechanicals anymore then they are not into true classic watches. I consider mechanicals works of art where Apple Watch is a disposable gadget. Very different purposes.
My Dad gave me an old Rolex he bought in Asia while flying transport missions during the Korean War as an Air force Pilot. It wasn’t one of the fancier models, had a leather band, faded watch plate, and didn’t run.
I took it in to a Rolex service shop, had it repaired and bought a stainless Rolex band for it. It had tremendous sentimental value. It was stolen when our house was broken into and of all the things taken, the watch, my wife’s mothers wedding ring and our family video tapes were the only things I was really upset about and a lot was stolen including all my professional level Nikon camera gear.
For our 25th wedding Anniversary my wife surprised me with a Rolex. She never forgot how much the Rolex meant to me though the value was because my Dad gave it to me and now my Rolex is sentimental because my wife gave it to me in honor of the stolen watch my father gave me.
I bought an Apple Watch primarily to test aFib after being diagnosed with aFib and flutter. An ablation procedure seems to have completely resolved the problem and now I use it primarily for hiking and fitness apps. I don’t know where that iWatch face came from, not normally what I use. They both have value to me.
I took it in to a Rolex service shop, had it repaired and bought a stainless Rolex band for it. It had tremendous sentimental value. It was stolen when our house was broken into and of all the things taken, the watch, my wife’s mothers wedding ring and our family video tapes were the only things I was really upset about and a lot was stolen including all my professional level Nikon camera gear.
For our 25th wedding Anniversary my wife surprised me with a Rolex. She never forgot how much the Rolex meant to me though the value was because my Dad gave it to me and now my Rolex is sentimental because my wife gave it to me in honor of the stolen watch my father gave me.
I bought an Apple Watch primarily to test aFib after being diagnosed with aFib and flutter. An ablation procedure seems to have completely resolved the problem and now I use it primarily for hiking and fitness apps. I don’t know where that iWatch face came from, not normally what I use. They both have value to me.
Thanks for sending me down this interesting rabbit hole. Apparently utilities do try very hard to maintain a 60hz frequency, but it challenging given the variation in load. This article is very old, but it talks about how they use lithium ion car batteries to mitigate the issue. https://archive.nytimes.com/green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/hold-that-megawatt/
I'll also note that I have an APC UPS at my desk at work, and I can't recall a time when we were on utility power that the frequency display doesn't show a steady 60.0 hz. I know that display does work, because I've also looked at it during a power outage when we're running on generator, and it does fluctuate a bit then, close to but not quite 60.0. But I suppose that even a small amount of frequency error does add up over time, and could account for the clock on my late model Samsung over-the-range microwave running slow, while my 24 year old GE oven is on the money.
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While I love my Ultra, there is just something special about a quality mechanical timepiece.
My 1997 Submariner has survived 2 wars, countless dives and even a few HALO jumps from 30k feet.
Still looks brand new and has only been serviced once.
I guess I just love the idea of whirling gears and mechanics packed into a small device, just like my old air cooled 911 Turbo!
My 1997 Submariner has survived 2 wars, countless dives and even a few HALO jumps from 30k feet.
Still looks brand new and has only been serviced once.
I guess I just love the idea of whirling gears and mechanics packed into a small device, just like my old air cooled 911 Turbo!
What vintage? 930 Widowmaker, 930 SE(!), 964/5 or 993? I had a 993 C4; Aventurine Green over Tan. That VDO clock was the very last thing to die, when the battery couldn't roll the windows down, starter just clickin'. I have 997.2 C4 now (with a PDK because of all the dang horse, tendonitis in my knees) and a 987.1 Cayman S that might end up a track car, except the horses keep eating my money.I'm fond of the brand, but Porsche (fairer to say that motoring in general) are losing their soul... like mechanical watches - including quartz mechanicals - ceding to digitals, and then just cell phones and "wearables." Of course modern folk wouldn't be able to recognize soul - or the lack thereof - in either horology or motoring. Youth is wasted on the young.
I'm fond of the brand, but Porsche (fairer to say that motoring in general) are losing their soul... like mechanical watches - including quartz mechanicals - ceding to digitals, and then just cell phones and "wearables." Of course modern folk wouldn't be able to recognize soul - or the lack thereof - in either horology or motoring. Youth is wasted on the young.
Whenever I throw on a more vintage watch, I truly miss the features of the AW, even though it’s a device that doesn’t evoke the passion and individuality of the old stuff, but then I remind myself that the AW would’ve been the stuff of futuristic dreams in 1986. While I love a lot of analogue tools built in the second half of last century, it’s just a sliver in time, and time marches on.
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1989 930 Venetian Blue with dark blue interior.
I'm fond of the brand, but Porsche (fairer to say that motoring in general) are losing their soul... like mechanical watches - including quartz mechanicals - ceding to digitals, and then just cell phones and "wearables." Of course modern folk wouldn't be able to recognize soul - or the lack thereof - in either horology or motoring. Youth is wasted on the young.
G50 5 speed. I’ve kept her completely stock down to the Fuchs and P7 Pirellis.
This thread made me realize it isn't good to leave my watch in storage while I spend most of my time wearing an Apple watch Ultra. A Heiden Nova Single Watch winder was delivered today. I do need to wear it more.
It can be done for a fraction of that. The guy I last used for my late 50s Omega Constellation (https://watchdoctor.biz/), highly regarded in vintage watch circles, has this in a recent newsletter:
All Rolex watches are completely disassembled, ultrasonically cleaned, reassembled properly, oiled, and timed. Cases are polished; crystals and bands are buffed. Case tube, crown and back gaskets are replaced. I pressure test each Rolex repair to check for water resistance. Overhaul cost is $200 plus the return shipping. Delivery time is usually 3 weeks.
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Although I found a local guy I trust and use, some people only want the manufacturer to touch their watches. The benefit is they have records from the manufacturer for future resale value.
I know if I was in the market for a used fine watch, one that was manufacturer serviced would hold a higher value to me.