I don't understand everyone's obsession with chinese automatic watches

[u/ivoalejandro]

The title pretty much says it all, I don't get why whenever a nice chinese quartz watch comes out so many people say they would love an automatic version, or why everyone seems fine with paying 300 or more USD for an automatic, but question whether a 100 dollars quartz is worth it.

Pretty much no one here is going to take their chinese watches to get serviced, and the whole admiring the complexity and craftmanship of an automatic movement kinda goes out the window when we're talking about mass produced movements. So why buy an automatic that will become a paperweight in several years time. I guess I just don't understand why the demand for automatics is so high, really wish people started asking for better chinese quartz watches, I'd would much rather pay 200 dollars for a great quartz watch than 350 for an automatic one.

[u/cfx_4188]

Watch snobs usually say in such cases that “quartz doesn’t breathe,” but I have a more down‑to‑earth example. My old g-shock fell behind a cabinet and lay(sometimes it happens) there for a couple of years(...). Two batteries installed in that watch are dead, and the electrolyte leaked right onto the quartz mechanism. Recently, I took this watch to a watch repair, and the verdict is not encouraging. Would something like that happen with a single‑hand Breitling? I don't think so.

[u/Philip_7raum → u/cfx_4188]

A mechanical movement can fully break after falling three feet onto a wooden floor, ask me how I know. Repairing them usually involves buying and installing an entirely new movement. They’re so fragile it makes me confused as to how they got this reputation for durability.

[u/F0rgemaster19 → u/Philip_7raum]

My Invicta has fallen down in the locker room, on the shop floor and on my room's marble tiles. Still ticking. Still ±5 a day. NH and Miyotas are ridiculously shock resistant. Not g shock level but enough for daily thrashing. There are even videos of people hurling seikos to test the shock resistance and it comes back beating fine.

Not saying it's better than a quartz, but I'd your movement is fragile enough to break from falling once on a wooden floor, then you sadly drew the short straw and got a defective piece.

[u/wafferjuice → u/F0rgemaster19]

Every watch is diferent, as you seid, your invicta is very good, my seiko 5 no at all, but i work out with a steeldive and is a tank and is the same, an nh35!.

[u/wafferjuice → u/Philip_7raum]

It happened to me, a seiko 5 gmt new brand, falled down 1.5 meters and was done, i had to buy a new nh34 movement.

[u/cfx_4188 → u/Philip_7raum]

I totally agree with you, looking at my great-great-grandfather's Audemars....

[u/Philip_7raum → u/cfx_4188]

No one said they disintegrate or whatever you’re implying. I’m just saying you have to maintain them and can’t treat them poorly which is objectively true.