Mechanical vs automatic watches

People who appreciate artistry and craftsmanship tend to lean toward mechanical and automatic watches. An interesting note, all automatic watches are mechanical, but not all mechanical watches are automatic.

Starting with mechanical watches, are hand-wound timepieces that use hundreds or even thousands of tiny mechanical pieces to keep the watch running. Compared to a quartz watch, which may fail or break after a few decades, a mechanical watch can last generations if properly taken care of.

Automatic watches don’t need to be hand-wound. They use the daily movement of your wrist to keep themselves powered even after you’ve taken them off your wrists, lasting 8-72+ hours after you put them on your bed table.

Both mechanical and automatic watches tend to be far more expensive than their quartz counterparts because of the level of engineering and man-hours needed to create these movements.

What is the difference between in-house movements vs third-party movements?

When selecting a watch, you should fully be aware of the type of movement used in the watch. Very few brands make their in-house movements, relying on third parties, like the Swiss movement maker ETA, to design their “watch engines”. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Standing for ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse, the Switzerland-based company produces quartz movements, hand-wound, and self-winding mechanical movements for watchmakers like Omega, Longines, Tissot, Tudor, and Sinn.

A lot of ETA’s movements are legendary, powering some of the world’s most iconic watches like the Tudor Black Bay. Watchmakers may come to a third-party manufacturer for a select line of watches and then create their in-house movements for their higher-end timepieces. However, a third-party movement does not mean a drop-off in quality. As for choosing an in-house movement vs. a third-party movement, the choice is really up to you.

Purists will tell you in-house is the only way to go. The good news is that most watch brands are transparent about their movements. Simply researching the movement can help you decide if what you are paying for is worth the price.