Has entry level mechanical watchmaking died already without anyone noticing? 🤷🏻♂️
KMII
Pulled out a Seiko 5 SNK803 today. Have not worn it for four years - mea culpa (took the strap off to use on another watch and somehow didn’t reassemble it afterwards 🤦🏻♂️).
The watch cost less than US$40 new from the big online store back in the day. You do need to make a couple of adjustments (no manual winding, only the Seiko lasso movement to get the rotor to wind it enough for a start) and it will most certainly not win either finishing, nor robustness prizes. But for the price of a modest lunch it was a mechanical watch, interesting enough for a start.
Admittedly, I had watches costing hundreds of times as much before I got this one but it somehow never failed to put a smile on my face when it was being worn.
Bringing me to the larger Friday the 13th rumination. Has the watch industry already implicitly decided that there will not be a next generation of watch lovers, so there’s no need to invest in the entry level segment?
At first glance one could say that the Swatch Sistem51 and the relaunch of the Seiko 5 line, as well as some of the lower tier microbrands speak against this but I am not so sure.
The new Seiko 5 lines start at about 5 times of the SNK of back in the day and the same goes for the Sistem51 (the fact that they cannot be repaired or serviced is neither here nor there for me).
I see the watch industry dangerously close to the motorcycle industry situation, where they practically live of ‘stock’ - i.e. the riders that acquired their licenses decades ago. The average age of the customers rising at almost the same rate as the existing customer stock (for Harley Davidson some years ago it was an increase of 9 years over a 10 year period, so practically no inflow anymore).
Of course in the short run everyone is happy, as older customers mean more disposable income and a higher margin but when they no longer see well enough to really use the watches and finally biologically exit the market you have an industry in trouble.
So like we nowadays do not really have much time for the pocket watches and clocks the previous generations appreciated and collected, is the watch world going down the same route?
And have the watch manufacturers figured out as much, trying to squeeze all one can in the process as long as the party is still ongoing? 🤷🏻♂️
Wondering what your take is 😊🤞🏻
Comments:
SALMANPK February 13th, 2026-10:56
Beautiful Cream Dial, Perfect Weekend Watch 😊👍 There is a whole world out there that I discovered recently known as "AliExpress" watches, some of them look ok like this brand Source: Google Images These types of makers are taking over where others have moved upmarket ...
KMII February 13th, 2026-11:29
Now there’s an interesting part of the market i was fully unaware of 😁 And it might well cover part of the need / demand. Bit to the larger question - will our children or the next generation more broadly still find any appreciation of these baubles of ours or has that ship sailed? 🤷🏻♂️
SALMANPK February 13th, 2026-11:47
That's a Good Question... Source: lionsandpilotsandbots Merging the classical with the latest tech will keep things relevant imho ...
KMII February 13th, 2026-13:56
Let’s see 😊 The question remains if it will be a cohort or ageing effect - do they grow into watches at some point or in case they did not grow up with them they never will 🤷🏻♂️
jml_watches February 13th, 2026-12:06
Good example of what's gone Hi Here's mine - worn slightly more frequently than yours, but not much! I think you make a good analogy with motorbikes, but that may be a more extreme example. Though while there's less of an introductory pathway to bikes, I think there is a broader one...
KMII February 13th, 2026-13:59
Yours and mine 😁 Plus we already have a handful that are likely to last 😉👍🏻 As for the car industry, by and large it operates at a very different scale than watches so not sure if there will be useful analogies. Whenever the car industry tries that - aka Mercedes under Kä...
chippyfly February 13th, 2026-14:42
Well, here is my "5" bought new 1969 After recent service, going strong, although it always worked well for many, many years without a service. Cost me equivalent £12.63 plus £3.15 UK import duty! Wore it regularly for about four years. I am amazed the "5" is still in production. I now never...
KMII February 13th, 2026-15:11
That is a great example 👍🏻👏🏻👌🏻 And a likewise cool story to go with it! Or sure any of the wearables nowadays will be bought by owners that will still remember them decades into the future, let alone be working so far down the line 😊🤷🏻♂️ Thanks for joining in 👍🏻🙏🏻 ...
KMII February 13th, 2026-21:11
It is that for sure 😊👍🏻 Not a dive or tool watch but will do all that’s strictly necessary without trouble and even if it gets a ding or a scratch you will not much care 😁
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SALMANPK
Peripheral Rotors
SALMANPK
In this excellent thread there was a discussion about Peripheral Rotors www.watchprosite.com / Before that Peripheral Rotors weren't really on my radar, I remember hearing about Vianny Halter's "Mystery Rotor" but since it was a Mystery I never delved into it. Paul Gosteli was the first to get the patent for a Peripheral Rotor in 1957 Source: Monochrome A peripheral rotor winds the mainspring by utilizing a weighted ring that rotates around the outer edge of the movement, rather than on top of it. As the ... .
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