Horological Meandering

tee530
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A few more thoughts...

Robustness covers a couple of different features, not all completely correlated. For example:

Robustness could be resistance to serious damage caused by severe impact (dropping, etc).  Shock-mounted movement;  thick, deforming case, and large caliber would all contribute to this type of robustness.  Generic manual over generic automatic, since there isn't a massive cantilevered weight banging around in the former.

Robustness could also be stability of rate and performance in the absence of frequent servicing.  Good design, wide tolerances, high quality construction and finishing, good case sealing (keeps dirt and water out) and powerful mainsprings all contribute.

Robustness could also cover stability of rate and performance in response to the daily insults life offers to a wristwatch: vibrations, occasional bumps, magnetic fields, temperature changes, humidity changes.  Again, shock-mounting, thick and large movement construction, high beat rate, high inertia balance, and good adjustment all help. 

So, what kind of robustness are you looking for?  The kind that allows you to exhale with relief after dropping your watch on the marble floor?  The kind that allows to you wear it and forget it for a decade or more?  The kind that take running, tennis, golf, and stumbling home after a hard night at the bars without gaining or losing time?

Well, many folks would point at Rolex or Seiko as covering the waterfront (I don't own either one - yet).  Rolex certainly has the numbers and continuity to make the claim; other watches may exceed, but I suspect the real world data isn't there in large enough sets.

Tom