Watch Peeves
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It’s good that someone finds some usefulness in them. I always believed that watch companies just build them to sell an additional complication to the punters without any real relevance.
That’s a pretty high reading on the GOM-meter*
*Grumpy Old Man
I must admit every time I stare at the random date on my normal watch, I keep wondering why in 2021 no one can make an analogue watch with a perpetual calendar that doesn’t cost a college scholarship. I am half convinced in reality it is market differentiation to watch nerds rather than actual difficulty in manufacturing but I am next to positive the shift of every human moving to digital watches ( beyond calendar syncing ) is everyone has gotten tired of reading a random number on their watch face because they can not or do not know to reset it monthly.
Seiko used to make a quartz watch with a perpetual calendar. They would sell for somewhere in the $300--$600 range. Dunno how that squares up with your college scholarship comparison, but ... IIRC those watches are no longer in production. It was the "8f32" movement (and I think the "8f56" movement which included a GMT function.)
The tricky thing was that if the battery ran out, the perpetual clock needed to be reset by someone who knew what he was doing ... hard to find! In any event, I believe that these movements are no longer in production.
It appears, however, that there is now a Seiko kinetic perpetual calendar watch as well.
Amazon.com: Seiko Men's SNQ123 Classic Perpetual Calendar Watch : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry
Buy Seiko Men's SNQ123 Classic Perpetual Calendar Watch and other Wrist Watches at Amazon.com. Our wide selection is eligible for free shipping and free returns.
www.amazon.com
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Ok not to offend anyone
But
“Ball” watch ? Seriously. I can’t that that seriously. I’d never buy it plus the whole train thing doesn’t float my boat either.
But
“Ball” watch ? Seriously. I can’t that that seriously. I’d never buy it plus the whole train thing doesn’t float my boat either.
Citizen makes several. They are a bit daunting to set, but once done, they never need resetting, as the watches derive their motive power from light. I have several; the all perform exceptionally well, save for one, now 20+ years old, which needs a new battery/capacitor.
Bulova also offered a short run of Millennia perpetual hour repeaters based on Citizen's Campanola movement. Battery replacement (every two years) is a bit complicated on this one; I'm told if the instructions are not followed exactly, the watch will happily run backwards. Again, a neat watch, especially when it chimes the hours.
IIRC, the Seiko 8f32/8f56 battery lasted 10 years; during replacement the watch had 2 minutes of reserve power once the battery comes out to put a new one in and not lose the perpetualness. (Low battery indicated by the second hand doing the 2-second skip.)
I get annoyed that I don't have a larger blow-that-dough budget and more time to try out more watches. 
I don't get annoyed at any of the roman numeral dial layouts, as they are just for looks/symmetry/visuals and not really interpreted when reading the time. So I judge them more on the overall look of the dial and watch case.
I don't like changing watch batteries, but I also don't like the inaccuracy of most mechanical watches. A bluetooth or atomic clock synched watch seems almost like turning a watch into a display. I suppose a solar charged watch is a great compromise, but that leaves out a lot of great watches. As I generally like them all.
I don't get annoyed at any of the roman numeral dial layouts, as they are just for looks/symmetry/visuals and not really interpreted when reading the time. So I judge them more on the overall look of the dial and watch case.
I don't like changing watch batteries, but I also don't like the inaccuracy of most mechanical watches. A bluetooth or atomic clock synched watch seems almost like turning a watch into a display. I suppose a solar charged watch is a great compromise, but that leaves out a lot of great watches. As I generally like them all.
Citizen makes several perpetual calendar watches that feature light-powered Eco Drives. The movements account for everything, leap years included, and have an easy-to-set daylight savings time function. I have three of them.
Moreover, two of them have an easy-to-use world time function that allows you to quickly set the watch to another time zone, then easily set it back to your home time zone.
Essentially, once you get such a watch set up, it's good to go for at least twenty years. Of the three perpetuals I have, none cost more than $200 (refurbished).
There is only 1 style watch I will NOT wear. A watch without a second hand. How do you tell if the watch is running? Stare at it for 90 seconds to see if the minute hand moves? Many yrs ago when Movado were all the rage (one without any numbers on dial or second hand) I use to ask people at work what time it is? When they told me I'd ask them if their watch was running. They'd sit there staring at it.
Would you drive a car without a gas gauge?
Would you drive a car without a gas gauge?
Agree that a second hand is a really important. Though most of the time a person has a rough idea of what time it is, and is using the watch for confirmation of the time.
I was recently fooled by one of my quartz watches. I thought it had stopped but it was in low battery mode. I put it aside for a few months and when I picked it up again saw that it was still running, just that the second hand was jumping 4 seconds at a time.
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Guessing a MeisterSinger is out of the question. Only has an hour hand, plus I think they're all 24 hour dials (once around the dial in 24 hours).
When I got my first automatic watch, my oldest daughter asked me why the second hand moved so fast. Then, she asked me why watches even had a second hand. I told her it was so you could tell it was running.
I feel the same way as you. For a while, I was looking at a 2 register mechaquartz watch. Then I put on another quartz I had and noticed that the second hand wasn't ticking. I realized then this was not a good choice for me.
Plenty of times I find myself timing "something" or another for one minute or thirty seconds or some other short period of time. So having a seconds-hand on my watch is pretty useful.
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