[HN Gopher] Mechanical Apple Watch from real e-waste Apple Watch
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Mechanical Apple Watch from real e-waste Apple Watch
        
       Author : zdw
       Score  : 530 points
       Date   : 2023-06-08 21:48 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.instructables.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.instructables.com)
        
       | fdye wrote:
       | Wish this was for sale... shut up and take my money!
        
         | dhosek wrote:
         | If you have more money than you know what to do with, there's
         | always this: https://www.exquisitetimepieces.com/watch-
         | brands/h-moser/swi...
        
           | fdye wrote:
           | Good lord, $26.4K. Yeah not quite car-level worth it to me,
           | although I'm sure they are very nice. Was thinking like
           | $250-300, for a sort of anti-tech punk thing at tech parties.
        
         | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
         | I've had a lot of people asking...
        
       | batch12 wrote:
       | Is it tacky that I want to do this with the guts of a Casio F91W
       | or the CA-53W? Perhaps.
       | 
       | https://www.casio.com/us/watches/casio/product.CA-53W-1/
        
         | jansan wrote:
         | The world is still waiting for a CA-53W backlight mod. Some
         | rdditor seems to be working on it.
         | 
         | https://www.reddit.com/r/casio/comments/12qplk8/ca53w_leds_m...
        
         | nehal3m wrote:
         | I had an F91W strap break on me. I replaced it with an A168 and
         | printed a handlebar mount for my motorcycle (which didn't come
         | with a clock in the dash):
         | 
         | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2935032
        
       | throwaway14356 wrote:
       | i wonder what the list of functions that can be done mechanicaly
       | would look like. Can one say measure heart rate or say log
       | something, can it do radio? etc
        
       | WWLink wrote:
       | That's really cool :D
        
       | stuff4ben wrote:
       | This is actually a pretty nifty business idea. All of these
       | unsupported watches just going to landfills could be recycled
       | into analogue movements. I have a series 3 that Apple no longer
       | supports just sitting around. I don't have the time or patience
       | to do what the OP did, but I'd gladly pay $50 to not chuck it in
       | the trash.
        
       | sschueller wrote:
       | The Tag Heuer Connected first generation offered a "connected to
       | eternity" program where after the guarantee (2 years?) you where
       | able to convert the watch to an analog movement but it was
       | another $1500... I am not sure if they still do it, they seem to
       | offer a trade in program to get the newest version instead now.
       | 
       | [1] https://forum.watchlounge.com/index.php?thread/240000-was-
       | wu...
        
       | smitty1e wrote:
       | Want! #TakeMyMoneyGifGoesHere
        
         | Gigachad wrote:
         | Epic meme sir. Updoots.
        
       | dylan604 wrote:
       | "One of them even worked in the end, it just took a couple hours
       | to update!"
       | 
       | To the annoyance of every watch owner out there.
        
       | alexjplant wrote:
       | This is incredible... hats off to the maker. That being said I
       | really wish that the Chinese ETA 2824-2 clone that is the PT5000
       | would see more action in place of Seiko movements. It's more
       | accurate, runs at 4Hz, and isn't too far off in terms of cost
       | (last I checked - I could be wrong as regards bulk orders). Then
       | again I don't know whether it can be modded to be "open heart" a
       | la the NH38 so it might not have been appropriate for this
       | project in particular.
        
         | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
         | Damn yeah, you guys are all on the money. I was thinking of an
         | ETA clone or Sellita. As well as the Miyota 90S5 which was a
         | really odd pick from ghostganz because I don't think its that
         | popular of a movement. But I was looking at it as I had 0.5mm
         | less height than Seiko's recommended minimum height within the
         | case, and the 90S5 was much thinner. Ended up with the NH38
         | anyway because I was really REALLY unsure if I could even get
         | this to work so it was a lower monetary investment. And, the
         | stem shape worked for the weirdo linkages I made, because the
         | linkage I made is technically within the footprint of all those
         | movements.
        
           | ghostganz wrote:
           | The 90S5 is basically the very popular 9015 but with a big
           | hole in it. :)
        
         | sdrothrock wrote:
         | I was thinking that about the movement too -- or you could go
         | for a Miyota/Citizen, the high-beat (28800) movements were
         | around $70-80 on ebay the last time I checked.
        
         | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
         | And had to be open heart 1. because I liked how the mockup I
         | did looked with an open heart and 2. because any more stem
         | positions for different complication settings would have made
         | my life a lot harder with getting the button/crown to work
        
         | ghostganz wrote:
         | The Miyota 90S5 would work, it is cheap and "open heart".
        
       | jacquesm wrote:
       | Fantastic hack, I love repurposing junked stuff. Question (which
       | I don't doubt has crossed your mind but I can't figure it out):
       | why not rotate the movement, rotate the dial back (it has no
       | complications so that shouldn't be a real issue) and then use a
       | flex shaft for the crown?
        
       | JohnBooty wrote:
       | I absolutely love this.
       | 
       | I think a lot of techie types might not realize what an
       | engineering marvel a mechanical watch movement is. I'm sure you
       | all realize there are a lot of teeny tiny gears.
       | 
       | But does the HN crowd realize there are 24 precious gems (lab-
       | grown rubies and sapphires!!!!) inside the NH38 movement, serving
       | as bearings and such?
       | 
       | While the Apple Watch is in some ways orders of magnitude more
       | advanced than a mechanical watch movement, in some ways the
       | _mechanical watch movement_ is more impressive. It could be
       | argued that while the Apple Watch is the sum of roughly 100 years
       | of electrical engineering, the mechanical watch is the sum of
       | several thousands of years of mechanical engineering. It took
       | mankind an incredible number of years to really master
       | timekeeping to that level.
       | 
       | (Not that the two are mutually exclusive. I find that the more I
       | understand electronic timekeeping, the more I appreciate
       | mechanical timekeeping, and vice-versa)
        
         | botverse wrote:
         | Many maybe don't, but also many of the techie types I know
         | tinker with mechanical watches, bicycles, combustion engines,
         | etc. And I think more than the average!
        
         | wjnc wrote:
         | It is a tiny loss to my life that my mechanical watch lies in a
         | cupboard while a Garmin brandishes my skin, but entertains my
         | need for self-data. A measurement only ankle bracelet would be
         | a perfect solution. Who cares about exact time when you have
         | thousands of gears giving you a few seconds drift per day.
        
           | hollander wrote:
           | Yeah I want the monitor, not the screen. Apple, Polar,
           | Garmin, I don't care.
        
             | mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote:
             | You might be interested in the Oura ring then. I can't
             | recommend it, because I haven't tried it. But sounds like
             | the kind of thing you're talking about.
        
               | lvturner wrote:
               | I do exactly this. Very happy with the solution though I
               | did get grandfathered in to their paid subscription (so I
               | don't pay it)
               | 
               | Mechanical watches are a deep and expensive rabbit hole
               | though.
        
               | JohnBooty wrote:
               | They certainly can be a deep and expensive thing, lol
               | 
               | But it can also be very affordable! Can get a perfectly
               | great mechanical for around $100!
               | 
               | (Although, now that Seiko has abandoned that price level
               | and prices on everything have gone up in general,
               | $150-$200 is perhaps a more realistic starting point.
               | Still a lot of "new old stock" Seikos at that $100ish
               | price though if you look...)
               | 
               | While I realize these dollar amounts are not affordable
               | to everybody, I have noticed that many people who scoff
               | at these prices happily spend hundreds or thousands per
               | year on _their_ hobbies and entertainment....
        
           | rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote:
           | Well, you've got two wrists:
           | https://www.theverge.com/23522956/double-wristwatch-apple-
           | wa...
        
           | JohnBooty wrote:
           | A measurement only ankle bracelet would be a perfect solution
           | 
           | Has anybody ever tried that? Would it work, if you had a big
           | enough strap to fit an ankle?
        
         | fellerts wrote:
         | Excellent points! I'd like to add that while your Apple watch
         | might last you 5-10 years, a mechanical watch well looked-after
         | can last several lifetimes. I'm currently daily-driving an
         | automatic watch from the mid-60s that still somehow looks
         | pristine and keeps excellent time (for a mechanical, that is).
         | I expect this watch to outlive me.
        
           | subhro wrote:
           | 5-10 years... wishful thinking, that's all I am going to say.
        
             | ladberg wrote:
             | Is it? I have a nearly 5 year old Apple Watch (series 4) on
             | my wrist and I've never had any issues with it.
             | 
             | I'll probably replace it when a new watch comes out with a
             | feature I really want (unlikely) or the battery stops
             | lasting a full day, which might take a few more years as I
             | don't even get close to running out unless I forget to
             | charge it overnight.
        
           | yourusername wrote:
           | Did that watch survive from the 60s without service? If you
           | need to have a vintage watch like that serviced it would cost
           | about the same as buying a new apple watch. Some of these old
           | watches can also become a bit of a ship of theseus. It's a
           | 60's watch with a new crystal,mainspring and rotor.
        
             | dabluecaboose wrote:
             | Under relatively normal wear, the only parts that should be
             | replaced _are_ the crystal, mainspring, and rotor. That 's
             | 3 wear parts, not exactly a "ship of theseus".
             | 
             | If something is broken, sure. It might need replacing. But
             | that's rarer, I think, than people realize, and rarely is
             | it more than one or two parts of the movement.
             | 
             | I recently repaired my great-grandfather's pocket watch and
             | the only replacement necessary was the mainspring.
        
             | hoosieree wrote:
             | A watch from the 60s _can_ still be serviced today (80
             | years later).
             | 
             | An apple watch will intentionally brick itself (to preserve
             | battery life, honest) after 8 years.
        
               | fellerts wrote:
               | Now just _can_ -- when disassembling a mechanical
               | wristwatch you realize that these things were built with
               | serviceability in mind. There 's no glue, everything
               | comes apart with ease. That's one of the main reasons for
               | my fascination with them. How many other things in our
               | daily lives are built like this?
        
             | wazoox wrote:
             | I've use a 100 years-old watch as a daily driver for a few
             | years (until it was stolen...). It was serviceable, but it
             | was relatively expensive, so I lived with its known 2-5
             | minutes daily drift. I'd say that up to 10 minutes of daily
             | drift is perfectly tolerable in my book, so it could
             | probably go 200 years without any servicing whatsoever :)
        
               | NavinF wrote:
               | > 10 minutes of daily drift is perfectly tolerable
               | 
               | Heh I feel bad when I'm 10 min late to a call, but if I
               | had your watch I'd be 20 min late!
        
               | wazoox wrote:
               | I'd wind the watch and adjust it in the morning, and will
               | be 2-5 minutes late in the evening. But at times I would
               | adjust it during the day while watching time close to
               | another, more reliable time source (like a public clock
               | in a train station, for instance, or TV news in a shop
               | window). After all it only takes a second to adjust: pull
               | the crown, turn it a tiny bit, and push it back in :)
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | JohnBooty wrote:
               | People are wincing at the idea of watch that is 5+
               | minutes off, but I typically _intentionally_ set my
               | watches roughly 5 minutes fast anyway. Helps me avoid
               | being late for stuff. (I realize this makes no sense if
               | you think about it too hard... shhhhhh)
               | 
               | If I need the precise time, I can pull out my phone or
               | just ask another human who nearly because they will
               | surely have a phone :)
               | 
               | (Note to non-watch enthusiasts: we are talking about the
               | tolerances on very old watches; a modern $100 mechanical
               | is usually accurate to within 5-10 seconds a day)
        
             | fellerts wrote:
             | I serviced it myself a few months ago. It definitely needed
             | a new crystal, but the movement was in very good condition.
             | I didn't even replace the mainspring. Some pictures here:
             | https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/25437-first-
             | successful...
        
           | lm28469 wrote:
           | > Apple watch might last you 5-10 years
           | 
           | Tiny ass battery + daily full charge discharge = toast well
           | before 10 years
           | 
           | If they actually cared about sustainability the screen and
           | battery would be user replaceable
        
             | Analemma_ wrote:
             | Battery replacement service through Apple is $80, which is
             | not an unreasonable amount for a once-every-four-years
             | repair; between the parts required and the expected
             | probability of screwing it up and damaging it, you wouldn't
             | really be saving any money doing it yourself.
        
             | itissid wrote:
             | Apple always has had this tussle between making things
             | repairable and sustainable vs selling more of stuff. It
             | does not have to be this way. Don't they make a log of
             | money from non hardware services. I heard apple pay rakes
             | in close to 800m $
        
               | FredPret wrote:
               | According to this [0] Apple made 93 b over the past four
               | quarters. The Apple watch is bigger than the entire Swiss
               | watch industry [1] but still a minor part of Apple.
               | 
               | My point being that they'd have to sell a hell of a lot
               | of services to outpace the iPhone, and those services are
               | mostly popular because they integrate into the iPhone.
               | And people want the new shiny ones.
               | 
               | [0] https://ultimatestockpicker.com/company-detail/AAPL/
               | 
               | [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertanaas/2020/02/07/a
               | pple-wa...
        
             | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
             | The battery of a 20$ Casio F-91W alone, will outlive
             | several Apple watches.
        
               | reaperducer wrote:
               | _The battery of a 20$ Casio F-91W alone, will outlive
               | several Apple watches._
               | 
               | While I'm with you in spirit, I'm not sure that's
               | strictly accurate.
               | 
               | The F-91W battery is rated for 10 years: https://support.
               | casio.com/storage/en/manual/pdf/EN/009/qw593...
               | 
               | The calculator version (which I use) is rated for three
               | years, assuming you only let the alarm go off for 20
               | seconds per day, and use the calculator function for less
               | than one hour per day: https://support.casio.com/storage/
               | en/manual/pdf/EN/009/qw320...
        
               | _thisdot wrote:
               | Clearly the selling point of F-91W is the price. I think
               | most owners are comfortable with roughhousing their F-91W
               | and just buying a new one
        
               | JohnBooty wrote:
               | use the calculator function for less than one hour per
               | day
               | 
               | I _really_ want to meet a person who is hammering away at
               | the calculator function on their watch for more than an
               | hour per day. That would clearly be the coolest person in
               | the world.
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | You must be fun at parties.
               | 
               | CASIO is known, and I can vouch for this from experience,
               | to be very conservative with their numbers: with a
               | quality cell 7 year battery life usually means about 10,
               | 3 year battery life usually means around 5, 30m water
               | resistance usually means over 50m in practice,
               | 30seconds/month accuracy usually means around 10 or even
               | less, etc.
        
               | alt227 wrote:
               | Dude, we're all nerds. None of us are fun at parties. No
               | need for the sarcasm!
        
               | moolcool wrote:
               | > The F-91W battery is rated for 10 years
               | 
               | What would you consider the average life of an Apple
               | Watch? If it's 5 years, OP is right.
        
               | reaperducer wrote:
               | _What would you consider the average life of an Apple
               | Watch? If it 's 5 years, OP is right._
               | 
               | I'd say the Apple Watch is too new for anyone to know. I
               | still use my six-year-old Apple Watch.
        
               | bookofjoe wrote:
               | Casio F-91W costs $16.96 here:
               | https://www.amazon.com/Casio-F91W-Digital-Sports-
               | Watch/dp/B0...
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | I know Americans enjoy the lowest consumers electronics
               | prices in the world but in Europe it's at least 20 Euros
               | which is more than 20 USD and even at 20 euros it's
               | difficult to find, with most shops asking for more than
               | that.
        
               | bookofjoe wrote:
               | Indeed. EUR28.86 = $31.08 USD at Amazon Germany:
               | https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Casio-F91W-1-Classic-Black-
               | Digita...
               | 
               | SEK 587.14 = $54.23 USD at Amazon Sweden:
               | https://www.amazon.se/Casio-Herrar-Digitalklocka-
               | hartsrem-F-...
        
               | drivers99 wrote:
               | I remember paying $7 for mine at Walmart. It was on
               | clearance.
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | It's crazy how much cheaper stuff is in the US compared
               | to Europe.
        
               | 908B64B197 wrote:
               | It's completely self-inflicted.
               | 
               | Duties, tariffs, out of control regulations and taxes to
               | pay for underperforming civil servant's pension funds. It
               | all adds up.
        
               | mrguyorama wrote:
               | Also worker protections, public safety nets, and a
               | general desire to not let corporations chew up and spit
               | out people as if they were iron ore.
        
               | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
               | Workers protections have nothing to do with consumer
               | prices.
        
               | bookofjoe wrote:
               | Cheap at twice the price.
        
               | bookofjoe wrote:
               | Introduced in 1989.
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W
        
           | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
           | I kinda screwed it up taking it apart. Didnt have any oil to
           | add back and rusted one of the gears a bit. Goal is still
           | longer than 5 years and probably an easy 10-20
        
             | fellerts wrote:
             | I take it you didn't want to fall into the rabbit hole that
             | is watch servicing, cleaning and lubrication? That's a deep
             | and expensive one, especially for automatics...
             | 
             | Might I suggest you reach out to Marshall
             | @WristwatchRevival and ask if he wants to give it a proper
             | service? I'm sure he'd be delighted by this project.
             | 
             | Edit: you say "I glued the movement to the dial". That
             | sounds like the dial will never come off, making servicing
             | night impossible, or am I misunderstanding this? Also: "in
             | a normal watch the dial would get sandwiched between the
             | glass and the case somehow" no, typically there are holes
             | drilled through the mainplate with screws that grab or hold
             | the dial feet. The movement complete with dial and hands
             | normally floats in the case, held in place with a couple
             | screws.
        
               | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
               | Didn't really know if it would work until the end so
               | didn't want to sink even more time and money in. That
               | watch oil is bloody expensive.
               | 
               | I'm sure he would be but I think he must get lots of
               | requests and I am not sure it is his usual victim for a
               | repair =)
               | 
               | It is glued with B7000 glue commonly used for phone
               | repairs and the same glue used on the back glass. It
               | softens right up with some heat and isopropyl alcohol.
               | 
               | True, thank you for that I will change it in the write
               | up. I was thinking mostly of these Seiko movements which
               | to my understanding are normally just sandwiched by the
               | case back but that is certainly not the norm across other
               | watches.
        
               | snapcaster wrote:
               | +1 to Marshall! I watch his magic podcast but that guy
               | fucking rocks!
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | subhro wrote:
         | I wear an automatic Tag Heuer. I have been asked by many people
         | why I still wear a mechanical watch. My answer is, battery
         | powered watches (including smart watches and quartz movements)
         | might have a life, but a mechanical watch ticking incessantly
         | has a soul.
        
           | amelius wrote:
           | Also: an Apple watch lacks elegance and is literally sexless.
        
             | bookofjoe wrote:
             | I demur. My 2017 38mm Series 3 w Hermes Sport band is a
             | joy.
        
           | JohnBooty wrote:
           | Yeah. A mechanical watch is almost like a companion.
           | 
           | It only "lives" when you wear or wind it. It's only a few
           | seconds of active "work" on your part per day but I find
           | myself feeling kind of paternal toward them, or like I'm
           | caring for a little mechanical pet buddy or something.
           | 
           | Quartz watches and computers in general are also miracles to
           | me, as well!
           | 
           | But mechanical watches are their own special sort of miracle
           | that I really appreciate.
        
         | jansan wrote:
         | I actually think that a digital watch with solar cell,
         | multiband receiver and led backlight is a greater engineering
         | marvel.
        
           | mhandley wrote:
           | I really like my Casio LCW-M100TSE [1]. It's a (mostly)
           | analog watch with a solar cell, radio receiver and led
           | backlight. Keeps perfect time (radio sync), never needs
           | charging, battery changing or winding, has a titanium case
           | and titanium band so is incredible light but nearly
           | indestructable, and looks good without being overly
           | pretentious or a statement of wealth. And most importantly,
           | doesn't interrupt me with notifications when I'm trying to
           | concentrate. As watches go, I think it's as close to perfect
           | as any watch I've had. Never would have thought that as I got
           | older and wealthier, I'd end up back with Casio 40 years
           | after having Casio watches as a teenager, but there you are.
           | 
           | [1] https://www.casio-europe.com/euro/products/watches/radio-
           | con...
        
             | jansan wrote:
             | I own this, too, and used it as my only watch until a few
             | days ago. Then the titanium mod for my GW-M5610U-1ER
             | arrived by mail. I am wearing this now, but I wish it was
             | as light as the LCW-M100TSE (which is 70g vs. 100g of my
             | new one). Since I prefer pure digital watches which I grew
             | up with I will stick to the G-Shock with titanium mod.
             | 
             | BTW, you forgot to mention that the LCW-M100TSE has a
             | sapphire crystal, which is quite a unique feature in that
             | price class. IMO it is the watch with the best value for
             | the price.
        
             | JohnBooty wrote:
             | Absolutely love that one. It is exactly my kind of watch...
             | a sleeper gem. A true "if you know you know" watch.
             | 
             | Everybody else sees an affordable Casio. But those who
             | know, know.
        
           | JohnBooty wrote:
           | Yeah! I've got a few of those as well.
           | 
           | They are different kinds of marvels to me, and I deeply
           | appreciate them! I'm a big G-Shock fan in particular.
           | 
           | I am (among many other things!) a computing enthusiast, a
           | quartz watch enthusiast, and a mechanical watch enthusiast. I
           | find that appreciating each one of those things enhances my
           | appreciation for the others.
        
         | thom wrote:
         | I grew to appreciate this watching the excellent videos on
         | Wristwatch Revival:
         | 
         | https://youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival
         | 
         | Which I only knew about through Marshall's Magic: the Gathering
         | links, but the watch stuff is surprisingly soothing.
        
         | Ecstatify wrote:
         | Sundials emphasize our reliance on the sun as a source of light
         | and energy. They remind us of the fundamental role the sun
         | plays in sustaining life on Earth and providing us with light
         | and warmth. This dependency gives sundials a sense of harmony
         | with the natural world and instills a sense of wonder and
         | appreciation for the celestial bodies.
         | 
         | Mechanical watches are diamonds for men.
        
           | JoeJonathan wrote:
           | Cannot tell if this is satire
        
           | teddyh wrote:
           | _The gods confound the man who first found out how to
           | distinguish hours! Confound him, too, who in this place set
           | up a sundial, to cut and hack my days so wretchedly into
           | small portions!_
           | 
           | -- Plautus (c.254-184 BC)
           | 
           | <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30047352>
        
           | reaperducer wrote:
           | Mechanical watches work at night.
        
         | WillAdams wrote:
         | Yeah, for folks who want to know more about watchmaking we had
         | a customer make a complete watch, including movement:
         | 
         | https://community.carbide3d.com/t/watchmaking-on-the-nomad/4...
         | 
         | and I found an animated overview:
         | 
         | https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/
        
         | tvrg wrote:
         | > I think a lot of techie types might not realize what an
         | engineering marvel a mechanical watch movement is. I'm sure you
         | all realize there are a lot of teeny tiny gears.
         | 
         | For those who want to learn more about it, this is an awesome
         | interactive explanation of the functioning of mechanical
         | watches: https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/
        
       | subsubzero wrote:
       | Really cool! Fun fact - the apple watch was designed based on
       | inspiration from a mechanical watch brand, ikepod. Jonathan Ive
       | recruited Marc Newsom who created ikepod(with another watch
       | maker) and Newsom took alot of the design elements from ikepod
       | watches to come up with the apple watches unique look. So I guess
       | its going full circle again.
       | 
       | https://www.design-drivel.com/articles1/ikepod-applewatch
        
       | hengheng wrote:
       | I think the correct candidate for a pocket watch would be an old
       | school iPod.
        
         | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
         | Oh damn, people are actually reading to the end of the write-
         | up? My first thought was actually an iPod touch because that's
         | what I grew up with. I think an iPod is definitely the right
         | call
        
       | prxtl wrote:
       | A few years ago, H. Moser & Cie made a mechanical watch with
       | their superb levels of craftsmanship that kinda/sorta parodied
       | the Apple Watch: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/moser-swiss-
       | alp-watch-s-in...
        
         | pinko wrote:
         | This is mentioned in the OP's link.
        
           | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
           | Through posting on Reddit I learnt that Moser wasn't the only
           | one either. Apparently Ciga Designs did some similar watches
           | and even Casio has one, the MTP-M305
        
         | ask_b123 wrote:
         | Could you perhaps explain this paragraph?
         | 
         | > Alert readers will notice that Moser managed, in one
         | paragraph, to dismiss the efforts of all three major luxury
         | watch groups - Richemont, Swatch, and LVMH - as somewhat
         | lacking in intestinal fortitude
        
           | kingkongjaffa wrote:
           | The paragraph they are referring to is the press release
           | further up the page.
           | 
           | They are basically saying none of the major manufacturers had
           | done anything serious in the realm of smart watches.
           | 
           | The reason it's a "dangerous game" is because the watch
           | industry was disrupted once before by the quartz crisis
           | (cheap quartz watches flooding the market) and many
           | manufacturers went out of business or had to merge with
           | others to form larger groups to survive. So the danger is
           | that smart watches will do the same.
           | 
           | Watches had a rough time for a while after quartz became a
           | thing in the 80's.
           | 
           | Now they are seen a jewellery more because every has a smart
           | phone for time telling. But watch collecting as a hobby is
           | making a comeback in the 2010's to now with the internet and
           | hype generating content like YouTube, instagram, Hodinkee,
           | and consumers are keeping a multi billion dollar market
           | afloat with products from million dollar Patek phillipe to 5
           | dollar casios.
        
         | FabHK wrote:
         | I find this version (also from H. Moser & Cie) more appealing:
         | 
         | https://www.ablogtowatch.com/h-moser-cie-swiss-alp-watch-fin...
        
       | babymatics wrote:
       | [dead]
        
       | plewd wrote:
       | > I have been constructing a fully functional mechanical Apple
       | Watch! A dumb watch if you will! _chuckles at own joke_
       | 
       | Can someone... explain the joke? I don't know if it's a pun I'm
       | missing :l
        
         | grk wrote:
         | As in opposite to smartwatch
        
       | screye wrote:
       | Cool, but ugly. I won't wear it, but I'm glad it exists.
        
       | TomK32 wrote:
       | Not to be confused with the OG, the 1995 Apple watch
       | https://www.cnet.com/culture/original-90s-apple-watch-sellin...
        
         | jansan wrote:
         | Imagine you find this atrocity of a watch in an old box on the
         | attic and someone is willing to pay $2500 for it.
        
       | wdb wrote:
       | Love to send this person my Apple Watch to convert it in a
       | mechanical watch. so much better and cheaper than a H.Moser
        
       | the__alchemist wrote:
       | It makes me wonder why mechanical over something with a XO, given
       | it wouldn't have the status-symbol associated with mech watches.
       | (Or maybe it would?)
        
         | timw4mail wrote:
         | But mechanical watches are so much more fun to...watch
        
           | stevekemp wrote:
           | They really are. I wear a watch daily, and have been
           | collecting them for some years.
           | 
           | Originally I had a bunch of themed-watches "This is the watch
           | for swimming", "this is the watch for going to sauna with",
           | "this is the watch for posh events", "this is the watch for
           | photography", etc.
           | 
           | Nowadays I have too many, so it's more a case of choosing
           | which watch I feel like wearing in the morning. Sometimes I
           | swap every day, sometimes I wear the same one for 3-4 days,
           | but no longer than that really.
           | 
           | My collection includes a lot of vintage (read "bought second-
           | hand for peanuts") Soviet watches, high end Swiss pieces, and
           | a single Casio F-91-W-1 for when I'm feeling like a kid from
           | the 80s.
        
         | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
         | It wouldn't have been anywhere near as funny to me or enjoyable
         | for me to wear. Literally the only reasons. Mechanical
         | movements are strictly worse
        
         | throwanem wrote:
         | On the other hand, if you're gonna do it at all, why not go
         | whole hog?
        
       | interroboink wrote:
       | Obligatory link to this wonderful interactive site explaining the
       | inner workings of mechanical watches:
       | https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/
        
         | danparsonson wrote:
         | That is superb, thank you!
        
       | rcarmo wrote:
       | Very, very nice. I have been trying to figure out how to replace
       | the battery on my Apple Watch in a country with limited hardware
       | support options, and although this won't help, it is another
       | reminder that Apple these days designs for disposability rather
       | than long-term ownership...
        
       | Hippocrates wrote:
       | I can never get tired of this sort of juxtaposition of old/new
       | tech. Really cool project.
        
       | gorbypark wrote:
       | I always have had somewhat of an unrealistic dream of taking an
       | Apple Watch, removing the screen completely and installing a
       | super thin mechanical movement on top (or putting the guts into a
       | more tranditional looking case). I think it would be possible to
       | use a smaller battery once the screen isn't there, to make more
       | room for the movement as well. I'd love to have the health
       | tracking features, and while I don't have an Apple Watch, I think
       | that it would work without a screen and I'd just be able to use a
       | phone to see the data.
        
         | bombolo wrote:
         | Casio has some watches that pair with the phone for step
         | counter. I think the ones with heart beat monitor have a
         | screen.
        
         | BadOakOx wrote:
         | I think several watch makers started to do something similar,
         | but not sure if I would trust their software. However, Garmin
         | has good health tracking features and they offer them in an
         | analogue way with their vivomove line:
         | https://www.garmin.com/en-IE/p/742133/pn/010-02566-00
        
         | gregoriol wrote:
         | What you describe is the Withings ScanWatch: less screen, more
         | battery duration, smartphone for data, ...
        
           | gorbypark wrote:
           | I'm looking for an actual Apple Watch, though. I'm all in on
           | the Apple ecosystem so doesn't really make sense otherwise.
        
           | rob74 wrote:
           | But that's not a mechanical movement, as far as I can see?
           | Actually it can't be, because it needs to move the watch
           | hands out of the way so you can see what's on the display...
           | 
           | Another (slightly less pricey) "smartwatch with hands"
           | alternative is the Garmin vivomove range:
           | https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/698394
        
             | PeterBarrett wrote:
             | Sequent might be of interest yo you
             | https://sequentworld.com/
        
               | gregoriol wrote:
               | Nice ideas there!
        
             | gregoriol wrote:
             | They are not mechanical indeed, they just look like them.
             | Which is pretty nice. The Garmin one doesn't have ECG
             | though.
        
       | jansan wrote:
       | If you only want the casing and wristband of an Apple Watch there
       | are cheap knockoffs on Aliexpress that have a quite solid
       | hardware (and a crappy software).
        
       | ciroduran wrote:
       | If you don't know how mechanical watches work, this is a very
       | good article that has been posted before in HN :D
       | https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/
        
       | shazar wrote:
       | Unrelated to the article, but hijacking the history and making it
       | impossible to navigate back is the new cancer in the internet I
       | guess.
        
         | ge96 wrote:
         | The other thing I've seen is they scroll you to the bottom
         | where those weird article embeds are.
        
         | rjh29 wrote:
         | Another dark pattern is hijacking back to move you to the
         | 'front page' of the site. Like twitter, get linked to a tweet
         | and then the back button takes you to your feed, which
         | absolutely nobody requested.
        
         | kazinator wrote:
         | I seem to recall that hijacking the back button goes back to
         | the 1990's. I suspect some of the ways in which it was done
         | (like with naive redirects) probably don't work today, but the
         | annoying effect has been there for eons.
        
           | reaperman wrote:
           | I remember browsers stopped it for awhile. Maybe I'm
           | misremembering?
        
             | kazinator wrote:
             | I don't think you are. I think early versions of the
             | problem happened because the website did a redirect:
             | x.y.com/ would sand you to w.y.com/ and your browser would
             | stupidly remember that as a user navigation. Your back
             | button from w.y.com would take you to x.y.com, which would
             | perpetrate the redirect. The fix for that is not to enter
             | redirects into the back history, only user-initiated
             | navigations.
        
               | sublinear wrote:
               | This is still around
               | 
               | https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
               | US/docs/Web/API/History_API
        
         | tkgally wrote:
         | Here's the direct link to the video:
         | 
         | https://youtu.be/B2h5WwrkJFg
         | 
         | I enjoyed it immensely.
        
           | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
           | I thought people would find it really boring, hence the 800%
           | speed up on most clips. Very glad to hear at least some
           | people enjoyed it
        
             | jacquesm wrote:
             | This is the opposite of boring :) Thank you and well done!
        
             | AdamTReineke wrote:
             | Congrats, very well done! What was the laser doing the
             | cutting and engraving?
             | 
             | I loved the video format, reminded me of the Primitive
             | Technology channel where he just gets out of the way and
             | lets the work itself (plus closed captions) do all the
             | talking.
        
               | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
               | Just a no name, Chinese, 20W fiber laser. Takes a minute
               | to get through but it works.
               | 
               | Would have liked to do a little more talking but the
               | video already took way too bloody long and I didnt know
               | if anyone would watch it
        
             | dmurko wrote:
             | You should narrate the video, it would make it easier to
             | follow for people who've no idea what you're doing (like
             | me).
        
               | NanoRobotGeek wrote:
               | Did a few captions and would have liked to do more
               | narration. Needed to get it done for an Instructables
               | competition tho so just posted it as is
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | numpad0 wrote:
         | This is an abuse. And it's one of obligations of web browsers
         | to protect users from abuse.
        
         | alwayslikethis wrote:
         | That's why I just middle click to open everything on a new tab
         | nowadays. Back button still works 90% of the times, but when
         | it's hijacked it's incredibly annoying, and I have plenty of
         | monitor width for the tabs.
        
           | alpaca128 wrote:
           | Too bad some modern sites even somehow block middle clicks.
        
             | tough wrote:
             | Im on a mac cmd+click has always been reliable
             | 
             | Not sure I've seen this on the wild
        
             | mrguyorama wrote:
             | A website cannot block the right click "open as new tab"
             | action, and since that's what my gesture based interaction
             | add-on uses, I'm safe.
             | 
             | https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/gesturefy/
        
           | ben_w wrote:
           | That's why I still prefer laptop to mobile or tablet: there
           | is a middle click.
        
             | KineticLensman wrote:
             | Longpress on iOS Safari gives you a menu that lets you open
             | a link in the background, which is essentially open in a
             | new tab. I use it all the time, e.g to work through the HN
             | front page selecting some comment pages to read later
        
               | ben_w wrote:
               | Ah!
               | 
               | I wish I could say thanks, but when I tried it out just
               | now, I realised that I have seen it many times -- trouble
               | is, it's labelled in my mind as "that annoying popup I
               | keep triggering by accident, how do I disable it?"
               | 
               | Still, have a metaphorical cookie: even though I don't
               | like the thing, sharing knowledge kindly is always good
               | :)
        
               | delecti wrote:
               | If nothing else, now you know what behavior was
               | triggering the thing you don't like. Maybe now you can
               | start to make it only happen deliberately, which might
               | make it less annoying.
        
         | codazoda wrote:
         | I'm surprised to see this from Instructables (Autodesk). If you
         | right-click the back button you'll see that it did four
         | redirects and you can click the 5th to get back.
         | 
         | I highly doubt this is effective at anything.
        
           | RobotToaster wrote:
           | Instructables went down the pan years ago when they tried to
           | paywall the allsteps view.
           | 
           | Autodesk as a company are known for shitty behaviour, so it
           | doesn't surprise me they made it worse.
        
           | flangola7 wrote:
           | Why do browsers even allow this behavior? The back button
           | should automatically skip any blind redirects.
        
             | j16sdiz wrote:
             | because Single-Page-Applications
             | 
             | they want the back button work with app internal state
             | changes
        
               | sublinear wrote:
               | Single page apps don't require a frontend router and the
               | same can be achieved by unconditionally sending a
               | redirect from the server side for any request as long as
               | you also hook into the "beforeunload" event in the
               | browser.
        
             | sublinear wrote:
             | It's not the back button, but these two otherwise useful
             | APIs used in a malicious way together:
             | 
             | https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
             | US/docs/Web/API/Window/befo...
             | 
             | https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
             | US/docs/Web/API/Location/hr...
        
         | bombcar wrote:
         | It's been common for ages and stupidly built single sign on
         | sites have made it even worse.
        
       | boopmaster wrote:
       | the energy used to salvage the e-waste may have been a bit
       | excessive relative to the e-waste. really cool project! Also
       | incredibly impractical while the barrier to entry isn't exactly
       | low.
        
       | the_arun wrote:
       | This is really cool. Great gift for grand parents who struggle to
       | use Smart watch.
        
         | dhosek wrote:
         | Hey, my 81-year-old mother actually absolutely _loves_ her
         | Apple Watch (although I had to show her the setting so she
         | could have the crown on the opposite side because she wears it
         | on her right wrist).
        
       | 6510 wrote:
       | You cant polish a turd... Hold my beer.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | wiseowise wrote:
       | Combining worst of both worlds, nice.
        
       | usrusr wrote:
       | Heh, I was expecting also the movement made from discarded Apple
       | watch materials, and now I feel bad about my disappointment
       | because this project, while being orders of magnitude less
       | insane, is still cool.
        
       | tghtvbhcc wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
       | randomcarbloke wrote:
       | H. Moser et Cie do a decent mechanical "Apple Watch"
        
       | DonHopkins wrote:
       | MacBook cases make great notebook covers too.
        
       | ericzawo wrote:
       | I love watches but don't think I'll ever wear an Apple Watch. It
       | just doesn't _feel_ like a Watch. It 's very much a wrist
       | computer. I would love if they made an Apple Watchband, as in a
       | computer-powered wristband of some kind that does all the great
       | things Apple Watch does (pedometer, heart monitoring, gps,
       | notifs) but replaces the watch band of my Actual Watch. Now
       | that'd be something I would wear.
        
         | growt wrote:
         | I also love mechanical watches and own a handful. But I also
         | love the convenience to pay with my apple watch. The way I
         | solved it: I wear my apple watch on the right arm and a "real"
         | watch on the left.
        
           | _thisdot wrote:
           | I do this at times when working from home. Never had the guts
           | to actually do this in public. Maybe a fitness band with a
           | real watch
           | 
           | I even tried wearing the Apple Watch upside down on my
           | dominant hand, but very easy to damage the watch that way
        
         | gorbypark wrote:
         | That would be amazing (especially if it was an Apple product).
        
         | hbn wrote:
         | I'd hazard to guess watch enthusiasts would be less likely to
         | like smart watches because they don't really provide the same
         | value/draw. I have an Apple Watch because it's basically just
         | an excuse to touch my phone less. I don't need to take it out
         | when I get a notification, or when I'm listening to music and
         | want to skip a track. I don't wear it as a fashion statement or
         | with hopes I can pass it down for generations. It's just a
         | phone accessory.
        
         | stephencanon wrote:
         | I wear a nice mechanical watch every day, but I do own an Apple
         | Watch to use if I have to be reachable while doing something
         | where getting at a phone would be inconvenient. It's pretty
         | great for that purpose.
        
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