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Finnomenalife
9
Jul 6, 2015
i have 3 Tissot watches all battery operated. Had to get batteries replaced every 12-24 months and in order to re-certify water resistance it had to be shipped back to tissot and i dont remember exactly the lead time but it was several weeks AND between $100-200! for a battery replacement! THIS watch requires NO battery and thus the "maintenance cost" of it over 10 years is...um... $0 and battery service of say 100 every 2years is $500 AT BEST! if $200 every year $2000! this thread answered my questions maybe it'll answer yours. http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/showthread.php?112667-How-Often-Do-You-Need-to-Service-a-Self-Winding-Automatic-Watch
conclusion: If you go "diving and swimming" with this watch get it checked out and serviced every few years... if not take it in when it stops telling good time.
FinnomenalifeUm, the added value of automatics is the sweeping motion of second hand and knowing that the thing on you wrist is a precise piece of engineering measuring time through sheer mechanical motion. On the other hand, its precision is way lower than the cheapest of quartz watches and the precision depends on the power reserve level (the spring is non-linear), watch position in relation to gravity pull, etc.
As for the ownership cost - the 12-24 month for quartz batteries is very short. I usually get around three years (although I do not have watches with complications beside a simple calendar). If you want water resistance, you have to get the gaskets checked every two years regardless of quartz/mechanical movement. However, it should not last weeks, it can be done locally at a watchmaker (but not at a mall-stand-type battery changing personnel, a proper watchmaker) and should not cost that much.
While the automatics do not need the battery replacement, you should have it serviced at least every 5 years and it costs a lot more than a battery change (a watchmaker removes all the gears, bridges, etc., cleans it, puts it all back together, oils a regulates it, see how many parts a mechanical movement has). If you wait until it stops working, you are doing a damage to the movement and then, with quartz movement, you can also have the battery changed at the mall for pennies without regards to water resistance or damages from unskilled opening...
So, automatics are cool, but maintenance cost (when the maintenance is proper) is not their advantage.