Why do mechanical analogue watches still exist in the 'digital age'?

Question

when the digital electronics age came like nearly 3 decades ago, why do we have this watches ?

is there a need to read the time via 'handles' pointing at numbers in a circle ?

this intrigues me - i wonder also, if digital watches are less prone to errors than their analogue counterparts.


Does anybody know any advantages mechanical analogue watches have over digital ones ? what ?

Why do mechanical analogue watches still exist in the 'digital age' ?

Answer 1

They did an analysis on this.

The digital clock tells you what time it IS.



But the analog clock tells you visually BOTH what time is it and how much time is LEFT (or passed).



Say you have a class at 10:00. If you watch an analog clock at 9:42 with a quick glance you immediately know you have about "15 min" left. With a digital clock you have to do (mentally) 60-42 = 18. Well, for many people, it is not that easy.



The fact that people still use more analog watches proves that they are far more easy to use than digital ones.

Answer 2

It's actually true that a digital watch is easier to read than an analogue and in some cases where a person has a lower than average IQ a digital watch is recommended because it's hard for them to correctly read an analogue.

In technical terms a modern quartz analogue mechanism is more accurate than a digital circuit because the mechanism is not as susceptible to extremes of temperature; this is not particularly important in temperate or tropical climates but it is where you get extreme heat or cold.

Some years ago various concerned commercial organisations carried out surveys and found that the majority preferred analogue to digital. Some psychologists then set themselves to find out why. It turned out that what people do is not tell the time as such, but estimate the time left in or to elapse before any given period. Whilst you can do this with a digital watch, there is no graphical representation such as there is with the hands of an analogue mechanism, and apparently people are viewing time as they would a pie chart, with each successive rise and fall of the minute or hour hand being the important factor rather than where the hand actually is.

Ever the innovative for a market niche, the Casio Company put a range of watches on the market that could tell the time either as a digital or analogue readout. Some did both simultaneously, and you could set the digital to 12 or 24 hour clock. They did quite well and spawned a host of imitators although I haven't seen one for quite some time. I had one for years, and as I don't wake up properly until the day's had its shine worn off, I found the digital bit was good for telling me if I'd mis-read the analogue, and on more than one occasion it saved me being late for work! :)

Answer 3

Mechanical analogue watches exist because of preference, because they do not rely on electrical power sources that need to be replaced and that add to the whole life cost of the watch and because the hands of a clock face are quicker and easier to read accurately than a set of numbers.



For my own convenience, I use an electronic watch with an analogue face.

Answer 4

Because of fashion and styling mostly. A good mechanical watch exudes certain level of class that an electronic watch would just absorb.



Styling and fashion can be expressed only so much in an LED or LCD display. A mechanical analog watch can give a watch designer a lot more latitude.



I agree that a digital clock/watch is easier to read, for linear time.

Answer 5

"Why do mechanical analogue watches still exist in the 'digital age' ?"



It's called 'The Law of Supply and Demand'.



While people still want analogue watches, manufacturers will still make them. There are millions of people who prefer an analogue watch to a digital one - it's called 'freedom of choice'.

Answer 6

Analog. it truly is a Fossil 2308 that I picked up approximately 10 years in the past in the Salt Lake city airport. i used to be on the line continually, and that replaced into the 300 and sixty 5 days that anybody have been given Christmas gives you i might desire to purchase at an airport.