Mechanical is the classic timekeeping technology that goes back centuries. There’s no electricity involved. Power comes from the gradual, metered release of a wound spring. There are two flavors: manual, in which you have to wind it yourself to “recharge” that spring, and automatic, where moving the watch around (as in, wearing it) does the job. Automatics also have a manual wind function as a “backup.” Both kinds needs periodic servicing to stay in tip-top operation.

Quartz is battery powered, and accounts for the vast majority of watches in the world. When voltage is applied to a quartz crystal, it vibrates at a very regular and specific frequency, and that’s the basis of keeping time. *Objectively* it’s better than mechanical in every way- more accurate, almost zero maintenance (a cheap battery change every 2-5 years), no user action needed to keep working day after day, and cheaper.

So why do people still buy mechanical watches if they cost more but are worse at their job, while also being so much more work? Everyone has their own *subjective* reason but it’s usually rooted in an appreciation of craftsmanship, beauty, tradition, etc. To me it feels like having a little piece of history, the culmination of centuries of precision engineering.

BTW I’m pretty new to the hobby, but they say the best way to learn something is to try to teach it, so y’all let me know how I did ;)