Unless one is buying a watch as jewelry. I.e a famous brand in solid gold. Or one is intending to go exploring for years at a time in the deep boonies why would one have a mechanical watch nowadays?
A nod to tradition. Some prefer the idea of a small machine with actual gears, levers and springs to quartz crystal or a computer chip. Mechanical watches are to watch enthusiasts what electric cars are to car enthusiasts.
The movement is this watch is considerably older than I am, yet both looks beautiful and runs impeccably. I'd prefer this little machine on my wrist to anything that runs on a battery:
![](http://www.fototime.com/204CEE8E0E2B691/orig.jpg)
And you don't have to spend mega-thousands to own and enjoy a quality mechanical timepiece. Though you certainly can. I have a friend who owns a $125,000 Patek and drives an 8 year old Audi.
A greay many things that some enjoy can be condescendingly dismissed as an "affectation" by those who don't have an appreciation for the subject. Why buy a $150 bottle of single malt when a $25 blend is "just as good". Or a fine bottle of wine, or a quality cigar, or a car with a manual transmission, or.... whatever your personal affectation might be.
Obviously a mechanical watch isn;t the choice of those who just want a watch to tell the time. A cell phone can do that and a great deal more. My daughter routinely gets perfectly usable digital watches as the "toy surprise" in her happy meal. Can't beat free, right? So why spend any wmoney on a watch at all? But the OP owns a Rolex Daytona - and iconic mechanical chronograph - so I figured that he would understand this affectation even if others do not.
Jaeger