I think the issue of mechanical (especially automatic) vs quartz and digital watches is a really interesting sort of debate and I'm not sure it's really analogous to anything else I've thought much about. In a way an elaborate mechanical watch is just a waste of time (as it were) because it's less precise than a regular digital watch and then you throw in all sorts of complications people don't really need, like chronometers and calendaring and moon phases and what-have-you and it adds incredibly tricky craftsmanship (and price) for something that, let's face it, won't really add that much timekeeping value.

I think you can compare it to textiles and such but not really.. sure cheaper synthetic textiles can be more practical and useful than more traditional high quality textiles but the argument for switching to the more expensive fabric if you can isn't that hard, any harder than it is to switch from plastic furniture to wood. with complicated mechanical watches though it does seem a lot harder to justify

Firas, have you seen Steve G's watch page? There's a ton of beautiful photography of the movements of many classic watches on the site. For instance...

The best watch I ever owned was a digital watch I bought on a market stall. Couldn't keep time for shit, but it had a built-in TV remote control. Oh, what fun I had with it at the expense of my now-ex husband, who had no idea that my ugly, ugly watch contained such a hidden treasure.

I love the mechanics of clocks. You might appreciate my Charles-Hubert, Mechanical Pocket Watch.

props for the links they're great, keep em coming if you have anything