Allow me to indulge in a parable, of sorts. Originally, the sun was our means of telling time, then, apparatuses using water and sand were devised for the same purpose. This progressed to spring-driven mechanical clocks, and from there, it was only a matter of time before these became small enough to be worn on our bodies. Early versions of mechanical watches can be traced back to the 16th century. This storied legacy was violently upended, however, by the rapid development of quartz watches in the 1970s.
Quartz watches, which use batteries, can be made cheaper, faster, and more accurately than their mechanical counterparts. Their widespread adoption almost completely wiped out mechanical watchmakers; within a decade, the tradition-steeped industry withered to almost nothing. Only through careful stewardship did mechanical watchmaking survive, and decades’ worth of knowledge was lost in the process.
