This is a hot issue in the pocket watch community right now. I will try to break this down into three issues:

1) THE PURISTS...There are a lot of people in the PW community who hate it when original watches or even original movements get abused. Abused means melting or scrapping of cases or the use of parts or pieces to do anything other than fixing an original watch. They hate "SteamPunk" or art or any kind which uses watch parts. When a purist sees a wristwatch made out of a pocket watch movement they first thing that an original watch was destroyed in the making of this abomination.

2) THE AESTHETIC HATERS...There are a lot of PW people who hate wrist watches to begin with. There are PW and other watch people who think these watches are aesthetic abominations because they are too big or too clunky looking or whatever.

3) THE MECHANICS...There are a lot of people who don't like these watches because of basic mechanical issues. For instance these old pocket watch movements do not have shock proof balances so they are prone to having the balance staff break in normal usage from normal bumping etc. Also being pocket watches these movements were never really meant to keep time while being subjected to even the motion of normal arm swinging and certainly not the movement of athletic activity etc. They were simply never meant to be modern wrist watch engines.

So, all that said, where do I fall in the spectrum? I guess to me, if someone wants to do this to their watch, who am I to say no. I don't like people scrapping watch cases to get these movements. I am not really a fan of these huge watches...but...all said and done...I have better things to worry about or fight about.

JohnCote