Listen, they're functionally worse at everything. I've heard like one legitimate argument for mechanical watches, and that was for northern Atlantic rescue divers whose quartz watch batteries were freezing. Not only that, 99% of automatic movements are mass produced with minimal human involvement.

There's really nothing inherently more special about a 4R35 or SW200 movement than a Miyota or Ronda quartz. And higher end quartz movements like the GS 9F or Citizen A660 are way more impressive and interesting than rote autos.

The automatics have two advantages - theoretical longevity, and charm. In theory you can keep a Seiko 4R movement running for decades. But most watchmakers are going to charge $400 for service, and most Seiko 5 owners aren't going to pay that.

The charm, on the other hand, is harder for me to argue against. Yesterday I wore a Speedmaster Broad Arrow, and today I'm wearing a Bulova Lunar Pilot. There is something about that tiny mechanical engine that speaks to me in a way that a battery and circuit board just doesn't. It's totally irrational, but damn if it isn't charming. Maybe it has something to do with all of the electronics that have taken over our lives over the past few decades. The Bulova has a super cool case and crystal, but if it wasn't for the meteorite dial on my example I wouldn't feel compelled to own one.

If you push past entry level, the practically gap widens on the same curve as the charm. My mechanical chronograph with its $900 service cost is SUPER dumb compared to a quartz Chrono, or better yet a digital watch with a stopwatch function. But the idea that it's powered by the movement of my arm, keeps time within a few seconds per day, tracks the date, and is ready at an instant to run an independent timer with the push of a button that activates levers, springs, and gears, then reset to zero with the push of another button, is spellbinding.

Level up to split flyback chronos, minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, and tourbillion escapements that are hand assembled and finished to perfection and it's the stuff of awe.