Also if you are worried about maintenance then you should stick to the simplest version--hours and minutes, but no date or chronograph. Each feature adds many parts to the mechanism. Those parts could go wrong and even if they don't they make the watch more expensive to service.

Let us say you decided on a mechanical watch. I assume you will be opting for an automatic instead of a manual wind (which may be easier to maintain, but will require your more careful attention on a daily basis--if just to check on the power reserve).

Aside from repair there is the problem with rotating between different watches you like to wear. A mechanical watch cannot be put down for a few days and expected to be operating the instant you decide to wear it again. Depending on its power reserve it might run down in 2 to 3 days. If your watch has a date feature then that will have to be reset every time. You will need to buy a watch winder.

And you may not be too pleased with the watch's accuracy (or inaccuracy). A fine watch can be regulated to operate as accurately as a quartz, but maintaining that accuracy is not easy. The operation of a mechanical watch is affected by its use and storage (as though it had feelings). Gravity is the chief culprit, but so is motion.

A fine watch is designed in anticipation of how most customers will wear it. A mechanical watch will run differently if placed on its back, its crystal, its side, etc. It will respond to how actively you swing your arm or twist your wrist. With an automatic an active person might make the watch run faster. With either manual or automatic hitting a golf or tennis ball might damage the watch--despite the endorsement photos.

So even if your watch is regulated to be as accurate as a quartz your behavior will affect its accuracy.

If all this discourages you from buying a mechanical watch then typing this has been worthwhile. A mechanical watch is not just a show piece for trumping the office drones. It is as anachronistic as a fountain pen. Both require a certain understanding and self deprecating humor.

Besides the inconvenience of maintaining a fancy mechanical watch you might have to bear the occasional rub, "I paid $28 for my Casio and it keeps much better time than your fancy brand." So that may be why many watchbugs don't wear the more flamboyant mechanical watches and don't let their friends know what they paid for anything.

Best wishes.