Atmos Clock

If you appreciate Swiss watchmaking and wouldn't mind spending a few thousand bucks on a mechanical timepiece that you can bequeath to your grandchildren some day, you should also look at Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master and Reverso lines. They make some of the most beautiful watches IMHO, with a focus on understated design.

If you're a man looking for a posh, classic wristwatch that doesn't shout its original price to everybody who doesn't care, the Master Control Date [1] should tempt you; the Master Ultra Thin line [2] is even more subtle; for something sporty, look at the Master Compressor line [3]. The Reverso Lady [4] is the finest women's watch that I have seen to day.

(Obviously, if you want your coworkers to know how much money you spent on your wristwatch, Rolex or Omega are better choices. They make excellent watches too, no doubt.)

[1] http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/US/en/watches/master-control...

[2] http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/US/en/collections/master#mas...

[3] http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/US/en/collections/master-ext...

[4] http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/US/en/watches/reverso-dame/2...

Good writeup: http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/the-amazing-incredibly-affordab...

For those wondering about buying one: a used, working Atmos is in the $1k range and a new one (JLC still make them) is ~$6k. Not cheap.

>Its power source is an internal hermetically sealed capsule containing a mixture of gaseous and liquid ethyl chloride, which expands into an expansion chamber as the temperature rises, compressing a spiral spring; with a fall in temperature the gas condenses and the spring slackens.

So it's basically a clock powered by a really simple Sterling engine?

also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortt-Synchronome_clock

Its brilliant. I wonder if we can use this effect to power a small (very low power) microchip for an indefinite period of time.