Hmmm ... my LE is a bit fast... it might be half a minute fast after a week. Big deal.
My (quartz) Red is a wee bit slow... it looses 10 seconds in a week. Apart from the fact that my Seiko gains 10 seconds during daylight savings time switches, which makes me not bother about ever setting it at all... I'd rather have the Red a wee bit fast
Having said that, each time I pick up an auto, I have to wind it, set the date, and set the time. I can pick up a Seiko quartz and just wear it... or I can pick up the Red, set the time, and wear it.
But then again, quartz watches run out of juice... so you have to take them into a jeweller to get the battery replaced. Oops.
But then again, mechanical watches need a service jobbie just as often as quartz watches need new batteries - so you have to take them to a competent watchmaker (of which there are fewer) to get them serviced. Oops.
The most trouble-free watch I have, by these standards, is the Casio G-Shock Tough Solar Wave Ceptor thingy. It's set every night at 2:02 (3:02 on daylight saving time), and it doesn't need new batteries. And since it has less moving parts than a rock, the word "service" means wiping the grease off so you can read the display.
And yes, it does have a character. As in "throw whatever abuse you like at me, see if I care". I've thrown abuse at it which would have killed each and every other watch that I own... and it burped and asked for more. I don't know what Casio makes these things of... volcanic rock I assume.
It also has the charisma of a vacuum cleaner, which makes it suitable for any occasion that you wouldn't want to subject any watch you like to.
If I know I'm going to tear down a wall, or drop an engine on my wrist, I grab the G-Shock. If I slept in and have to rush, I grab a quartz (most likely the Red). If I've got time for a cuppa before I go (which is most of the time, really), then I can grab an auto, wind it, and set it. And take out a polishing cloth and pamper it a bit.
I know that there is little rationale to it - but I really can't be bothered with that. Whenever I leisurely lean back smoking a pipe, or enjoying a nice Carmenère, and see that second hand sweep a creamy-white dial (for some reason, my read-pear pipe head doesn't match the radiant blue of the Kingfisher LE dial very well), I know that life is good, and I cannot be bothered with all the technicalities.
For the lack of reasoning above, I like mechanical watches just as well as quartz watches.
Man with one watch, always know time. Man with many watches, never sure.
(unidentified Chinese philosopher)