The unusual sound is one of the many likable and endearing quirks about this watch. The sound isn't offensively loud, you can only hear it in a quiet environment, like a bedroom. It's not intrusive. The other quirk about this watch is that the escapement is not self starting. Sometimes the Robin escapement can stop in a place where it wouldn't normally self start. Thus, you fully wind the watch, put the watch on your wrist, and you're surprised it's not moving. So you take it off, gently shake it in a rotating way, and it starts. Then you set the time and put it on your wrist.