Is it worth wearing a watch?

[MMCCX]

watches are indeed, essentially, now just "man jewelry".

i don't carry a cellphone, but i could just as easily tell time (to within a half hour or so) by listening to church bells and factory whistles in my town.

that said, i love watches. digital, quartz analog, automatic or handwind; i have and use them all depending on activity and dress.

[Aaron W.]

I have to say that mechanical is the way to go. Keep it wound and it shouldn't let you down. I wear a elgin sportsman 60's model 17 jewel and it keeps time as good as my phone. If you want better accuracy find a true,railroad grade pocket watch. Amazing time pieces but go for the watch they are classy.

[joel.favre]

Watches are absolutely essential for me. I dont think I have left the house in the last five years without one. Of course, being an aviator, it is required gear

[Ru4scuba?]

As the resident "watch guy" in my unit, my initial gut answer to this question was a resounding yes. I wear mine not just to tell the time, but because it is a Swiss work of art, a fashion statement and a clear signal that I'm a guy who's serious about watches...

But then, I took pause. The information age we live in has negated the overal "purpose" of a watch to be sure. Time can be found via a multitude of readily available venues....thus making watches somewhat irrelevant. Its arguable the cell phone has become as ubiquitous as the watch once was...few cell phones do not display the time as well as their other functions. This begs the most important question..."if so, whats the point of wearing a wristwatch?"

If pure functionality is your objective and you are a cell phone carrier...then none; unless you wish to possess a good backup method of time should your battery die, tower collapse or satellite fall out of the sky. If however, you view watches as another form of artistic expression...then you'll find you can't live without one; whether your passion is the latest Ironman or Vacheron Constantin.

[Amir]

Women can accessorize til the cows come home.

Men have only so many options.

There's a whole generation or two of men who don't wear watches, and just look at their smart phones.

They're missing out on one of the great pleasures of wearing a mechanical watch, like a Patek Philippe, Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and IWC. Even Seiko, which makes a $29 watch, has a Grand Seiko line that rivals any of the Swiss legends.

[little Big feather]

You can't carry a Cell Phone in combat can you? Do some phones have a "Depth Rating"?

[scottish steve]

Granted the batteries tend to last more than 5 years, but I'm not sure I know how to actually replace one... or find a watch that'll last 5 years itself, yeesh...

Have you learned nothing during your time here?
This post is the horological equivalent of saying "My Mach 3 blades get blunt after 4 shaves, so all you guys using a straight are kidding yourselves."

I think it would be more constructive to do some research and, you know, maybe buy a decent watch for a change?

[AverageJoe]

If you value being on time to anything and always knowing the date, a watch is essential. The (relatively) cheap Casios of one sort or another have always been on my wrist-----not only are they cheap, but they are accurate, waterproof, rugged, and even the most basic version will at least give you the date and time and have an alarm and light up for use in the dark. I have a G-shock and one of their slim, basic ones as well. The batteries seem to last forever. I happen to like the techy matte black look as well. In pitch blackness, I can still easily read it with a push of a button.

The value/dollar ratio is very high for these, IMHO.

[COHunter]

I've worn a watch for so long I think the pigment in my wrist where the watch resides has fled the scene! I've got to have a watch on, and I usually just wear fairly inexpensive watches. I have one for work that's a bit nicer, (still under $100) and then a $25 digital job that I wear when doing everything else.

[turtle]

I don't believe in cell phones (the easter bunny or santa claus)...

My cell phone stays powered down in a drawer unless I want to make a call.

My wrist watch is what I use to tell time with

[StropShoppe]

Women can accessorize til the cows come home.

Men have only so many options.

This is the truth! We aren't quite back in the day and age when men could sport ear rings and make up and be taken seriously in a professional setting, like the 18th Century. Men's fashion is about minimalism, and functionality...unless you are 18 of course and then you can wear all sorts of crazy stuff and get away with it because you are young.

Think of fashion as our peacock feathers. Our clothes say a lot about us. Greasy and dirty? Obviously a manual laborer. Sharp suit and Italian loafers? Banker or lawyer. However, these still tend to make people look the same, and that's what accessories are. Your rings, watches, necklaces, and bracelets help you stand out and say a little something about you.

A pocket watch on a chain? Old fashioned tastes and style. Calculator watch? Engineer and nerdy-like. Aviator or diving watch? You like adventure and excitement.

Use watches, rings, necklaces and bracelets to kind of make a mini statement about yourself.

[cfender]

I received an inexpensive pocket watch as a gift when I was a youth. I thought it would be an elegant accessory but it's actually often inconvenient to yank out of your pocket to check the time. Especially if both hands are occupied. Owning one demonstrated the advance in functionality that wrist watches brought to civilization. I would therefore be very unsatisfied having to fish out my smart phone whenever I needed to check the time.

Eyeballing an esthetically pleasing timepiece on my wrist hundreds of times a day is one of the few simple pleasures in life a man can have.

[Kentos]

Thread necromancy rulz!

[shaveitoff]

There are probably lots of people who don't need to wear a watch. I could get by without one and just use the cell phone, wall clocks, computer screen, etc. However, I have worn a watch since I was in the fourth grade. My left wrist is actually a bit thinner than my right wrist, and I can only assume it has something to do wearing a watch for so long.

I've only ever gone out of the house in the morning a couple of times without a watch. Sometimes I am so rushed in the morning that I forget something, and very rarely that is putting on my watch. When that happened I just felt completely "off" all day.

[cb91710]

You can't carry a Cell Phone in combat can you? Do some phones have a "Depth Rating"?

My G-Zone Ravine is good to 3ft

Have you learned nothing during your time here?
This post is the horological equivalent of saying "My Mach 3 blades get blunt after 4 shaves, so all you guys using a straight are kidding yourselves."

I think it would be more constructive to do some research and, you know, maybe buy a decent watch for a change?

Check the date on the post you replied to... he'd only been here a year and the post was from 2009

I received an inexpensive pocket watch as a gift when I was a youth. I thought it would be an elegant accessory but it's actually often inconvenient to yank out of your pocket to check the time.

Agreed. I LOVE a nice pocket watch, but it is no more convenient than a cell phone, and for the most part, it is an accessory that doesn't quite "fit" with typical 21st century dress.
Yes, jeans have a watch pocket... a holdover from days when a pocket watch was common, but IMHO, the elegance of a pocket watch is lost with Levis and a Van Halen t-shirt.
It works with a vested suit... which is totally uncommon in Los Angeles.

Thread necromancy rulz!

LOL!


Seriously though... My normal everyday wear watch is a Casio G-Shock atomic solar.
As a traffic signal tech, I absolutely must have dead-accurate time at all times, since synchronization of traffic signals depends on the timing of multiple intersections matching the distance and speed of traffic from one to another... seconds actually do count.
I've yet to see a cell phone with a seconds display (granted, I've never used a "smartphone"). Before I got the G-Shock, my only option was to set the controller time 1 minute ahead and wait for when the minute on the cell phone would tick over to the next minute and hit "enter".
Likewise, I often need both hands available, so fumbling a phone doesn't work.

But my "dress" watch is still my much-maligned Invicta blue face dive watch. I've had it since 2003 or so and it's never missed a beat. My only complaint is it does not have a very robust spring.. if I take it off and set it down, it's done in 18-24 hours, but for daily active wear, it's never been an issue. I've had it down to 140ft in the Bahamas, so rain is not a problem.

[Catalin]

A mechanical watch (automatic or wind-up) is a piece of art that requires no batteries. It tells time and it looks good on your wrist. It also tells the world you are a discerning guy. It is also an indulgence, like straight razors.

I like both....

[Kazeryu]

... A lot easier to glance at the wrist than pull the phone out of my pocket.

Get an automatic and you never need a new battery. ...

+1 on both counts.

There is also the Citizen Eco Drive - it recharges using ambient light.

[Go West Young Man]

You can't carry a Cell Phone in combat can you? Do some phones have a "Depth Rating"?

You and I appear to live very, very different lives!

[Leon]

I feel naked without mine!

Me three!

Just feels weird without one.

[packersfan117]

I always wear a Luminox, except at work (I work at a garage, so the watch would snag on the car parts I work with). I feel incomplete without my watch.