When is the last time you wore a watch?

[Guest]

I haven't worn a watch in at least 25 years and was thinking about how they are no longer given away( as much) for milestones at work or gifts- HOWEVER, my 30YO son is VERY into watches, as are some of his buddies. Knowing there is a great cross-section of Surly Elite and common folk on this board, how often do you wear a watch?  Do you feel like it completes the process of dressing nice?  Is it just a tool replaced by the cellphone these days?

[Brisketexan 104,746]

A watch?  Why would I need a watch?

[DalTxHornFan 3,088]

Cell phones do the trick for me, plus I never wear any kind of jewelry.  So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

[Jameslaw121 4,445]

I wear one daily. Partially because it measures my distance, I have a daily goal I try to reach. But also, during the school year, I go to about 15-20 schools a day and most of them make you sign in and put the time. Usually I have something in my left hand and signing in with my right. A lot easier to look at my watch for that.

Otherwise, I do have some nicer watches (nothing expensive, like fossil), that I wear for functions. Easier to casually check your watch than pull out a phone during a funeral.

[Neonmoon 38,127]

1987

[DalTxHornFan 3,088]

3 minutes ago, Jameslaw121 said:

Easier to casually check your watch than pull out a phone during a funeral.

Perhaps.

[Blotto 23,439]

4 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Cell phones do the trick for me, plus I never wear any kind of jewelry.  So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

I probably haven't worn a watch regularly since grade school when I had a pretty pimp calculator watch. I'd guess its been 20 years since I have even put one on. 

[Wally Fairway 5,528]

Used to wear one every day, had a favorite that I wore about 360 days a year. Then the crystal cracked, Mrs Fairway went to get it fixed and dropped it and the damned thing fucking broke. It wasn't an expensive watch, just on I liked. I have been wearing a fit bit ever since, because it reminds me I'm fat and haven't walked enough today.

My 23 YO  son likes to wear them, hell he probably has about a dozen; he doesn't wear them to work, just when he is out with friends. And it is 100% a fashion/trend thing, because if I ask what time it is he 1000% is checking his phone.

[Js1 85,152]

Every day Apple Watch, mostly to track workouts and movement. 

I have a couple nicer watches I was gifted from my dad and one I got from my mom's husband when he died for nicer occasions.  Weddings, job interviews, etc.  Not everyday wear.

[Brian Fantana 6,671]

8 minutes ago, Jameslaw121 said:

I wear one daily. Partially because it measures my distance, I have a daily goal I try to reach. But also, during the school year, I go to about 15-20 schools a day and most of them make you sign in and put the time. Usually I have something in my left hand and signing in with my right. A lot easier to look at my watch for that.

Otherwise, I do have some nicer watches (nothing expensive, like fossil), that I wear for functions. Easier to casually check your watch than pull out a phone during a funeral.

This. I wear a smart watch daily for health stuff.

I have a couple nicer watches for special occasions but rarely wear them.

[Foosters 17,766]

5/14/2020

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12,301]

There was not an option for “would feel nekkid without wearing one”

[satyanash 14,282]

Wearing one right now (Hamilton Khaki). For the past decade watches have been getting larger and larger, but smaller vintage-style watches are now making something of a comeback. The overpriced fashion watch craze has also died down, in part because smartwatches have eaten into their market share. For me at least, a wristwatch is as essential as my wedding ring when I'm going out.

[Parliament 14,149]

Men who don't wear a watch are children.

[BillyGoatHill 4,278]

Pretty much have worn one daily 24/7 for the last 40+ years. Was a needed accessory for doing the professions I was in and it doesn't feel right now without one on my wrist. 

(As far as people saying they don't need one and can just use their phone, I chuckle at that as I am constantly getting asked the time when I'm out playing cards and people see that I'm wearing a watch).

[Rimbo 25,819]

needs to be an option for "i feel naked if i don't have a watch on my wrist at all times"

38 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

There was not an option for “would feel nekkid without wearing one”

great minds think alike

and so do ours

[Brothahorn 10,085]

Every day. Even though I mostly check my phone for the time. Just feels weird not wearing one, especially at work.

[Helobious 9,490]

As my professional life has gone on I’ve noticed the number of situations where it’s  “inappropriate to pull out your cell phone” is dwindling. Definitely more accepted now. I’ll go ahead and do that and have a laser-accurate time vs some overpriced thing I have to put on my wrist that may not be correct.

[SimonBolivar 10,949]

8 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Men who don't wear a watch are children.

What do I need a watch for? I ain't taking any medicine.

[Brothahorn 10,085]

As my professional life has gone on I’ve noticed the number of situations where it’s  “inappropriate to pull out your cell phone” is dwindling. Definitely more accepted now. I’ll go ahead and do that and have a laser-accurate time vs some overpriced thing I have to put on my wrist that may not be correct.

That's why you synch it to your phone.

[BillyGoatHill 4,278]

15 minutes ago, Helobious said:

As my professional life has gone on I’ve noticed the number of situations where it’s  “inappropriate to pull out your cell phone” is dwindling. Definitely more accepted now. I’ll go ahead and do that and have a laser-accurate time vs some overpriced thing I have to put on my wrist that may not be correct.

Some of the more accurate watches I've ever owned or worn were the least expensive (Timex) and also able to take a ton of abuse. As for being correct, with the interwebz being around now for so long it's super easy to synch up with the atomic clock or NIST to have your watch with the right time.

Edited June 28, 2023 by BillyGoatHill

[PRONG HORN 3,103]

Watches are dumb and there is a very popular thread here for those weirdos so take that for what it’s worth.

 

 

[Hagbard Celine 10,772]

i have a bunch of watches i want to sell

chicken to go in to the watch lovers thread

i have a tag heuer from '84 that is likely worth something per ebay

the others are coach, swatch, etc.

any watch collectors that wont flame an amateur seller, pm me

[Celery Man 20,902]

I like wearing a watch and I would find it inconvenient to not wear one. I’m sure I wouldn’t if I wasn’t used to wearing one, and to be fair I’m also super annoyed when my wife leaves 1 second on the microwave and the time isn’t there when I look (despite having the time on my wrist/phone/everywhere else). I check my watch frequently and my weekdays are typically heavily scheduled. I also feel naked without a watch and don’t “feel” it on my wrist at all, because I am so used to it.

Honestly I don’t like wearing a watch that isn’t a chronograph or doesn’t have a timing bezel. From a practical perspective I use that all the time. I just looked down and the chrono is running on my watch, took me a second but I clicked it when I saw the kid go down for her nap so that I’d know how long she’d been down (and if she was likely to go back to sleep) when I saw her start moving around on the monitor. I use it when cooking all the time. Or laundry, etc.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9,308]

All day, every day. Can't convince myself to wear a smartwatch although I suppose the day will come when the vital signs/health tracking of wearable devices will be too much to ignore. Personally I've found smartwatches to be a springboard to extreme inattentiveness & borderline rude behavior by many wearers. Most adults seem to be able to keep their phones tucked away during a meeting or personal interaction, but it's amazing at how many people think nothing of staring at their wrist non-stop instead of paying attention to what's going on in the room.

[Dbeasy 14,992]

Fitbit. I must know exactly how many steps I take every day. Plus my pulse. EKG.  Oxygen level. And anything else they can measure. Maybe PSA is next. 

[tx 3 putt 76,498]

Daily, it’s a very acceptable men’s accessory 

[Prepuce of Doom 20,999]

4 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I like wearing a watch and I would find it inconvenient to not wear one. I’m sure I wouldn’t if I wasn’t used to wearing one, and to be fair I’m also super annoyed when my wife leaves 1 second on the microwave and the time isn’t there when I look (despite having the time on my wrist/phone/everywhere else). I check my watch frequently and my weekdays are typically heavily scheduled. I also feel naked without a watch and don’t “feel” it on my wrist at all, because I am so used to it.

Honestly I don’t like wearing a watch that isn’t a chronograph or doesn’t have a timing bezel. From a practical perspective I use that all the time. I just looked down and the chrono is running on my watch, took me a second but I clicked it when I saw the kid go down for her nap so that I’d know how long she’d been down (and if she was likely to go back to sleep) when I saw her start moving around on the monitor. I use it when cooking all the time. Or laundry, etc.

I use my bezel constantly, and the lack of a bezel (or chronograph, but I find them less useful) is what keeps many of my watches on the shelf more often than they otherwise deserve. 

[Celery Man 20,902]

1 minute ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

I use my bezel constantly, and the lack of a bezel (or chronograph, but I find them less useful)

I can understand being less used to a chrono over a bezel but I’m curious how it’s less useful?

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12,301]

I use my chrono function daily.

[RDCanecutter 26,341]

Gruen mechanical watch that keeps haphazard time. Old band wore out so my wife went to a leather repair shop and had them fabricate a 2" wide leather strap with some basic tooling and my initial on it. Looks like something from a Billy Jack movie. Might save my life in a knife fight.

[gofuckyourself 8,135]

50 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Men who don't wear a watch are children.

Damn right. I'm a 100% grown ass man who proudly wears his 1982 Pac Man watch. 

['stache 21,778]

I wore a fitbit for a while but when the strap attachment broke a few years ago I didn't replace it, otherwise, I have never worn a real watch. Never needed it, and never liked them in general. Just my personal preference. 

[Jameslaw121 4,445]

24 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

All day, every day. Can't convince myself to wear a smartwatch although I suppose the day will come when the vital signs/health tracking of wearable devices will be too much to ignore. Personally I've found smartwatches to be a springboard to extreme inattentiveness & borderline rude behavior by many wearers. Most adults seem to be able to keep their phones tucked away during a meeting or personal interaction, but it's amazing at how many people think nothing of staring at their wrist non-stop instead of paying attention to what's going on in the room.

That's interesting. I definitely use mine so that I can leave my phone in my computer bag. And I pretty much always keep my phone on silent. Having the ability to easily check, then ignore a call or message helps me a lot.

At home, I've been trying to leave my phone on the kitchen counter while we're watching something. Was getting way to absorbed with checking fb, mlb scores, surly instead of watching whatever. Knowing I'm not missing an important phone call or message helps. 

 

[Prepuce of Doom 20,999]

18 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I can understand being less used to a chrono over a bezel but I’m curious how it’s less useful?

I fly a fair amount for work. I like to turn my bezel so it's pointing where the hour hand will be at the scheduled time of landing. There's no equivalent way to keep track of that with a chronograph. 

[Celery Man 20,902]

Ok yeah that makes sense

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12,301]

3 minutes ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

I fly a fair amount for work. I like to turn my bezel so it's pointing where the hour hand will be at the scheduled time of landing. There's no equivalent way to keep track of that with a chronograph. 

You don't own an Aquanaut travel time?

[Prepuce of Doom 20,999]

2 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

You don't own an Aquanaut travel time?

I have several, of course, but the complication isn't any better for this specific purpose than a chronograph. 

[Js1 85,152]

11 minutes ago, Jameslaw121 said:

That's interesting. I definitely use mine so that I can leave my phone in my computer bag. And I pretty much always keep my phone on silent. Having the ability to easily check, then ignore a call or message helps me a lot.

At home, I've been trying to leave my phone on the kitchen counter while we're watching something. Was getting way to absorbed with checking fb, mlb scores, surly instead of watching whatever. Knowing I'm not missing an important phone call or message helps. 

 

I don’t think I’ve ever used my watch for anything except logging an exercise, ignoring a call, glancing at a text to see if I need to respond with my phone or changing the song while working out.  Who the hell wants to stare at that tiny screen on your wrist?

[Pig Bellmont 8,693]

I have a smart watch I wear all the time 

[C-Man 27,083]

I've worn a watch every single day for the last 30 years, if not longer. I've got a nice Omega that I got 20 years ago and used to wear everyday for work and nice social outings. Had a Timex Ironman for all other uses. Got an Apple Watch a couple years ago and hardly wear the Omega any more. Always wanted to get a modest Rolex at some point but not sure I see the purpose to make that purchase any longer.

[Brisketexan 104,746]

I don’t think I’ve ever used my watch for anything except logging an exercise, ignoring a call, glancing at a text to see if I need to respond with my phone or changing the song while working out.  Who the hell wants to stare at that tiny screen on your wrist?

This. I got an Apple Watch for the health monitoring. I use it as a regular watch, and I like that it notifies me of a call or text, I can glance at it and see if I have to do something about it. But it’s not usable as a mini phone or something like that.

[C-Man 27,083]

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

This. I got an Apple Watch for the health monitoring. I use it as a regular watch, and I like that it notifies me of a call or text, I can glance at it and see if I have to do something about it. But it’s not usable as a mini phone or something like that.

Same. I don't even know how to do anything other than read a text or email on it. I just get the notification and then check my phone like you do.

[WBT 20,443]

Every day since I was about 10 years old

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

Apple Watch series 4.  Fitness tracking, and I use the timer function quite a bit (making coffee, pizza, e.t.c.).  Cellular function has come in handy and often use Apple Pay with it as well.  

All of that said there are days I want to disconnect completely so I have been looking at some Seiko 5s and g-shocks.

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by MC Fresh Breath

[Brew 3,049]

Wear one every day. I’m also an adult and can read the hands on my watch rather than pulling my phone out to check the time.

[HonkeyVape 107]

2 hours ago, Js1 said:

Every day Apple Watch, mostly to track workouts and movement. 

I have a couple nicer watches I was gifted from my dad and one I got from my mom's husband when he died for nicer occasions.  Weddings, job interviews, etc.  Not everyday wear.

This is exactly me. I wear an Apple Watch as the daily because it’s cheap and awesome.

When client facing I wear a humble mid-tier watch so as to not be offensive with the display, but also respectful in that they know I’m good at what I’ve been hired to do and respect myself in dress and accoutrements which gives off a respectful personal image/brand.

I never wear the more expensive/garish watches which were handed down, gifted or impulse bought as a young, stupid man.

Edited June 28, 2023 by HonkeyVape

[BonzoMontreaux 1,033]

1 hour ago, Dbeasy said:

Fitbit. I must know exactly how many steps I take every day. Plus my pulse. EKG.  Oxygen level. And anything else they can measure. Maybe PSA is next. 

there is a futureman joke in there somewhere....

Anyway, I have not worn a real watch in 25 years.  I did start wearing a Fitbit Charge recently.

[dieucla98 2,942]

I've worn a watch of some sort for quite a while. Started out with the Fossil junk in the college days and eventually graduated to a "true" mechanical watch - a Sinn 857. That started me on a binge of watch buying and selling. Everything from Omegas to Rolexes to more Sinns to Balls, etc...

Then the smart watches came along, switched to various flavors of those. Over time, I've tried to remove as many things that attract me to my phone as possible so the smart watch had to go. Now I've come full circle back to a limited edition Sinn 857 and I love it.

To wear a mechanical watch, you don't do it just to tell time - you do it because you find the physics of it, the engineering behind it, the aesthetics fascinating. It's certainly not for everyone.

[HonkeyVape 107]

8 minutes ago, Brew said:

Wear one every day. I’m also an adult and can read the hands on my watch rather than pulling my phone out to check the time.

An underrated benefit is what you describe— to others don’t look sloppily addicted to your phone like a dumb person (even if just checking the time) by constantly peeking at your phone.

If you hang out with Gen-Z all day, the opposite I assume would be true and you’d want to eschew the watch and be on your phone constantly for the no cap klout.