Watches

[Jacque]

I realize there is an existing thread about timepieces, though more about the poll of what people prefer, and with the last post near 2 years ago, I think a necro really isn't appropriate. I'm just looking to see what ya'll use to keep time.

I'd guess that most of ya use your phones most of the time, I certainly used to do this. In the last year or so I've been more interested in real watches and have taken to wearing a wristwatch and relying on that most of the time (ha) to keep time.

So, for myself:

My standard day-to-day watch, a somewhat plain timex, quasi military/aviation inspired.


My more dressy watch, also, a chronograph.


A slightly more fancy day-to-day mechanical chronogrpah. Has a nice smoother sweep since it's not a quartz.


And of course, the iPhone. Always there, always keeping time.

[Zohar]

I like the dressy watch. I haven't had a watch for the last several years, though I really liked wearing one. And now I have trouble finding one that I like and isn't too expensive...

[Viae]

Spoiler:

I really like to be on time, and this makes sure I don't miss music lessons or anything else, really.

[Korrente]

I like your first two. I have a simple Fossil watch witch a silver bezel and a nice shiny metalic blue face. Other than that I've never really worn one. I'd love to have an aviator's watch with an E6B on the bezel just for maximum geekiness, but they're way too expensive and you really aren't even supposed to use watches for time-keeping while flying anymore.

[silent man]

I'd guess that most of ya use your phones most of the time, I certainly used to do this. In the last year or so I've been more interested in real watches and have taken to wearing a wristwatch and relying on that most of the time (ha) to keep time.

I never understood this new trend, unless it started as a way to show off your new phone. If I want a timepiece that requires me to carry it in a pocket and (possibly) to push a button to see the time, I'll get a gorram pocket watch. It doesn't need constant recharging and I can make a fancy chain to put it on.

re wristwatches: I try to wear my watch wherever I go, as I tend to slowly descend into madness without it. Technology-wise I am torn between the no maintenance elegance of automatic watches and the bother free precision of radio controlled watches. I am also a huge fan of metal straps.

Also, if you like watches for the mechanical geekiness, you're going to love these cuff-links.

[Zarq]

I'd guess that most of ya use your phones most of the time, I certainly used to do this. In the last year or so I've been more interested in real watches and have taken to wearing a wristwatch and relying on that most of the time (ha) to keep time.

I never understood this new trend, unless it started as a way to show off your new phone. If I want a timepiece that requires me to carry it in a pocket and (possibly) to push a button to see the time, I'll get a gorram pocket watch. It doesn't need constant recharging and I can make a fancy chain to put it on.

This would be true if cell phones did not have other functions.

[mmark9094]

I wear a Sottomarino analog watch. Works fine.

[Obby]

This is the only watch I have owned for the past 5 years. Citizen Eco-Drive. Solar powered and extremely resilient to bangs and nicks. I love it.

[Kang]

Wristwatch all the way, I can't be bothered to fiddle with the phone everytime I want to know the time. I'll get a picture sometime.

[eigengirl]

My timepiece of choice is this Rotary automatic mechanical watch:

Spoiler:

I love the skeleton dial and being able to see all the moving parts. It has a lovely tick to it as well. Also never needs a battery. I'm hoping this'll last me for many many years.

Which wrist do people tend to wear theirs on? Most people I know think it's odd tht I have mine on my right wrist (I'm right-handed), but that's what seems natural to me.

[existentialpanda]

This is mine. I wear it pretty much 24-7 - I only take it off for showering or swimming. I don't feel right without a watch on.

I'm actually really particular about my watches. It has to be analog, that's the most important thing; the numbers have to be easily readable (and this means there have to actually be numbers, not just lines or any of that "fancy" stuff) and the face can't have anything on it. Just numbers and hands. (Oh, and the face has to be round, too. Rectangular faces just look wrong.)

I don't use my phone, because I almost never have my phone with me - and it's too much of a hassle to dig it out and turn it on when I can just look at my wrist.

Most people I know think it's odd tht I have mine on my right wrist (I'm right-handed), but that's what seems natural to me.

Hey, me too! I've always worn mine on the right. I actually remember my dad telling me - when I was maybe eight - that watches are generally worn on the left, and I thought that was silly so I kept it where it was because it just felt better. And it still does.

[SlyReaper]

My watch.

Closed:

Front:

Back:

[You, sir, name?]

I take it you're the ones that watch the watches?

Spoiler:

Badum-tish

[AJR]

Ohh, those are some nice watches (in particular eigengirl's & SlyReaper's.) I like the idea of a pocket watch, but being a scruffy geek I'd almost never have the opportunity to wear one.

I've worn this most days for at least the past 10 years (left wrist, FWIW)

Spoiler:

watch.JPG (110.16 KiB) Viewed 3535 times

[TimelordSimone]

My watch.

I have a pocket watch, but it's nowhere near as nice as that. It's a cheap thing, that I've actually broken several times (I can pretty careless apparently).
Wristwatches generally irritate me. I haven't worn one in years.

Edit: I like clocks (there's two right here on my desk), but that is an entirely different subject!

[paulisa]

I wore my watch on my right wrist (right-handed) for a while because of the knob to set it: it dug into my hand when I bent my wrist back for whatever reason. Then I wore a watch with a key-ring that I clipped to my belt, but I lost that one. Then I once borrowed my fathers ultra-thin swatch watch, and wore it on the left because the knob was so small that it didn't bother me. Now I own this one:

Spoiler:

I like it because the mesh band feels good against the skin and I don't sweat under it so much in summer, and the aforementioned knob is again small enough not to bother me. I like the design because it's not a "typical" women's watch, and the model for men is just a bit bigger but otherwise looks the same (a friend of mone had it for a while).
I don't like wearing a watch on the right anymore because it feels strange when I'm writing, and I take off my watch and put it next to me when I work at a computer because the metal scatches laptops and desks. I recently managed to scratch the glass against I-don't-know-what, probably a rock, and it's not under warranty anymore so I'm thinking of getting a new one, possibly the same one in silver or with a blue face.

[SecondTalon]

I'd guess that most of ya use your phones most of the time, I certainly used to do this. In the last year or so I've been more interested in real watches and have taken to wearing a wristwatch and relying on that most of the time (ha) to keep time.

I never understood this new trend, unless it started as a way to show off your new phone. If I want a timepiece that requires me to carry it in a pocket and (possibly) to push a button to see the time, I'll get a gorram pocket watch. It doesn't need constant recharging and I can make a fancy chain to put it on.

This would be true if cell phones did not have other functions.

Precisely. It's not that they're showing off the phone, it's that by carrying a phone a timepiece becomes redundant. As does carrying a calculator, a phonebook of numbers, a small notepad, and so on.


I used to wear a cheapass Casio watch for years. Finally got a nice, respectable looking watch....and then I got a cell phone. After wearing the watch and carrying the phone, I gradually realized I was checking my flip phone for the time more often than I was looking at my wrist for the time.

So I stopped wearing the watch..... I wonder where it is? All that said, I've got a nice pocketwatch too, I just need a good chain for it.

[OBrien]

Mine's proper oi: It's a Rotary. Couldn't find it on the site though:

The back of the face is made up of strips of some black metal, woven together, the box at the bottom of the face displas the day of the month and the hands and numerals glow in the dark. It was a 20th birthday present from my parents and I love it lots and lots!

[eSOANEM]

I have two watches. I wear a pocket watch to school every day because the new shirts I got to fit with the different dress code in the 6th form make it inconvenient to wear a wrist watch.

I also have a casio G-shock digital wrist watch which I wear if I'm not in my school uniform (and I remember to put it on). I like it because it's pretty useful when I'm sailing being both waterproof, plastic (so it doesn't hold loads of water) and has a small memory large enough to hold tide times and tidal stream data.

[CHR1110]

This is my everyday watch - Tissot PRS516 w/ Steel Band.


(Not the best image, but my camera's batteries are charging currently.)

I have far more than this that I wear on a semi-regular basis, I'll get around to taking photos of 'em sometime when my camera is up and running.

[silent man]

I'd guess that most of ya use your phones most of the time, I certainly used to do this. In the last year or so I've been more interested in real watches and have taken to wearing a wristwatch and relying on that most of the time (ha) to keep time.

I never understood this new trend, unless it started as a way to show off your new phone. If I want a timepiece that requires me to carry it in a pocket and (possibly) to push a button to see the time, I'll get a gorram pocket watch. It doesn't need constant recharging and I can make a fancy chain to put it on.

This would be true if cell phones did not have other functions.

Precisely. It's not that they're showing off the phone, it's that by carrying a phone a timepiece becomes redundant. As does carrying a calculator, a phonebook of numbers, a small notepad, and so on.

I'll concede the point about the phonebook, but everything else would appear to be a matter of personal preference and or requirements.
- I tend to carry my phone in an inside pocket or my satchel, as I am somewhat paranoid of losing it, which makes it inconvenient to dig out every time I want to know if I have to hurry to catch my train.
- My (admittedly very basic) phone offers only a fraction of the functions that I use on my calculator, and even if a smartphone does have them, I suspect they would be less convenient to access.
- I dislike typing on phone keypads, there is (on my phone) no way to add a quick sketch and a piece of paper shows more text at once than my phone's screen.

@What wrist to wear a watch on: I can think of three reasons where the tradition of wearing your watch on your non-dominant hand might have started:
1. Early watches were not as shock-resistant as modern ones, so putting them on the arm that is less likely to handle eg. a hammer makes sense.
2. As your dominant hand is the one you use for holding/carrying/doing stuff, the non-dominant hand is more likely to be free to be turned to read your watch.
3. If your watch has a fiddly/hard to use clasp, it is (initially) easier to put it on with your dominant hand.

[scarecrovv]

I wear this on my right wrist, except with a hemp and velcro band, which is great for both comfort and security.

Some things I insist on in a watch:
1. Analog dial, because it's glancable.
2. Digital display, because it's precise.
3. Countdown timer, because it's very useful for racing sailboats.
4. Waterproof, because otherwise the countdown timer would be kind of pointless.

[Ptolom]

I have a watch, all analogue and stainless steel. It's quite a nice watch but I don't wear it because it makes me feel like an arsehole. Too bourgeois or something, I don't know.

[Xeio]

Anyone else prefer velcro/cloth to metal? I hate metal watches, my parents got me one for Christmas one year and I got them to take me back and I traded it in for one with a cheapo fabric band because I just hated the feel of metal against my wrist.

Only downside is, it's annoying if it gets wet (though I don't exactly go swimming in the sink when I wash my hands, so that's a rarity).

EDIT: Actually, I guess a rubber band isn't bad either generally, though I do loves the velcros...

[Jacque]

I'm not big on metal bands, somewhat has to do with how it feels, but also I think it looks a bit off personally. I like the NATO straps because they're cheap and I can change up how the watch looks by throwing on a new strap before heading out, or make it fit in a bit better with whatever clothes I'm wearing or whatever. I also enjoy a nice leather strap too, but finding the right one is more difficult than it sounds.

[scarecrovv]

Anyone else prefer velcro/cloth to metal?

[...]

EDIT: Actually, I guess a rubber band isn't bad either generally, though I do loves the velcros...

I don't like rubber, leather, or metal. Rubber and leather repel water, trapping sweat against my skin. I don't like metal for the same reasons as you. Cloth of some type (with a velcro closure) is the only way.

[eSOANEM]

Anyone else prefer velcro/cloth to metal? I hate metal watches, my parents got me one for Christmas one year and I got them to take me back and I traded it in for one with a cheapo fabric band because I just hated the feel of metal against my wrist.

Only downside is, it's annoying if it gets wet (though I don't exactly go swimming in the sink when I wash my hands, so that's a rarity).

EDIT: Actually, I guess a rubber band isn't bad either generally, though I do loves the velcros...

I also dislike metal straps and used to wear a watch with a cloth strap. Now that I sail more regularly, I've changed to my current rubber watch in order to avoid getting a soggy wrist.

[Ptolom]

I think a rubber strap would be my preference, won't get soggy, and doesn't have the blingyness of a metal band.

[fullmoonmidget]

I've got a cheap watch, with double straps. It has pink and green and blue skull and crossbones all over. I love it. I wear it on my right wrist (the hand I write with), which I guess is weird.

I like the third watch! I want one!

I can't wear metal watches. I wore one once, and I still have the scar from wear it rubbed all the hair away.

[Kaelri]

It's cheap, but I like it.

[lanceweatherman]

I prefer to use digital watches..

[Eseell]

I wear this on my right wrist, except with a hemp and velcro band, which is great for both comfort and security.

Some things I insist on in a watch:
1. Analog dial, because it's glancable.
2. Digital display, because it's precise.
3. Countdown timer, because it's very useful for racing sailboats.
4. Waterproof, because otherwise the countdown timer would be kind of pointless.

This is the same watch I wear. I prefer an analog display, but I also had need of a timer that could run for tens of minutes with accuracy to the tenth of a second. Sure, my cell phone could do that but it was not convenient. This watch has a very long battery life, too.

I much prefer a cloth band to metal; metal bands look nice but they pinch the hair around my wrist and are not comfortable at all.

[Hope_]

This thread is really making me want a watch. I used to wear (this is a few years ago) a Pirates of the Caribbean watch bought in the Disney theme park, but unfortunately the strap broke and I haven't bought a new one since.

But the boyfriend has ordered a very pretty watch/necklacey thing from e-bay that he's going to give to me! So I will be wearing that when I get home, although we shall see if it actually works at all (my faith in ebay stuff is low).

[Von Haus]

My collection of time pieces:

The tattered and scratched fabric strapped watch is the one I wear every day, and pretty much only take off if in bed or doing something involving large amounts of water, it just doesn't feel write not having a watch on my (left) wrist. I got it as a christmas present from grandparents years and years ago, either early secondary or late primary school. The strap has been replaced at least once, as has one of the little pegs that hold the strap on after it got torn from my wrist in a mosh pit. (Fair example of how much I love that watch in that I didn't think twice of crawling around on the floor in a mosh pit to retrieve it.)

The metal watch is a kinetic one and as such the time is wrong because I never wear it (see above for as to why).

The small glass orb watchey necklacy thing is the one mentioned by Hope. And it works absolutely fine thank you very much! The gold pocket watch was also bought off e-bay, it looks nice, the clockwork is visible from both front and back, it doesn't show up very well in the photo, but isn't really very good quality (which does make me question the authenticity of the "gold plating" it is claimed to have).

The cufflinks were made by my housemate as a secret santa gift, they have clock parts attacthed to the 2p coins so I figured I'd show them as well, I really do think them very awesome.

[Dason]

Anyone else prefer velcro/cloth to metal? I hate metal watches, my parents got me one for Christmas one year and I got them to take me back and I traded it in for one with a cheapo fabric band because I just hated the feel of metal against my wrist.

Only downside is, it's annoying if it gets wet (though I don't exactly go swimming in the sink when I wash my hands, so that's a rarity).

EDIT: Actually, I guess a rubber band isn't bad either generally, though I do loves the velcros...

I used to wear a cheap fabric band. Now I have a proper watch with a nice metal band. One thing that I didn't like about the velcro/cloth bands is that it absorbs sweat... not the nicest smelling thing after while.

[Mr. Mack]

My timepiece of choice is this Rotary automatic mechanical watch:

Spoiler:

I love the skeleton dial and being able to see all the moving parts. It has a lovely tick to it as well. Also never needs a battery. I'm hoping this'll last me for many many years.

Holy crap that is awesome I want one!
(clicks over to company's website and looks at the price on the cheap one)
Apparently I don't want one, but it does look nice.

I've been wearing one of those Casio calculator watches since fourth grade. The first one lasted forever, the second one not so much.

And although everything it does my cell phone also does (in fact my cell phone has a scientific calculator instead of just four functions), but it's always more convenient for me to just use my watch. I don't have to take it out of my pocket or turn off the screen saver or anything. That and I'm allowed to look at my watch during a test.
Except the alarm clock. I still use my cell phone for that.

The only real problem I have with it is that it doesn't look particularly nice. It is sort of a dorky looking thing. Not only that, but somehow wearing a calculator has left people with the impression that I'm really good at math, because apparently my inability to do even basic mental math somehow means I'm really good at math in general.

At some point in my life I imagine that my watch will become less convenient than my cell phone, but I'll probably continue to wear a watch because I've been wearing one for so long that I don't feel properly dressed without one. I'll probably get something with some sense of fashion to it. Hopefully I could afford one like eigengirl has because awesome.

@CHR1110, I hereby award you three internet cookies for having an SVT 40 in your sig. You may pick them up at your convenience, but call ahead so I'll know to have them ready.

[TheKrikkitWars]

I have a fairly basic divers watch that's been on my wrist for the past ten years (with the exception of a month in 2008 when my girlfriend at the time stole it).

I also have a very nice pocket watch, it's mechanical and also self winding (the daring synthesis of old time concepts and modern precision engineering), It's very nice, but a little impractical unless i'm dressed semi-smartly (enough to wear a waistcoat);

I also wish I'd been able to get a watch from Mr. Doodah* before he died

*A friend of my grandfathers, a Polish watchmaker who emigrated to carlisle in the aftermath of the holocaust; He famously would tell people who came into his shop to have batterys replaced in cheap watches; "no no no, let me sell you a real watch" as his cheapest mechanical watches were about the same price as having a battery change in the shops near by, he often persuaded people to do just that, He also made a tiny watch-locket about the size of a 20p coin for his wife, which was truely impressive

[BurningLed]

What I've worn for the past 4 years:


Except it's in green. Serves me well. After seeing the pocket watches in this thread though, I think I'm going to get one of those because they look pretty badass.
Edit: And cost <= $380. I could get a $30 watch from eBay, but then I run a risk of looking like a cheap asshole to someone who wears an antique/expensive one.

Also, on my current watch I've no idea what the half-moon represents -- It moves kind of sporadically, and it's not the 24 hour clock because it doesn't even remotely follow that pattern. Not air pressure or temperature or anything funky like that, it moves when I set my watch at the beginning of each month. It's not months/days/weeks/moon phases/whatever, moves way too fast for that. I think it might be the tides, but I can't exactly accurately test that without tons of free time I don't have.

[Jumble]

Only just found this thread! I'm afraid I'm a bit of a watch geek (well, to be honest, I'm a geek in most areas). I've worn a watch every day since I was 5. I think I'd feel undressed without one. I also love mechanical watches.

I particularly like Omega thanks to their links to the NASA space programme. Unfortunately, I can't afford to go around buying new Omega watches, so I taught myself basic watch repair skills. (It would have been better if I'd developed a cheaper habit, like, say, crack cocaine). These are 3 of my main 4 watches:

Spoiler:

They are all genuine, but were all bought in different levels of dilapidation. I'm particularly proud of the speedmaster moonwatch. I bought it with a running movement from 1968 (same age as me!) but in a completely mangled and corroded case. I spent about 2 years refurbishing it, repairing and cleaning parts or replacing them with omega spares where they were irretrievably bust. I wear it for posh do's - I’d hate anything to happen to it.

On most days I wear the seamaster pro (on my left wrist). It keeps even better time than the speedy x-33 (about 1 sec per week) and it’s nearly bullet proof. That one I built from the component parts - Omega movement from ebay, face & hands from Otto Frei, case from omega licensed jewellers in Australia holding a closing down sale, etc. I love it.

I'm also hooked on mechanical clocks. Sad, I know...

[CHR1110]

@CHR1110, I hereby award you three internet cookies for having an SVT 40 in your sig. You may pick them up at your convenience, but call ahead so I'll know to have them ready.

Hehehe, glad to know someone else here actually knows what it is!