Do you wear a wristwatch? Why?

[Jeebo]

There are clocks everywhere. Your cellphone is a watch, among other things. There is a clock displayed on the dash of your car. Your microwave has a clock. So do your TV, your laptop computer, your kitchen stove, your VCR if you still use one, many of the appliances in your house. There are clocks on the wall all over the place. Your bank displays time and temperature as you drive by. What does anybody need a watch for any more? They seem completely redundant to me. Yet lots of people still wear them.

I haven't worn a watch since 1989, when I inherited one from a recently deceased uncle. Relatives who were raiding his belongings held his watch for me because they knew I didn't wear one. They didn't know that the reason I didn't wear one was because I didn't want one. The things are just useless dead weights on my wrist. Still, I suddenly had that one, so I wore it until it stopped working -- which didn't take long. An old-fashioned spring-driven wind-up watch. They told me it was a nice one, expensive and well-crafted. But when it stopped working, I didn't care. The things are totally useless to me.

In the words of the immortal Linda Richman of Saturday Night Live fame, I've given y'all a topic, now, discuss!

-- Ron

[hlthe2b]

1. A jeweler friend told me they are making a comeback and they are selling quite a few esp to men...

I wear an Apple watch (previously a Fitbit) but have two really nice Tag Heuer watches that I still like to wear with dressy clothing from time to time. Glancing down at a watch is a lot less obvious than pulling out your cell phone--especially in a (boring) meeting or discussion with someone droning on... And they look nice.

[spooky3]

2. Smart watches do lots of incredible things. The main things for me

are the potential call for help ability if I experience a fall (I live alone) and the sleep and exercise tracking functions.

[True Dough]

3. No wristwatch.

But I was outfitted with an ankle bracelet a few months ago. Still trying to figure out why. I'll get to the bottom of it and report back.

[Jeebo]

7. I gave you a rec because I like your sense of humor.

If I understand your comments correctly. Thanks for the laugh.

-- Ron

[True Dough]

13. I'm so funny

it's criminal, Ron!

[BOSSHOG]

14. You can get "outfitted" for an ankle bracelet?

[True Dough]

15. Yeah, it's all coming back to me now

I can vaguely remember what I was wearing at the time.

[AllaN01Bear]

27. rec.

[Conjuay]

70. That sounds like someone I know, he claimed he was allergic to alcohol.

Said whenever he drank, he'd wake up in handcuffs 😁

[Rigpa108]

4. Backup to my dive computer.

If my dive computer goes out I can use the dive watch and dive tables to calculate residual nitrogen for a second dive.

[bottomofthehill]

45. I am with you

In the past 40 years I have had 3 watches. The first one, a Seiko dive master. It lasted nearly 20 years and then the next 2 were Seiko automatics. In my younger days I had a couple hundred real (in my journals) dives and hundreds of other puttering around pulling lobsters. Residual nitrogen, ouch. I loved to dive in the shallows, rarely much past 30 feet. I had my deeper dives as a young person, but found I enjoy the "shallows". 30/40 feet is the sweet spot for me. Better visibility, mort time puttering around, less time getting up and down, less pressure on the body. Unfortunately as I have grown older, I moved away from the ocean and dove in a quary one time but it was not the same. To many artificialities.

[mucifer]

5. Yes I'm a nurse

[Enter stage left]

6. Yes I do. It was the first thing I bought as a teenager...

It was a Timex. Paid almost $20.00 for it. My current watch is a Timex Expedition, accurate to within 5 seconds a month. It cost me just under $60.00. I'll wear watches until I die.

I also read paperback books, and call my children, rather than texting them.

Call me old fashioned, I like to think I'm still living in a better time.

[Jeebo]

11. I can relate.

I still read paperbacks, too, as well as hardcovers. And if you text me, I'll never see it. It'll be just like hiding it from me.

-- Ron

[Enter stage left]

12. Better days, better lifestyle...

[Shermann]

8. I destroyed a few back in the day

I went through a series of everyday watches and they seemed to break frequently. I can't imagine wrecking an expensive one. As soon as I got my first cell phone, I never looked back. I don't see the attraction.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. What you say is true, my dear Jeebo!

However, sometimes I'm not near any of those, and I have my watch on.

I turn my wrist, and there it is.

Besides, my husband gave it to me when I was entering nursing school; we were supposed to wear watches with a sweep second hand, and this watch has one.

So there you have it.

[3catwoman3]

23. Dear CP - How did I not know that you are a nurse? What kind of nursing did you do?

When I was stationed in Japan with the Air Force nurse corps, digital watches were all the rage, so I got one. Big mistake. It was impossible to count heart rates with the damned thing. No sweep second hand. There were 6 little dots that blinked - first just one, and then every 10 seconds another one would start until all 6 were blinking by the end of each minute.

I couldn't watch the dots and count a pulse at the same time. Too confusing. As you would know, with the sweep second hand you don't have to count the seconds, just watch for the second hand to move 1/4, 1/2 or all the way around the watch face.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. My dear 3catwoman3! I haven't talked about it much since I retired in 2006.

I did several different kinds of nursing: regular floor nursing, psychiatric and alcohol rehab nursing, critical care nursing! Then I got out of the hospital environment, and went to work for the American Red Cross in blood banking. My last several years were spent doing apheresis-cell separation, where we separated the blood components and harvested different parts. Platelets and plasma pheresis were specialties of mine.

I love my Seiko watch with its sweep second hand and the date!

I hope your smart watch went to a good home!

[multigraincracker]

43. Love my Seiko too. And my angle Wife RN.

She has saved my life several times.
The collectible market is about dead. Except for quality watches. Even non working quality watches have value.

[BOSSHOG]

10. Yes I do

I wear an Ironman to time my walks. And I wear an awesome Seiko my wife got me as a Wedding Present 51 years ago. It works fine and looks great. You are right, we have indications of time all around us. We have a big bank time and temperature display on Main Street you can see blocks away. I find it easier to flip my wrist than to dig my phone out of my pocket. Being retired, time is somewhat irrelevant to me other than when it’s time to eat. I don’t want to miss a meal. They’ll get my watch when they pry it from my cold dead wrist.

On a related note, I have two calendars in the garage, six in the basement, three in my office and one in our outbuilding. Every month new pictures on display.

Thank You for the intermission. It’s refreshing compared to the Hedgeseth horror show. Well I just checked my watch, time to return to general discussion.

[rsdsharp]

16. Yes, I wear a wristwatch, a Rolex Explorer II ref. 1655.

I’ve continuously worn it, with a few breaks for service or when hospitalized, for more than 45 years. I appreciate the quality, craftsmanship, durability and accuracy (for a mechanical watch). It’s a part of me.

[doc03]

17. I will be 77 years old in a month. I have probably been wearing a watch for

at least 65 years, would feal naked without one. When I go out most of the time I leave my cell phone in the car.
My question why do we have to carry a cell phone all the time? I lived without one most of my life, why do we have to
be in constant contact 24/7? The most annoying are the ones that are on their phone all the time, it is fucking rude.
That is probably why this country is so f----up, instead of talking to someone people watch Tic Tok or Facebook.

[zanana1]

50. I'm with you.

Without my cell phone, I'm more aware of my surroundings (and I'm not annoying).

[doc03]

56. I like my privacy, if it is important leave a message or call back later.

[Fla Dem]

59. I'll be 77 in Feb as well and have had a watch on my wrist since I went to high school.

Although I do have my cell phone all the time with me for emergencies. More so the past couple of years.

So much easier to just look at my wristwatch than to dig out my cell phone to check on the time. I have quite a collection of watches from over the years.

Happy Birthday!!

[FloridaBlues]

18. As a nurse I wear one for documentation even if not in emergency case.

[3catwoman3]

20. I have an Apple watch to keep an eye on my heart rate because of atrial fibrillation.

It also keeps me accountable for meeting daily activity goals.

[sdfernando]

21. No I don't

Rarely wore one anyway, even before cell phones. I always hated the tanline on my wrist. I am pale olive-skinned but tan dark very easily.

[Clouds Passing]

22. No. They quit working when I wear them for a short time.

Plus wrist jewelry bugs me.

[Ptah]

24. Yes. It is an easy way to see what time it is.

[Solly Mack]

25. I can dig out my phone or look on my wrist. The wrist is quicker.

I don't have clocks all over my house and they aren't always nearby when out. My wrist is though.

[AllaN01Bear]

28. i couldnt deal with analoge dial watches . when the digital ones came out . wowowowow.

wore a fitbit before they got bought out and none of my gear was compatable . havent worn one since .i think when stores stopped installing new batteries for my watch is when i gave up.

[claudette]

29. Not since

I bought a cell phone.

[Docreed2003]

30. I do

I love and collect wristwatches. They are a staple in my wardrobe and I prefer to look at my wrist for the time rather than dig out my phone.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

31. I wear a smartwatch normally

Easier to check my wrist quickly to see texts, emails, and calls then to dig the phone out of my pocket.

For fancy occasions I have this disgustingly expensive watch my wifes grandfather gave me when we got married that I'll wear simply because he gave it to me, I may as well wear it. Also, it's odd to be basically wearing a car on your wrist.

[TBF]

32. Apple watch to keep track of steps & in case of health issues

I don't always have my phone with me (unlike my kids who can't move without it!) but I can call on the watch if I need to.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

74. Step count, yes. As I sometimes say, ...

... "yes, I AM my watch's b*tch"

It says jump, I say "how high?".

[woodsprite]

33. I'm totally lost without my watch.

It’s a FitBit. I don’t have to dig my phone out of my pocket to see the time. It buzzes when I get a cell call. Most of the time my phone is on silent. I keep it in my jeans pocket and after several abdominal surgeries, I can’t feel it vibrate at all so it’s great the watch lets me know I have a call or text and who it’s from. Great when I’m in a meeting and don’t want to be looking at my phone. I also use the timers when I’m cooking, exercising, etc. I wear it on my non-dominant hand so I can see the face when I’m writing (a habit I got into with the old analog watches when I was a student). It’s also bright enough that I can light up my nightstand without bothering hubby.

I don’t know if I’d ever upgrade to an Apple Watch. My son said as long as I’m not needing/wanting to use Apple specific apps, I get better length of charge and about $400-600 cheaper.

And before Fitbit, it was always the Timex nurses version with real numbers, second hand, and date, with a lighter dial.

[chouchou]

34. Smartwatch and I take 10,000 steps per day. Seems to help me.

[Ferrets are Cool]

35. I didn't for many, many years...probably 25...now I wear my smart watch all the time.

I love when it indicates that I have reached my daily walking goal.

[Keepthesoulalive]

36. An Apple watch

Need to be reminded to get off my rear and keep moving. Speaking of wristwatches I once saw a 14 thousand dollar Versace watch, it made a statement.

[EYESORE 9001]

37. I wore a wristwatch for years

until cell phones became commonplace. I work around rotating machinery, where a watchband presents a hazard. I wear no ring for that reason as well.

[Aristus]

38. I only wear one when I'm getting dressed up for a night out.

It’s like an accessory; a piece of jewelry.

Plus, my brother likes giving me expensive watches as gifts. What am I supposed to do? Not wear them?

[Skittles]

39. it's a fitbit tracker

I NEVER have a phone with me.

[UTUSN]

40. Me neither/watch, same reasons.

[LogDog75]

41. Why, yes I do wear a wristwatch.

I've always worn a wristwatch and will continue to wear one. I have a "dumb" watch which runs off a battery and tells the time and date; nothing else. That one is my backup watch. The one I wear is an inexpensive smartwatch which tells time, date, takes my blood pressure, pulse, and a host of other things. I wear a wristwatch because it's more convenient than pulling out my phone.

In addition to those two watches, I have an aluminum pocket watch with chain I bought from a street stall in Berlin by the Brandenburg Gate in the early 90s. On the cover it says MBд which Google says is MBD KGB USSR Special Forces Paratroopers. The insides says 75 and in translated Russian Criminal Investigation. It's still works, keeps time accurately, and is a good conversational item.



nostalgia.su offers the watch at $200 or about 10 times what I paid for it.
https://nostalgia.su/en/karmannye-chasy-molniya-mvd--nagradnye-za-zaslugi-novye/

[LeftInTX]

42. Try finding a clock these days!!!

And I don't feel like carrying my phone everywhere!

When clocks break these days, they don't replace them, they remove them.

I buy cheap waterproof timex watches. Unfortunately, when the wrist band breaks, they can't be repair. I never remove my watch. No do I change the time once I set it.

When the electricity goes out, my microwave and oven clocks are wrong. I don't feel like resetting them. The clock in my car isn't visible during daylight.

[hot2na]

44. I wear an apple watch

Until I had a heart attack in 2021, I hadn’t wore a watch in over 20 years. The Apple Watch was a game changer for my health. It tracks and logs my heart rate, blood oxygen levels, steps, sleep patterns, among its many health tracking features. I can pull ECG any time. If you have any type of heart problem, you should cosider a smart watch.

I wear it all the time except when Im charging because it is continuously collecting data. Even when you are sleeping.

[LetsGetSmartAboutIt]

46. Apple Watch because I want to know !

I have an odd mind, I like that I can glance at my watch and:

Know when the sun is rising or setting next
What the current temperature is and what the range will be today
What the current forecast is
What the next scheduled event I have is
Be able to initiate a 10 minute timer
Know what the next turn I need to make on my route is
Know who is calling me or texting me
Check my heart rate, blood oxygen and do a quick ECG and see how I slept last night.

Oh, and what time it is.

Do I need to know all those things all the time ?
No, but I like to know.

Didn't wear a watch for years after having one my whole life, because I could look at my phone, but this gives me so much more info that I couldn't resist !

If you don't need all that, by all means keep your wrist bare.

[Paladin]

47. It was a Wednesday afternoon, over 50 years ago.

My wife and I had been married a couple of years, no kids yet; we were just starting to make a little money from our first for-real jobs. I came in the house after work that day, and displayed on the kitchen table was a Rolex watch, a steel-and-gold Oyster Perpetual Datejust. It wasn't Christmas, it wasn't my birthday, it was just a Wednesday. I turned to my wife, too stunned to say a word. She gave me a look, then said to me: "It's the only thing you've ever said you really wanted, and you're so damned hard to buy for."

That's why I wear a wristwatch. I'm wearing it now, as I type this reply. I trust that's alright with you.

[Luciferous]

48. I have a fitbit that I wear every day.

I wouldn't bother wearing just a regular watch.

[Emile]

49. No, and haven't worn a ring for decades.

[Liberal In Texas]

51. To tell the time.

I don't want to have to pull a cell phone out of my pocket to see what time it is, like my kids do. And there aren't always clocks around somewhere.

I'm wearing a Luminox with self-glowing lights that make it easy to read the time even in total darkness. It's cool:

[Nittersing]

52. All the time when I was still working

I did HVAC for a living and both hands were frequently busy with a task. So much easier to just look at my wrist.

It probably took a couple of years for me to stop wearing one... it was just out of habit and eventually I just quit.

[no_hypocrisy]

53. I use my cell phone to tell time, but . . . .

I still have both my mother's wristwatches because I always thought they were cool.

They have hands, but no numbers. Not even notches to designate the numbers. I thought my mother was a rocket scientist when I was a child because she could tell time without numbers.

?auto=format%2Ccompress&bg-remove=true&w=1275&h=1275&fit=fill&fill=solid&q=100&dpr=1

[Attilatheblond]

54. Haven't worn on in decades

At my age now, time is mostly irrelevant. What few occasions when I need to know the time, my dogs and the cat are accurate to the minute, telling me when meal and snack time come around.

[Easterncedar]

55. Because it's the fastest way to check the time

Obviously

[Diamond_Dog]

57. I have a cell phone I hardly ever use. I don't even turn it on more than once or twice a week.

I used to wear a watch all the time but abandoned that, too.

If I’m out and need to know the time, I have to dig my phone out of my bag and turn it on. A pain in the arse.

The biggest dilemma is when I’m out in the garden doing something and lose track of time. Then I have no source to look at. I’m thinking of buying a large indoor-outdoor clock and hanging it up somewhere where it’s visible from all over my yard. Mr. Diamond is even worse. He asks ME what time it is. And yes we have clocks in the house.

[genxlib]

58. Not only do I wear a smart watch

I wear it 24 hours a day and the night time is probably the most important for me.

I have a clock in the room but I like to keep it out of line of sight. The LED is just distracting. So I like to be able to tell what time it is when I wake up without getting out of bed. The best sleep in the world is after you wake up and realize you don't have to get out of bed for hours.

But that's just me

[Midnight Writer]

60. No. I became obsessed with the time during my working days, when everything was time intensive.

I interrupted my work so often to check my watch that it actually hurt my job performance.

I stopped wearing a watch and concentrated instead on just doing the work as well as I can and completing it in a timely manner.

Now I am retired and am slave to neither watch nor cellphone. I don't carry either, and I follow no schedule. I just do what I want when I want and don't worry much about the time.

[Layzeebeaver]

61. Yes. Because I like it.

Worn a watch most of my life.

Most recently, in 2004 I purchased a longines classic automatic when I was passing through Zurich. It’s a good friend.

https://www.longines.com/en-gb/p/watch-la-grande-classique-de-longines-l4-918-1-91-2

Smart phones, fit bits, dive computers, pocket watches, smart watches… they are all tools for their purpose.

[justaprogressive]

62. Yep another nurse

Seiko chronograhs last 25 years...

my latest:

[mnhtnbb]

63. I have four watches and wear one

every day. I consider them part of my wardrobe, like jewelry. Each is different and is worn for different reasons, from working in the garden ( a Fossil) to everyday ( Seiko)to being a bit more dressed up ( vintage Ebel with a diamond face).

[area51]

64. As several people have mentioned upthread,

it's quicker to look at my wrist to find out the time than to pull out my phone. There aren't always clocks everywhere.

[Eugene]

65. wearing a watch for convenient and handy timekeeping on the go

Non-stop wristwatch user since the 1970s. I use the clock on the smartphone mainly to set the watch.

[drmeow]

66. My watch

has a vibrating timer and a vibrating alarm clock. It wakes me up without a loud alarm. I can easily set a countdown timer without having to fumble for my phone, find the clock app, switch it to the timer mode, and set it. I don't necessarily want to be tied to my phone at all times. I don't have a clock in every room of my house - in fact, the only rooms in my house that have clocks are the kitchen, the bedroom, and the TV/game room in the basement (I refuse to have a TV in my living room - it is for living). If my computer is on, there is technically a clock in office/craft room but I can't see the time from across the room. I don't have to pull my phone out of my pocket just to check the time (especially nice in the winter when I'm wearing gloves). I used to walk to and from work which never took me past a bank with the time and temp.

I stopped wearing a watch for a while - and I got really, really good at telling what time it was without having to check a clock and to have a good sense of how much time had gone by. But when I needed to become extra reliable about time, I found I needed a watch. Since this was well before cell phones, I got used to checking my wrist of the time. I find it WAY, WAY, WAY more convenient to lift my wrist to see the time than to deal with a phone.

[ailsagirl]

67. Haven't worn it in ages but I have a wristwatch that I wear n/t

[Iggo]

68. I wear a Fitbit that's paired with my Kaiser Health app on my phone.

Cardiac rehab. Four more weeks.

Can’t wait to get rid of it.

[beaglelover]

69. Yes. I bought myself a Rolex GMT Master II in 2023 and wear it proudly every day. A lot of sweat and tears

went in this purchase.

As to why I wear a watch? I always have. I see it as a nice piece of jewelry a man can wear and still be a man.

[ProfessorGAC]

71. I Do, Yes

I have 3 good watches, one of them very good.
I consider them ornamental.
I've got this one, but the band has the interior links in 10k gold.
It doesn't even have a second hand, so it's not about knowing the exact time. I just like the way it looks.
https://www.movado.com/us/en/shop-watches/faceto-0607482.html?country=US&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-aK8BhCDARIsAL_-H9n7WwjL5Odck2Yg85XuSFb6SLCqizJJMSnFdqtXdnrBdMFAyVYEtJ4aAurQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Conjuay]

72. Sure!

I used to wear a 'backwards Goofy ' watch that ran COUNTER clockwise and the numbers were reversed as well. So if you glanced at it, one o'clock was actually eleven o'clock. I got so used to that watch, that I would have to stop and think when I looked at a wall clock.
WATCHES are ART!
My present watch is a very tacky and cheap Chinese art piece - crystal face and back with a huge 'G' clef and loopy staff on the face.
I have several items that would be considered "slob art", and my cleft watch is a prize in that collection.

[AnnaLee]

73. Apple watch

I just switched from Android to Apple about a month ago to buy the Apple Watch. Since my husband died I live alone and have little contact with other people. My leg was severely disabled in an accident twenty years ago and makes me subject to tripping easily. I use a walker at all times except in the tiny kitchen. The leg also limits my ability to get help if, f or example, I am away from home. The Apple Watch has fall detection, which, I guess I won't know how good it is until it happens. It has phone and text capibility, GPS, etc. so, presumably I will be able to get help any time I need it. And, of course, it tells time and gives the weather report. Also, EKG, heart rate but not blood oxygen because of some patent problem. The oxygen app is there, it just doesn't do anything. Time might tell if it was worth the extra expense. If I am lucky, I will never know. I love being able to answer my ringing arm and wrist read text and notification messages.

[bif]

75. Never wore one until my daughter bought me one for X-mas

a couple years ago. I always figured if I needed to know the time, I could always ask someone since just about everyone else used to wear one.

[ZDU]

76. oh hell no

[Polybius]

77. Yes

It's too much work to take my phone out of my pocket every time that I want to see what time it is.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

78. No, because retirement means freedom from deadlines.

Indeed, it's freedom from time. Time is such a capitalist construct.

[happybird]

79. Nope, for two reasons

1. Comfort factor. I can’t stand having stuff on me- jewelry, tight clothes, socks, glasses, sunglasses, make up, even my dentures annoy the shit out of me. I am constantly aware of them, it never fades as the day goes on.

2. I kill watch batteries. Don’t know why or how, but they die within a month. My Mom has the same issue.

[EarnestPutz]

80. Why should it matter to anyone if I wear a watch or not.

[thatdemguy]

81. I have a cheap smart watch that I wear occasionally and 2

Omega seamasters. I normally wear the bond one just because it is honestly very comfy to have on.

[exboyfil]

82. Fitbit

Absolutely love it. Goal is 20k steps/day. Also does a pretty good job tracking sleep. Not bad for $40 and lasts at least two years.