Why do you wear the watch you do ?

[cricketdave]

I have a lot of different watches and I wear a lot of different ones. I have 8 in my EDC rotation that I wear Monday through Friday, and 3 others that I choose from to wear on weekends. My work week watches are all automatic and that's what I prefer to wear when I can. I get out a new one on Monday morning, set it and wear it the rest of the week. On weekends I don't wear a watch all the time because I might be working in the yard, working on cars, whatever, so I can't keep an automatic running. My weekend watches are all quartz, and right now they are all tritium which I have some use for in my irregular weekend schedules.
I mostly wear fairly large divers, with simple designs. I always thought divers would be tougher, big ones are easier to see, and if I'm wearing one while washing the car it shouldn't harm it. I'm not interested in expensive watches, but I don't look for cheap watches either. I can be happy with watches in the $100-500 range.
I never got into chronograph watches and have sold the few that I've owned. I've owned a few pilot watches but don't have any of them left, partly because most of them came with straps and I prefer metal bracelets. I've decided that if I found a good pilot watch or field watch with large dial, simple design and metal bracelet I would try that. Since I don't actually dive I don't need the dive bezel and taking that off would leave a larger dial for better visibility.

One of the best pilot watches i've owned is the Oris, very easy to read and strong lume as well as accurate.

 

[mushka]

Doing police work for 20 years I broke and lost a bunch of watches. The last watch I wore on the department was a railroad watch in a case on my duty belt. It managed not to get killed. I haven't worn a watch for about 30 years now. My time piece is in my little old ass flip phone. Works for me. I'm with Jaseman and DTOM1771 with the watches.

 

[tiguy7]

I don't use an Apple iPhone. I think they're pretentious.

With a watch I can meet my timings without having to pull a status symbol out of my pocket and attract all those phone thieves I've read about in the newspapers.

My pretentious iPhone gives me access to news, weather, maps, unlimited information, a calculator, an appoinment calender, an Apple music library with 30,000,000 tunes, hearing aid management, camera, mobile phone, steel composition charts, etc. Phone thieves trouble me at their peril as I pack a .357 Magnum. My iPad can track down my stolen iPhone and visa versa. My phone cannot be used without my thumb print. My status symbol is actually a useful tool that has greatly simplfied my life.

 

[Danke42]

My pretentious iPhone gives me access to news, weather, maps, unlimited information, a calculator, an appoinment calender, an Apple music library with 30,000,000 tunes, hearing aid management, camera, mobile phone, steel composition charts, etc. Phone thieves trouble me at their peril as I pack a .357 Magnum. My iPad can track down my stolen iPhone and visa versa. My phone cannot be used without my thumb print. My status symbol is actually a useful tool that has greatly simplfied my life.

Good for you! Maybe there's an iphony thread around here somewhere for folks in your shoes.

 

[Dddrees]

Because I'm Old School and there are certain things a man should never be without and a watch is just one of them.

 

[tiguy7]

Good for you! Maybe there's an iphony thread around here somewhere for folks in your shoes.

Maybe there’s a Luddite thread for people in your shoes.

 

[TALON52]

I just like BIG watches!

 

[87Burban]

I like my Suunto D6M military diver, but just cant get myself to wear it.

I like the fact that it is rare, and available on a restricted basis to Navy divers, and is the "Real Deal". Partial to the all black look as well.

Unfortunately, I never wear it. It truly needs a new home...

 

[WHT]

I wear a Movado sports watch that is over ten years old. The watch band is outstanding. I went into a factory outlet store and made the rash statement that I only wear watches with numbers on them. They pulled out this watch and called my bluff. Glad they did as it is the best watch that I have owned (and believe me; I have gone through a lot of watches.) It is a quality product that has stood up to daily wear for a long period of time.

 

[sabre cat]

I normally wear budget watches like Wenger or Victorinox.

I look for analog watches that feature a flat crystal, a second hand, and calendar. Easy to read white or black face preferred with a brown or black leather band. NATO bands are OK, too.

Simple and effective.

 

[Charlie Mike]

Rolex Deepsea. Sold the factory bracelet for $1100. Prefer a Zulu strap anyway. I keep a compass and a hidden handcuff key.

I've wanted a Rolex diver ever since I was a kid and saw my first Bond movie. I like having a rotating bezel for timing heat treat cycles. I haven't worn a quartz watch since 2002.



It doesn't look like a $12k watch and that's perfectly fine by me. I don't exactly look like a guy who would have that kinda money.

 

[BP_]

Rolex Deepsea. Sold the factory bracelet for $1100. Prefer a Zulu strap anyway. I keep a compass and a hidden handcuff key.

I've wanted a Rolex diver ever since I was a kid and saw my first Bond movie. I like having a rotating bezel for timing heat treat cycles. I haven't worn a quartz watch since 2002.

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It doesn't look like a $12k watch and that's perfectly fine by me. I don't exactly look like a guy who would have that kinda money.

View attachment 978415

Ray-Ban and Rolex... welcome to Hollywood via CM haha! (joking, of course!)

Beautiful watch. My favorite Rolex

 

[Bakwa]

Swiss made Hamilton. Because, Indian Jones.

 

[bigshoe83]

I'm on a huge Seiko automatic kick right now and own mostly automatics currently with the Apple watch and a G-shock as digital watches. I just have an appreciation for a high quality automatic movement.

 

[duderino]

I'm kinda cheap, so my EDC rotation is between three watches:

1) Smith & Wesson Tritium Diplomat chrono : This was my first non-walmart watch, and oddly the second most expensive. Full titanium construction (even the clasp's springbar), H3 Tritium lume, and a OS10 quartz movement. I bought this back when I worked in test engineering and had to time conveyor belts, processes, and whatnot. It's good looking, tough as nails, and super light.

2) Invicta 8926OB v2: This was my first watch suitable for extended time out in the water. It's my beater. I wear it when painting, boating, fishing, etc. This watch has seen some stuff. I had to remove the date magnifier since it cracked, I had to pull the movement out twice to remove steam related water ingress, and the case has been refinished multiple times.

3) Vostok Amphibia (tonneau case) : This is my favorite watch, and the cheapest. It's neat, it is sized appropriately for my wrist, and it looks so damn good on a dark gray zulu strap. Only downside is I'm constantly polishing marks out of the acrylic crystal, but it's totally worth it. This one also is good for water just like the Invicta, just not quite as indestructible.

I do have a Accutron Lucerne for a dress watch, but it's only worn on those occasions, since it's worth more than my entire EDC rotation.

 

[DocJD]

A wristwatch is neither jewelry nor critical instrumentation for me .

I just want an inexpensive , sturdy ,waterproof , functional , big dial easy-to-see , digital with time , mo/d/yr and a back light .

Currently a Timex Ironman .

I don't want to worry or defend against being robbed or killed over some dang piece of bling . Or cry over damage or loss of same .

 

[Piso Mojado]

I bought this Ironman 100 lap as a $29 closeout. I wanted a cheap beater for the gym: 100 laps is overkill for me but the price was right. The big display was easy to take in with a glance, but I never liked the phony plastic bolt heads and they didn't improve with further acquaintance.

I was called by a federal grand jury — sorry to say as a juror, they can keep you up to three years. Sitting there week after week, I noticed the Assistant United States Attorneys mostly wore big digital watches, G-Shocks and Suuntos. They laid them flat by their notes to time their presentations and their witnesses.

The courthouse was a Mies van der Rohe landmark with broken clocks, bad air, and random fire alarms for entertainment. Forty years of malign neglect will do that. AUSAs needed their timepieces and so did the jurors. For those who haven't been there, you do not whip out your phone in court to check the time: you keep it in your pocket or purse with the ringer off, if you don't want a meeting with the presiding judge.

When the battery died, I bought an Ironman 30 that lies flat on my desktop — a trick the 100 never learned. The phony plastic bolt heads are less obnoxious black on black.


Apologies for the crappy cell phone photo.

 

[Owen K.]

I wish I could wear a nicer watch but I would destroy it. I usually wear disposable 12$ walmart watches. easier to throw out 10 of them then ruin a nicer one just as easily.

 

[PirateSeulb]

Owen K. I get that sentiment to a point but in what ways are you destroying the watch?

 

[Owen K.]

I do construction if the bezel is anything but metal I wear it down to the glass. Every crevice gets paint/spackle/sealed/tar in it. Glass gets scratched so fast you can barely see through it. I also do firefighting so if a watch gets exposed to blood or other secretions I just throw it out. Plus I rip straps all the time throwing bunker coats and packs on and off tends to catch watches and tear them right off. So my watches take a beating even if I did get a better watch If I were to wear it anywhere but work it would look trashy. So I have 12$ watched for work and nicer ones for leisure.