What I Learned After Buying 44 Wristwatches
This article is a transcript of a video that you can watch by clicking the thumbnail below. Hence, certain statements may not make sense in this text form, and watching the video instead is recommended.
Introduction
I learned a lot about wristwatches, I mean, how could I not after buying 44 of them in the last couple of months? I came across different kinds of them from across several brands, learned how to clean/restore them, learned a lot about movements, fits, features, and whatnot. I realize I’ve made a similar video before, but that was more focused on G-Shocks. In this one, I’ll cover some more of it, not focusing on a particular watch or brand, but talking about wristwatches in general.
My Learnings
1. Wristwatches are Cool!
Since the time I started to take wristwatches seriously, I realized that these could be cool too. I’ve also compared some of these, specifically G-Shocks to ThinkPads, in terms of how some of these brands and kinds have a cult following, such that from a normie’s perspective, you’d find that some of us do take wristwatches a little too seriously than the others.
2. Watches Do Not Need to Be Expensive
Wristwatches come at all price points, and that is evident if you look at these two extremes of my collection. Having said that, you do not need an expensive watch to satisfy your needs. Take, for example, this Casio Forester, which checks most of the boxes for me while being the cheapest in my collection. Besides, there are homage watches like this Berny, that provide you value for your money, by costing as little as one percent of the watch it's based on. These aren’t replicas, but are based on a design by a brand that is usually known for its expensive offerings.
3. You Do Not Need All The Features in Your Watch
Some watches only show time, some also show the date, some also show the day of the week, but that’s just the basics. Not talking about smartwatches, I’ve seen world time, alarm, timers, stopwatches, data banks, calculators, thermometers, compass, moon phases, altimeter, barometer, sunrise and sunset times, tidal info, and that isn’t even all. But, you may not need more than just the regular time-keeping, and that really depends on your use-case, but certainly not all of these features, more so in a single watch.
4. Not All Watches Are Meant For All Wrists
I’ve had watches that fit perfectly on my slender wrist, while some did not fit well. Having said that, there are some huge watches that can still fit on a smaller wrist, depending on the design. You may need to look at multiple factors, and not just the dimensions, before spending on a watch that can potentially end up being not the right fit for you, or more so, your wrist.
5. One Shouldn’t be Too Picky about Wristwatches
Back when I started my exploration, the Casio Forester just looked perfect, and then I found myself captive by the awesomeness of G-Shocks and failed to look beyond it for some time. But once I stepped outside with my first automatic watch, I realized the obvious, which is that the world of wristwatches is so enormous, there’s always going to be that one kind of watch that you haven’t experienced.
6. Automatic Watches are The Real Deal
OK, now brace yourself for some highly opinionated stuff. Ready? I believe, just like there’s nothing as satisfying to drive as a manual transmission car, more so something as analog and minimalistic as the Toyota 86, or just like running Linux on your machine, more so one that you installed using carefully crafted commands on the terminal gives you a sense of ownership of your computer, or just like the Manual mode on your digital camera gives you complete control over the pictures that you take, automatic watches just scratch an itch you never knew you had. And I say this, coming from G-Shocks that I still love.
7. There’s Nothing Like One-Watch-Fits-All
There are no catch-all watches that would work everywhere. I did come across watches that are GADA, which stands for “go anywhere, do anything”, and there are quite a few brands with GADA offerings at various price points. However, it is also subjective as to whether a particular watch can be considered GADA. For example, the Berny AM139M is very similar to, and even more versatile than, the San Martin SN0113W, which I’ve heard people referring to as a GADA watch. However, I haven’t seen anyone on the web refer to the Berny as a GADA watch, which I think it is. Another example is the G-Shock Mudman GW-9300 that I find perfect in every single way, and to me, that should be a GADA watch, but I’m sure most people would disagree.
Using a single watch creates a bond between man and the machine, which is something I had with my 2010 Dell Studio 1558, and also for a while with my ThinkPad X1 Extreme. But as much as I’d like to wear one watch everywhere, which, pardon me if it sounds like a brag, is something I miss, it just doesn’t work that way, and my wife would be a better person to talk about it, as she absolutely hates the Mudman.
8. There is No Such Thing as an Exit Watch
We often see videos about a particular watch where it is referred to as an exit watch, which is a term collectors use for their ultimate, final timepiece, the acquisition that signifies the end of their watch-collecting journey. Many people may never find that one watch that would be the last one, and I think that makes sense, as we human quickly get bored with even the best of toys, and soon find something shiny enough to be added to our wishlist and at times, even acquire them. I’m no different.
9. No One Cares What Watch You Wear
I do not wear my watches randomly. I have a pattern, often picking up the watch that suits an occasion or place the best, and I’m sure most watch enthusiasts do it that way. However, I’ve come to learn, and this is more so in the world where almost everyone wearing a watch is wearing a smartwatch, no one cares about the watch you’re wearing, or why you’re wearing it on that particular day, and why it matters to you so much. So, only wear what makes you happy, as most people do not care, or at least the ones I usually deal with don’t.
What I Lost Coming Back from a Smart Watch
The drop from Casio and G-Shocks to analog automatic watches wasn’t nearly as steep as the drop from my Samsung Galaxy Watch to those relatively featureless Casios. However, apart from the superpowers like being able to receive calls right from my watch and appearing like Buzz Lightyear in public, and getting to pretend to wear a Pip-Boy to work every day, I can say that I do not miss anything.
My current collection (which is still shifting, BTW) covers analog watches, digital watches, ana-digital watches, battery powered watches, solar powered watches, automatic watches, atomic watches, GMT watches, tool watches, military watches, diver watches, dress watches, GADA watches, and probably other few genres I do not even know exist. It’s just that one of them won’t have everything at once, but that also means I can wear the one most appropriate for an occasion.
One good part about it is that I do not need to charge my watch as often, depending on the watch we’re talking about. The solar watches take care of themselves with occasional exposure to light, the automatics self-wind as soon as I pick them up, and the rest of them would work for years to come before needing a battery replacement. Next up would be to trim my collection down to what I’d absolutely need, passing on the others to folks who will be able to appreciate them more than I do. I know how difficult a task this can be, as I have a similar problem with my ThinkPad fleet.
Conclusion
So, that was some of what I learned during the last few months. Not only could I draw parallels with the world of computing, automobiles, and other gadgets, I could also finally learn and realize what works for me, and what doesn’t, and that too with personal experience. I can never be grateful enough for this journey.