I don’t take off my watch before cooking, but I do before washing up.
Watch (well, fitbit watch): off many times when I shower. Yea, it can take the water, but leaving it on too long gives me a rash, so some respite time.
Ring: I leave it on except sometimes when training (depends on exercise), and when working with meat or dough. Something I may use my hands. Also take it out when changing rings (I wear a class ring usually, sometimes I fancy up and change it).
I have a string anklet (Bomfim string) and cord bracelet that remain on me 24/7, no matter what. Eventually, they will fall off (and I will substitute them again).
My watch is a non-waterproof cheapie, so it comes off if I expect my hands to be washed frequently (like when I’m cooking.) My wedding band is a simple ring of gold, but I remove it if my hands are going to be in anything more than just water. It’s easier to remove a clean ring from a clean hand and slip it into my pocket than try to control a greasy, food-coated ring as I take it off and clean it.
Same deal when I work in my studio - clay under the ring is not fun…
I do not wear a watch or rings, so I’m good to go.
Is that a thing people do? Are you protecting yourself or the meat?
My rings are very simple and I never take them off. If I’m making something like meatloaf, I simply wear disposable latex gloves to get the job done.
I wear gloves about half the time, when I remember. It’s not really about “protection”, it’s about oogy textures and quicker cleanup and handwashing after. Of course, I have lots of disposable gloves hanging around for work; if I didn’t, I’d never remember to buy them for the kitchen.
What I really need is gloves with some sort of built in cooling mechanism, so I could make a pie crust without melting the lard with my body heat.
My watch stays on, but rings come off if I am going to be getting my hands wet or messy. I am prone to skin irritation under the rings if I am not very careful about keeping my hands clean and dry (and sometimes even if I do).
Huh. For me, part of cooking is textural; I want to feel the stuff I’m working with.
ETA: is textural a word?
I don’t wear a watch. I wear a simple tungsten wedding band. I am also a compulsive hand washer, and I remove my ring whenever I wash them.
I always remove my ring before getting my hands into anything I am cooking.
For me, cooking has become about getting food into my children before they eat me. I miss cooking for fun.
Yes, I believe textural is a word. If it isn’t, it should be.
Yup. It’s one of them adjective things. 
Totally understand - except I’m just feeding the two of us now that the human garbage disposal is at the mercy of the Navy cooks - and cooking isn’t fun anymore. I miss it.
I take my wedding ring off before handling food. It gets mildly annoying if I’m mixing stuff with my hands and things get stuck in it, the thought of which is just gross, particularly when contemplating handling raw meat, or painful if I’m chopping lots of chilis.
“Tactile” is probably the more typical term. It’s different in that it puts the emphasis on your sensation rather than the objective properties of the stuff you’re handling.
As to the OP:
I normally wear a watch, fairly heavy wedding ring with stone, and class ring. Which stay on when cooking stuff with utensils.
If I’m going to stick my hands in the food I’ll take off the rings. The watch lives far enough up my arm it doesn’t get messy making meatballs or dredging fillets. Besides, it’s plastic, waterproof, and washes easily.
If I’m really going to be up to my elbows in goop, cooking or otherwise, off with the watch too.
A complete health, safety and hygiene no-no! Would you use the same utensils and chopping board to cut raw and cooked meat? Would you use the spatula to stroke a cat? Would you use the scrubbing brush to clean your shoes? Unless you’re taking off a ring, giving it a thorough clean, then putting it on, it’s going to have ‘stuff’ attached to it, especially if it isn’t a plain band. Okay if your jewelry isn’t coming into contact with the food, otherwise I’d take it off.
I would never, ever wear my wedding/engagement ring while cooking. But that’s because I typically only cook when I’m at home, and I don’t wear my wedding ring at home. (I’m part of the “take jewelry off as soon as you get home” camp.)
I take rings, watch and bangle/bracelet off as soon as I walk in the door. I wouldn’t cook or clean with them on.
Dad never took off his wedding band. The watch, rarely; only if it bothered him when doing something (he also rarely changed watches).
Mom doesn’t remove the wedding bands at all (as a widow, she now wears both hers and his). Other rings, she only wears when going out. Watches and bracelets, like the rings, are worn only for decorative purposes, so not in the kitchen.
I rarely wear rings, more often bracelets; rings will get removed, bracelets it depends. Right now I have a bracelet that’s very light, I can slide it up easily, and it’s a bitch to remove and put in, so it gets tucked up. Back in college, we weren’t allowed almost any jewelry in the lab: earrings couldn’t dangle at all and had to have safety closures, no rings, no bracelets, watches were supposed to become pocket watches. We all became fans of metal straps, since they hold up so much better than leather or plastic (plus I still haven’t encountered a plastic strap which didn’t feel yucky as soon as it’s a bit too hot). If I still worked in a lab I wouldn’t be able to keep this bracelet on, because having tucked it up for so long would hurt, but I don’t spend that much time handling food.
Chopping, making cakes, etc.: if I’ve got the wedding/ engagement rings on (I often don’t bother wearing them around the house if I’m not planning on going out later), they stay on. I figure most of what I’m doing then will get cooked (and the rings usually don’t come in contact with the food anyway).
Handling meat / making meatloaf / doing other icky stuff? They come off. The sink is in front of 3 crank-open windows, and the crank is a perfect place to stash them.
Wristwatch stays on. I don’t wear bracelets.
I don’t wear any jewelry period, not even my wedding ring. I find such things either annoying or uncomfortable.