# Do you wear a wrist watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 30, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612 "2017-01-30T21:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/1 "2017-01-30T21:30:09Z")
Well, I’m no luddite, right now there are these devices that tell the time in my immediate vicinity: the laptop I’m typing this on, my smartphone, my landline phone, my TV and the clock on the wall in my living room, but I can’t do without a wrist watch. Never could since I’ve been giving my first one for first communion forty years ago by my uncle (it was one of those newfangled \*digital \*watches,[the LED kind](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Vintage_Marcel_Men%27s_Digital_LED_Wrist_Watch%2C_1970s_Vintage_%288501184575%29.jpg) whose battery would be drained in two weeks by every tech-loving 8 year old ;). But it was the coolest thing back then). Since then, I’m feeling naked without a watch and never, ever leave the house without it. I only take it off for washing and bathing or for sports or handling tools or machinery where it could be interfering. It’s absolutely second nature for me to check my watch from time time, and I still cannot think of a more practicable way to know the time quickly and easily. Though I also always carry my phone, mostly I would have to get it out of my pocket to get a quick glance at the time there, so the watch is much more convenient. Am I someone of a dying breed or can you relate? If yes, do you prefer a digital or an analog watch (I may have started with digital, but have prefered analog for over 30 years)? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/2 "2017-01-30T21:36:59Z")
I have thin, bony wrists and arms. Therefore I can’t stand to have pretty much anything on my wrists, so count me in as a no. Hell, I can barely stand to have my Magic Band on during the day when I go to Disney, I end up ripping that thing off as soon as I can, and 90% of my day is playing with it. The only exception I would make would be if I were gifted a fancy-schmancy fitbit kind of thing, or a smart watch that connects to my phone. I want one of those pretty badly… ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/3 "2017-01-30T21:38:56Z")
I have a cheapo Timex, digital with big numbers and a push to light dial. First one lasted 10 years and went through three batteries. Replaced it with the same. $30.00, so, it is cheap entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/4 "2017-01-30T21:48:37Z")
Yes, I still do, as I have since was about 8 (I’m 51 now). I have a half-dozen or so watches, all but one of them analog – the lone digital one is my GPS-enabled Garmin running watch. I wore a few digital watches in the 1980s, but they’re not nearly as common as they were then. And, yes, I also carry a cell phone. I’m sure that still wearing a wristwatch increasingly makes me a dinosaur. I don’t care. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/5 "2017-01-30T21:51:28Z")
I’ve been wearing a analog Mickey Mouse watch for over 20 years now (I’m 38). It’s cheap and it breaks every so often so I buy a new one on eBay. I change the batteries when they die and fix/replace the strap when it breaks. My dad has always been a watch wearer so I’m sure that’s where I picked it up. He also wears it on the right hand, so I do too, even though we’re both right handed. I wear it as often as I can when I’m not in the house. Even when I probably shouldn’t, like when I am fairly dressed up. I don’t wear it when I go to the gym, as I am just there to swim and I don’t want to lose it. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/6 "2017-01-30T21:53:57Z")
I can’t wear a watch - they speed up and eventually die. However, I’m compensated by a very good natural sense of time. And now a cell phone. StG ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/7 "2017-01-30T21:54:42Z")
Nope, I had many types of watch but they all went wrong after wearing them a bit. No loss since I don’t care for any constricting item large or small ( I read the other day that American men wear wedding rings ! ). ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/8 "2017-01-30T21:57:23Z")
Given the ubiquity of clocks these days - in most rooms, on every computer screen, on a cell phone in my pocket, and on my car dashboard - the tiny marginal utility of having yet another clock on my wrist is outweighed by the physical irritation of it. If it’s snug enough to stay put, it makes my wrist sweaty and itchy; if it’s loose enough to prevent that, then it slides down my arm and bumps into the back of my hand (or the front, if it spins on my wrist). Do not want. Wife tends to keep her cell phone in her purse (more work to look at it than it is for me to dig mine out of my pocket), so she finds a wrist watch to be more useful than I do. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/9 "2017-01-30T21:58:18Z")
I almost always wear a watch. And almost exclusively cheap watches. My current timepiece cost $12 at WalMart and I’ve had to replace the battery once. It has a big round face with big numbers. I have lousy eyes, so that’s important. When we got married and my eyes were much better, my husband gave me a very pretty watch, but I managed to destroy the crystal twice by whacking it into walls, and it finally died. He bought me another pretty one and I asked him to return it - I need big numbers and the elegant watches just have little dits and very small hands. I’ll stick with my cheapies, thanks! It’s lots easier to look down at my wrist than to dig my phone out of my purse or pocket. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/10 "2017-01-30T22:00:09Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I can’t wear a watch - they speed up and eventually die. However, I’m compensated by a very good natural sense of time. And now a cell phone. > > StG Good thing it wasn’t a lifeclock in your palm. 😃 I’m 56. I don’t remember not having a watch. Even as a kid, I was expected to know what time it was and be on time for meals and such. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/11 "2017-01-30T22:03:45Z")
I have a beautiful mechanical wristwatch that I wear at every possible opportunity. A wristwatch is acceptable jewelry for men, and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/12 "2017-01-30T22:07:55Z")
[Best $35 I ever spent](https://www.amazon.com/Casio-WV200A-1AV-Waveceptor-Watch-Black/dp/B00186YU38). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/13 "2017-01-30T22:14:16Z")
I have a watch that connects my phone via Bluetooth. It has a speaker and mic with a touchscreen that I can use to make and receive calls. So I use it to tell time, too. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/14 "2017-01-30T22:22:04Z")
I have a picture from when I was about thirteen where you can see my two inch wide tooled leather watchband. Somewhere along the line, I took to pocket watches. Have not worn anything on my wrist in several decades. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/15 "2017-01-30T22:24:48Z")
I almost always wear a watch. Either my analog dress watch for work, my regular digital watch for non-work use, or my GPS watch for hiking/biking/swimming. I’ve worn once consistently since I was about 10. I’m a bit over 50 now. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/16 "2017-01-30T22:26:27Z")
Yep. Analog Seiko with numbers not dots or roman numerals. Had it for years. Before that I had another Seiko just the same. I prefer analog everything. Sadly. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/17 "2017-01-30T22:30:23Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I have a watch that connects my phone via Bluetooth. It has a speaker and mic with a touchscreen that I can use to make and receive calls. So I use it to tell time, too. Does it display the time permanently or do you have to push a button first? I could imagine using a smart watch, but that would be top priority cause I have a 40 year old ingrained muscle memory for looking up the time without having to use both hands. I remember having read about the Apple smart watch not having that feature for saving energy and found that, well, astounding. It’s like taking away the best feature a \*watch \*has. (ETA: or to speak modern: telling the time quickly should still be the killer app of a smart watch ;-)) ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/18 "2017-01-30T22:53:53Z")
I feel naked without a watch. It actually causes discomfort if I’ve realized I’ve left the house without one. Not counting the junk watches in my junk drawer, I have two mid-range Citizens and a mid-range Seiko, and I love them all. Oh, and an Apple Watch that I wear bicycle riding, or sometimes on Fridays when I wear a Polo instead of a button down. Analogue makes so much more sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/19 "2017-01-30T22:56:03Z")
The watch I wear most is like the one on the left, in [this mockup I made](http://pw1.netcom.com/~heliboy/gmt-jubilee-oyster.jpg). (I wanted to see how it would look before I spent the money.) What can it do? It tells the time. Also the date. _AND_ it never needs to have a battery replaced. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612/20 "2017-01-30T23:00:32Z")
I wear a watch all the time, even though I almost always have my Android phone on me. I’d feel naked without it. In fact, I often vacation at nude resorts, and \*still \*wear my watch. I like cheap Casio or Timex models, and alternate between digital and analog. But I’ve been using the same Speidel Twist-o-Flex band for about forty years! Those things last _forever_! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wear-a-wrist-watch/778612.md?page=2)