I for one welcome our Atomic Watch overlords.
Why would it need a specific time and place to synch at? It would synch every time there was at least one satellite overhead. As long as its internal oscillator was good (and modern oscillators are very, very stable and robust), it would very rarely need to synch. That’s more reliability than anyone’s wristwatch would ever need. For applications that really do need the reliability (network-aware systems that need to keep phases synchronized, or tight cryptographic systems that need to be on the same clock for security, or something along those lines), a dedicated antenna would work. Devices could share the time signal via NTP, or a finer-grained time synchronization network protocol.
I’ve had two radio-controlled watches. Both broke. It was also often hard to get them to sync themselves. I wish they were taking over the world, because I’d pay $50 or $100 for a reliable and practical one, but I gave up. I joined ZomZom with the cell phone.
Crescend
No, I wasn’t thinking it would need a specific time and place to sync and as you say, crystal oscillators are extremely stable. For any purpose I would be likely to use it for, the oscillator would provide sufficient accuracy and then some.
What I was thinking about was the signal strength from a GPS satellite. There is not a lot of signal there and the kind of antenna you would build into a watch isn’t going to provide much gain.
It just struck me that if you worked indoors a lot your watch might not be syncing that frequently anyway and it would be cheaper and equally effective to simply use a watch with a plain crystal oscillator. The additional expense of having a time count from a GPS satellite would provide nothing more than bragging rights.
When I was in the Navy and we stuck up a mast to get a navsat pass we’d also sync the cesium-beam time standards. I’d always check my watch against them to see how far off I was. Surprisingly, my digital Timex was almost never off by more than a second and this was back in the '70s.
Regards
Testy
gee, ya learn something new every day-----and sometimes you learn about dumb, unnecessary products.
I had never even heard of atomic watches before reading this thread.It’s an interesting concept, I suppose; but there are some things that I just gotta point out:
Oh yeah—that sounds real convenient for me and a hundred million other apartment dwellers who don’t have a west-facing window.
Oh my god, call the national guard!!! There’s a man over there wearing his watch all the time! And he is neglecting his obligations !!!.. Umm, if I pay for something that is designed to work 24/7, why shouldnt I be able to use it when I want to?
umm, I really don’t want something I wear on my body if it has to “caution” me not to move.
Well, maybe there is are competing products on the market that provide most consumers with a perfect combination of easy-to-use, no-hassle, accurate timekeeping. Mine cost $5.
To answer the OP, maybe because they aren’t advertised enough? My brother, who is a watch freak, sent me one for my birthday, and I love it. (It is also solar powered.) I had never known radio controlled watches exist. I have two radio controlled clocks at home, one I got as a conference giveaway and one with a weather station.
I also haven’t had any problems with getting a signal. Mine (Casio WR200M) also has a sleep mode when there has been no movement for a certain time. How cool is that? I’m hooked myself, and they’re not all that expensive, as the OP mentioned.
Well, my current watch is a Citizen “Eco-Drive”, a solar-powered quartz movement. I work indoors practically all the time, and my daily commute is enough to keep it charged. I think that would be more than enough time to synchronize a watch by GPS. If you’re indoors all the time, and are never near a window, ever, I would imagine that you’re probably someplace that has its own time standard.
Cesium beam? This is the 21st century! We don’t need no stinkin cesium beams! 
This is way more than I’ve ever paid for a watch, and I’ve never said to myself, “Gee, I wish my watch was more atomic.”
Extending upon what Harmonious Discord said, some of us like to wear watches that are a few minutes fast. For some reason, this helps us avoid tardiness.
OTOH, it might be neat to have 1 atomic-synced clock in the house. Hm: I guess the display in my (Win XP) taskbar might count.
The cesium beams were good timekeepers. 
Some serious engineering in those things!
Thank you for the cite, that’s amazing. Forget the whole GPS thing, I want one of those rice-grain-sized atomic clocks on my wrist.
Regards
Testy
I bought one.
I live in Hawaii.
I travel between timezones. My atomic watch would only reset to the timezone I was in if I made the change manually (which was more of a hassle than with a plain old ordinary watch). On the other hand, my cell phone changes time zone automatically to match the network when I turn it on as the plane comes into the gate! No more watch.
…and people use their cell phones for more than just calling. I know that at least in my work place, friends, family, and my wife, we use cell phones to tell time and use it for alarm clock. Ask someone here what time is it and they will immediately fiddle with their cell phone. Ask someone to set up their clock alarm for x or y reason and they will invariably use their cell phone. Go to cell phone forums and there is always bound to be a thread about how certain phone from certain manufacturer does not have certain settings for their clock alarm.
Heading to Brazil tomorrow.
The Swiss watches are all packed up to be dropped off at my dad’s house this evening.
The Casio G-Shock is already on my wrist 
.
It will go well with our 50-cent wedding bands that we wear in the city.
Somewhat tangential to the thread, but I’ve attended a talk by a very senior civil servant that used this precise example as an example of simple improvements to public services. The station digital clocks had indeed been nationally synchronised for some years, but it took a while before it was realised that they didn’t necessarily correspond to the clocks the train drivers were using en route. Furthermore, they were typically just using their own watches. You were thus getting cases where drivers were assiduiously keeping to what they thought was the correct expected time, yet still having a platform full of travellers fuming that the train was a couple of minutes late - which it would be by the station clock. The solution was apparently to install synchronised clocks in the drivers’ cabs, so that at least he or she was working from the same time as the waiting would-be passengers.
The story does slightly smack of a cheery government urban legend and I’ve no other source for it. Nor, of course, was it a solution for genuine delays.
There are radio controlled clocks and watches in Europe, right? Will an American RC watch work over there? Is the signal different? I’m moving to Germany and I wonder if I’ll have to start setting all my clocks manually.
I don’t have an “atomic” watch but I have and “atomic” clock. They get the signal from a radio station in Colorado. My manual says that the signal is only good in the lower 48.
Before I say anything, let me say that I do have accurate time keeping clocks in my house. My Grundig Satelite 800 will self correct by the WWV time signal, and it is accurate enough for me.
Watches, for the most part, have become largely fashion accesories. Most people don’t need accuracy down to what ever fraction of a second their various watches offer. It is part of the marketing of the watch, just like exterior design, workmanship and brand name.
Cell Phones as noted several times earlier have become the modern watch, offering not only accurate time keeping, but automatic adjustment for time zones, alarm and scheduling functions, and of course, if you need to, you can even make a call on them.
I don;t wear watches anyway… Who wants to be handcuffed to time,
I do, however, enjoy the fact that a $5 watch is accurate enough to make chronograph designers of even 50 yrs ago weep with raw envy… And to each their own!
Regards
FML
Who needs an atomic watch when you’ve got the clock it syncs with within throwing distance?
I’d say most people don’t care about time all that much. It’s a useful concept with which to organise our lives but who really cares if the meeting starts bang on 10am?
Plus everyone has a mobile phone and probably also an old watch from years ago that still works fine.