The digital era seems to be the harbinger of the downfall of the wristwatch. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but there certainly is some truth to it. With clocks everywhere—on our phones, our
computers, the clock towers by Frary and the Grove House—there really is no
reason to wear a watch. Watches have been made essentially obsolete by the rectangular brick of metal, glass, and silicon
that rests in our pockets.
A couple of
years ago, I began to question my dependency on my cell phone. I was constantly checking it and completely
incapacitated without it. So I started
taking measures to release myself from the evil gadget, and one of my first steps was to start wearing a watch again. Now, two years
later, I feel way more incapacitated without my watch than without my
phone. Not only is it a cool accessory I
wear every day, it also keeps me from obsessively checking my phone or being
completely unaware of the time when I inevitably forget my phone at home several times
a week.
Over the course of the past two years, I’ve
worn a total of five watches and I’ve come to figure out what I do and don’t
like. Just for you, I’ve made a
list of important things to consider if (or when) you begin to make moves toward
the more archaic way of telling time.
Analog vs. Digital
I’ve had both. Both are great. But if
you’re really looking for utility, digital is the way to go. Not only can you usually store the time in
more than one time zone (great for being abroad), you also can figure out
the time in a split second glance. Rather than, you know, reading a clock.
Battery
Watches with batteries are great … but I am extremely partial to self-winding
watches. They never die and you don’t
even have to remember to wind them because they do it all by themselves. That
said, if you found an old self-winding Timex with a gold band last year, I
would like my great-grandfather’s watch back, please.
Style
If you’re buying an everyday watch, make
sure it’s something you want to wear every day. If it clashes with everything you own, you definitely won’t wear it—unless clashing is what you’re into.
Date
Extra helpful for those days when you’re
phone-less and planner-less.
Light-up or Glow-in-the-Dark
You even know the time at the wildest,
darkest parties!
Band Style
Plastic, leather, and metal look nice,
but there is nothing quite like a cloth
band. They don’t itch or make your wrist
too sweaty. They’re malleable and hard
to break. I frequently don a little
boy’s watch with an elastic band, and let me tell you, my wrist has never been
happier. Or, you could ditch the band all together
and rock the very steampunk, turn-of-the-century pocket watch look.
I hope that you have a wonderful, well-timed
week!