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I just finished reading the revised 2000 edition of Revolution in Time. (I've been generally obsessed with mechanical clocks and their manufacture recently, but that's another post.) Fun book, though it focused a lot more on the economics and not enough on the technology. It ends with a rather melancholy examination of the triumph of quartz watches over mechanical movements. The funny thing is, in the 9 years since then, watches themselves have become an endangered species. How many people under 35 wear one anymore? Everyone just uses their cellphone now.
I've worn a watch most of my life at this point. (Literally -- I pretty much only take them off for showers and machining.) I don't think I'll stop -- I'm obsessive-compulsive enough that I like checking the time very regularly, and that's too much of a pain with a cellphone.
The first watch that I remember owning was a fancy multifunction digital when I was 9 or so. I'm not sure what model it was, possibly a Casio G-Shock? I loved that watch so much. Black plastic with red control buttons, all all kinds of timer and alarm modes to play with. It made an excellent prop for playing time travel games at recess.
For a while in high school I proved myself very ahead of my times by relying on my HP 48G graphing calculator (the PDA of its era) as a watch. That worked okay, since I did actually carry it everywhere, just another item in my huge coat/vest pockets. But I ended up wearing a watch again soon enough after finding an old self-winding Timex that used to be my grandfather's in a junk drawer. I loved the idea of a self-winding watch (and still do!), so I started to wear it. It lasted me for many years before getting cranky and then freezing entirely. The case had started to seriously wear away in places at that point, so I figured its time had come. I still have the habit of shaking my wrist occasionally, to get the self-winding action going.
I've been wearing my current Falcon Combat 24 hour for about 6 years now, which has proved to be a great watch. I particularly love the confused look people get when they try to read it. The black has worn away on all the edges, exposing the aluminum beneath, but the face itself remains unscratched in spite of some very energetic collisions. It's too bad they don't make them anymore. It was already the only nice-yet-affordable 24 hour watch I could find back then.
I've worn a watch most of my life at this point. (Literally -- I pretty much only take them off for showers and machining.) I don't think I'll stop -- I'm obsessive-compulsive enough that I like checking the time very regularly, and that's too much of a pain with a cellphone.
The first watch that I remember owning was a fancy multifunction digital when I was 9 or so. I'm not sure what model it was, possibly a Casio G-Shock? I loved that watch so much. Black plastic with red control buttons, all all kinds of timer and alarm modes to play with. It made an excellent prop for playing time travel games at recess.
For a while in high school I proved myself very ahead of my times by relying on my HP 48G graphing calculator (the PDA of its era) as a watch. That worked okay, since I did actually carry it everywhere, just another item in my huge coat/vest pockets. But I ended up wearing a watch again soon enough after finding an old self-winding Timex that used to be my grandfather's in a junk drawer. I loved the idea of a self-winding watch (and still do!), so I started to wear it. It lasted me for many years before getting cranky and then freezing entirely. The case had started to seriously wear away in places at that point, so I figured its time had come. I still have the habit of shaking my wrist occasionally, to get the self-winding action going.
I've been wearing my current Falcon Combat 24 hour for about 6 years now, which has proved to be a great watch. I particularly love the confused look people get when they try to read it. The black has worn away on all the edges, exposing the aluminum beneath, but the face itself remains unscratched in spite of some very energetic collisions. It's too bad they don't make them anymore. It was already the only nice-yet-affordable 24 hour watch I could find back then.
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24hr, self-winding, and a circular slide rule. And chronograph. How much better can it get?
Too bad it costs two months' rent. At least I got to try one on when I was in Geneva. It's just as sexy in person.
Not that I've worn a watch in 15+ years... but still.
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Breguet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breguet_(watch)) tourbillon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon) FTW
Actually, I'm autofriends with anyone who loves watches and having a favorite, any favorite, marks you as top drawer in my book.
Right now I rock the Armani Classic with a stopwatch (gift from TheWife):
I've never used a stopwatch as much as I do now that I have one ready at my fingertips. I kick myself for not having had one sooner.
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(Sadly, I just looked at more recent prices; now it's up to about four month's rent -- which wouldn't be so bad except that my rent is twice what it was the last time I checked the price. Sigh...)
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I love my dangly watch but sometimes when I'm out looking at really gorgeous pocket watches, I wish there were a few more options to go around in the upside-down-dangly-watch department... My stylistic expression is limited!
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about the same time as stumbling onto downloadable pdf paper clock (http://guru2.karakasa.com/pendulum_clock/pcp_e.html).
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-B.
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I gave up on wearing my watch when I realized the only thing I used it for that couldn't be replaced by something else I already carried with me was preventing me from losing my wedding ring - I had the habit of only taking my watch and ring off together, and putting the ring on the watch band. So it was a glorified keychain. Meanwhile I always have two other timepieces on my person (cellphone, pedometer) and unless I'm on the bus or walking, another 2 or 3 or more in easy reach - wall clock, laptop, work computer, alarm clock, microwave, oven, thermostat... ubiquitous clock functions sort of make a watch hard to justify.
I like the watch better for checking time, but I can't stand to type or play music while I'm wearing it, which covers my day job and most of my at-home time, so it's too annoying to get in the habit of looking at my wrist for the time and then be thwarted. So now I just want to make a fuzzy ring clip I can maybe attach to my belt loop.
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-B.
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