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Going Watchless

8K views 34 replies 25 participants last post by  jackmccullough 
#1 ·
I went to a wedding this evening and wore a charcoal grey lounge suit,white point collar shirt w/ button cuffs,light pink/navy striped tie,and black punch cap toes.Nothing special,but I did something unusual,at least for me; I went without a watch.It was strangely liberating,and I think I may start doing it more often when attending social occasions.Does anyone else here ever go sans watch with a lounge suit?
 
#4 ·
I have never worn a watch as an adult.

I am grateful to lack one more expensive hobby.
Watches can look so very sharp with a suit.

A good watch that lasts years does not have to be expensive (or Swiss). It can easily run under $100. Many people on this forum seem to have convinced themselves that only the most expensive clothing and accessories are worth their while.
 
#5 ·
Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper are about to head out for mardi Gras. Fonda removes a gold watch and drops it in the dirt.
Val Kilmer has just quit the F.B.I. He hands Grandfather his gold rolex, walks to his car and sees a catlinite pipe on the front seat.
The golden sombrero'd Bandit is swinging a gold watch. Walter Huston takes aim with his 92 Winchester and hits it square.
Meanwhile, Cantiflas and David Niven compare time on their watches, are in accord and climb into a hot air balloon
with 4 fresh white shirts and several thousand pounds Sterling.
 
#6 ·
I stopped wearing wristwatches except on 3 occasions:
1) In court - Federal courts don't permit cell phones
2) On flights - it's just easier than using the phone
3) Running - I need my heart rate monitor/running computer

Otherwise, I'm more than inundated with convenient timepieces. It's just jewelry that I'd rather do without. I love being watchless. The downside is that I'm now stuck with 1/2 dozen vestigials from an earlier time.
 
#7 ·
Watches can look so very sharp with a suit.

A good watch that lasts years does not have to be expensive (or Swiss). It can easily run under $100. Many people on this forum seem to have convinced themselves that only the most expensive clothing and accessories are worth their while.
You are right, you could literally get a timex with a simple face and a nice brown or black leather band, faux leather, faux croc, whatever as long as it had clean lines and it would compliment a regular suit.

here is a $65 timex:
https://www.timex.com/gp/product/B0...&m=A1S5XB33AHYRMX&n=238500011&timexBrand=core

here is a roughly $1890 Baum and Mercier square:

https://www.baume-and-mercier.com/collection/en/Hampton/Square-8677

Not that different (at least on the outside) are they?

I don't think people have "convinced" themselves of anything necessarily however, a fine watch is a keepsake and an investment and sometimes a marvel of design and construction that makes them attractive and collectible. As for clothes lets not kid ourselves, I can go into Macy's or JC Penneys and come out with a decent outfit but it likely wont last, wont fit as well as it could and wont satisfy my appreciation of things finely made with care and with quality materials that I can also wear and enjoy.

I am a devoted bargain hunter with a closet bursting with clothes I couldn't have afforded at full retail, some of them are hand made, many are of materials you will never find in a box story some are even used but so fine and so durable it doesn't even matter. At the same time I have a pair of levis and a drawer filled with half dead concert t-shirts I cant live without.

This isn't about snobbery or buying the most expensive labels, I view my clothes more as a collection than a wardrobe half the time, I am just into all thing sartorial among other interests.

p.s. My Alden loafers will outlast my by a good 20 years I have no doubt, now how "expensive" are they?
 
#9 ·
Welldressedfellow,

I would much sooner go without my phone than my watch.
I can see choosing not to wear a watch with semi-formal or formal but I think that watches compliment a good suit as long as they are appropriate. I wouldn't wear a Breitling frying-pan sized dive watch with a suit but maybe something 40 mm and under, something thin, maybe with a leather strap, it depends on how versatile the design of the watch is. most Tag's, while sporty would look ok with a suit. I would avoid rubber dive bands, colored watch faces, etc. but I think most watches would be ok.

The other reason I wouldnt think of leaving it at home is that I have worn one for some many years my wrist comes up to my face on autopilot when I wonder about the time, my wrist would basically feel naked without it.

The phones on the other hand should all be left with a phone-check girl like a coat check girl (or guy whatever). If you had an emergency they could run out and get you otherwise they serve as social crutches and tiny electronic rudeness generators in most social settings.

Why aren't the people everyone is so anxious to talk to on the phone ever with the person doing the talking? I am stuck in the "be there or be square" camp!
 
#10 ·
I have taken quite a bit of abuse from some on this forum for saying that I wear this particular watch:

https://imageshack.us

Apparently it isn' "high end" enough for certain folks. Heck, the only reason I wear it is because it's such a hit with women and a great conversation starter. Otherwise, I would just use the clock on my cell phone and not wear a watch at all. :icon_smile:

Cruiser
 
#16 ·
My watches tend to push my shirtsleeves back. That makes me look lopsided. So, I sometimes go without a watch, when the problem is especially pronounced. Does anyone else have that problem?
Yes I do, especially with tighter fitting French cuffs. Although it's not totally noticable from other people, it definitely is to me.
 
#17 ·
I tend to get quite a few compliments on my watches... so I jump at the chance to wear them! Also, they can, like Cruiser said, be great conversation starters. I'd just feel off without one.

Also, I find that watches can add a bit of personality to a suit. They make an otherwise plain area (the hands/wrists) seem less barren, esp with rolled up or short sleeves.

And, oh yeah, some of them even tell time, too :icon_smile_wink:


But that's just me, if you felt better sans watch, go for it!
 
#18 ·
Welldressedfellow,

I would much sooner go without my phone than my watch.
I can see choosing not to wear a watch with semi-formal or formal but I think that watches compliment a good suit as long as they are appropriate. I wouldn't wear a Breitling frying-pan sized dive watch with a suit but maybe something 40 mm and under, something thin, maybe with a leather strap, it depends on how versatile the design of the watch is. most Tag's, while sporty would look ok with a suit. I would avoid rubber dive bands, colored watch faces, etc. but I think most watches would be ok.
What? No Hublot watches? No Corum?
 
#19 ·
You are right, you could literally get a timex with a simple face and a nice brown or black leather band, faux leather, faux croc, whatever as long as it had clean lines and it would compliment a regular suit.

here is a $65 timex:
https://www.timex.com/gp/product/B0...&m=A1S5XB33AHYRMX&n=238500011&timexBrand=core

here is a roughly $1890 Baum and Mercier square:

https://www.baume-and-mercier.com/collection/en/Hampton/Square-8677

Not that different (at least on the outside) are they?

I don't think people have "convinced" themselves of anything necessarily however, a fine watch is a keepsake and an investment and sometimes a marvel of design and construction that makes them attractive and collectible. As for clothes lets not kid ourselves, I can go into Macy's or JC Penneys and come out with a decent outfit but it likely wont last, wont fit as well as it could and wont satisfy my appreciation of things finely made with care and with quality materials that I can also wear and enjoy.

I am a devoted bargain hunter with a closet bursting with clothes I couldn't have afforded at full retail, some of them are hand made, many are of materials you will never find in a box story some are even used but so fine and so durable it doesn't even matter. At the same time I have a pair of levis and a drawer filled with half dead concert t-shirts I cant live without.

This isn't about snobbery or buying the most expensive labels, I view my clothes more as a collection than a wardrobe half the time, I am just into all thing sartorial among other interests.

p.s. My Alden loafers will outlast my by a good 20 years I have no doubt, now how "expensive" are they?
Funny you should bring up these two examples, Dean! I have an Omega and a Cartier, both with metal bands. Recently I had been wanting something with a leather band. I first looked at Patek Phillipe and Jaeger Le Coute(nowhere in my price range, but what's the harm in just looking?) Then I was thinking about Baume or Raymond Weil. Then, down to Seiko, Armani or Fossil. I finally decided to use a gift certificate someone got me for Amazon and get a Timex. I've had it for about a week, and still admire it on my wrist.
 
#20 ·
I have always been told that watches are essential and functional business attire, but not essential social attire. I've been taught that when you socialize -- especially in the evening -- that you are at the terminal event and time is not important. The last thing anyone wants to do is look like a busy executive checking his watch while at a dinner party (or vice versa). So, that is my general rule: watch for business, no watch for socializing. That said, rules are meant to be broken, so I break this one at least once a week.

I wear a silver vintage (circa 1975?) mechanical Timex from eBay ($10 + shipping) with a black leather band that currently needs to be replaced . . . badly.
 
#21 ·
I loathe wrist watches and almost never wear them. When I was managing hundreds of people and running productions I tended to wear a vest with pocket watch, and when my pocket watches stopped I used a lanyard which was a Christmas present from another company. Ultimately I felt lanyards at work were kind of cheesy, and it kept knocking me in the nuts/junk.

So I had/have clocks all over the walls.

And I wear pocket watches again, as well.

Wrist watches are impractical for me, but they also tend to take on this weird mania with people: too fancy, too childish, too impressive, too modeled (sports watches). They definitely define a person quite well when you compare the watch to the person's clothing choices: they seem to display inner aspirations more than the time.
 
#23 ·
I stopped wearing wristwatches except on 3 occasions:
1) In court - Federal courts don't permit cell phones
2) On flights - it's just easier than using the phone
3) Running - I need my heart rate monitor/running computer
/QUOTE]

With the exception of #1 (since I don't go to court, nor am I a lawyer), this is me as well.

Working in healthcare, I quickly gave up wearing a watch because it got in the way of putting gloves on, and I always had a beeper and cell phone that I had to carry that showed the time.

So like the above poster, I only wear a watch on the plane and when running.
 
#24 ·
I never leave the house without a watch, but then again I always take it off as soon as I get back home. (Rather strange, in fact.). I find not wearing a watch very relaxing and that's why I don't wear one at home (plenty of clocks around) nor on vacation.

Wearing a wrist watch with formal dress isn't acceptable for ladies or gentlemen, unless it's obviously a piece of jewelry. For less formal social events there are no rules, but as the OP stated, one shouldn't be concerned with time when socializing. If a gentleman is the event organizer and needs to keep track of time, he can always keep his watch in a pocket or invest in a beautiful pocket watch. Equivalently, a lady can keep her watch in her hand bag or invest in a beautiful jewelry watch.
 
#25 ·
I don't think I've gone more than a week without a watch on me daily since I was eight. I've had a few periods when I've carried a cheap pocket watch, but it's almost always wrist watches. I am rarely in a space where clocks are not in view, and I pretty much always have my cell phone, but I prefer using my watch. I think it's less obvious and obtrusive to check the time on my watch than to look around for a clock or pull out my cell phone, open it slightly to turn on the display, and look at the time.
 
#26 ·
I assume everyone knows the trick for determining true north using a watch with hands?
Our global society seems determined to make us one with the Borg collective. Metal detectors everywhere shear us like sheep down to our fillings. We no longer talk face to face, but blackberry ( whatever this electonic version of a bramble is?) Texting while our commuter train hurtles into a frieght carrrier,walking around with mutant hearing aids in our ears and jogging down those railroad tracks with the crashed trains listening to music, oblivious to the singing of birds or the third train.
I'm truly sorry: I will continue to wear a mechanical watch, a Walther PP, pocketknife and lighter.
I am a free man, not a borg. If you do not understand my sentiment, press 1 for english, 2 for spanish or wait for a l live operator to come on line and assist you.
 
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