The Apple Watch has proved to be a brilliant companion for me and one that I find disturbing because it is killing my one material passion which is real watches.
When it comes to importance my family wins every time, but in those moments when I need to think about something else or to simply have a hobby, it is watches. I talk to my son a lot about watches, he is at Uni so it gives us a connection, and together we are gradually building up our knowledge of watches present and vintage.
Sure, the Apple Watch tracks my fitness and my general day to day movements. It keeps deadly accurate time every second of the day and can display a myriad of complications such as the weather, date, calendar and so much more, and you can change the strap in a second for a new look. I never miss a notification, I can control the Apple TV with it, unlock my Mac automatically and end my morning alarm. And for the rest of the time I can switch to a simply watch face and just tell the time when I need to.
The problem, however, is that it is soulless and there is no depth at all to the experience. It is a computer that just happens to be very small and that can be worn, and there is never a sense of history, longevity or getting to grow with it over many years.
I could wear an Apple Watch on one wrist and a ‘real’ watch on another, but that just does not feel right and probably never will. As much as I appreciate the Apple Watch and all it can do I am prepared to give all of that up to track myself less often and to simply enjoy a vintage timepiece on my wrist. My heart is definitely overruling my head here.
Categories: Apple, Articles, Smart Watches, Vintage Watches, Wareable, Watches
McGST 
I understand your dilemma even though I haven’t worn a watch in years. There is simply a design aesthetic and physical appreciation for anything that is finely crafted. I feel the same way about other things I carry and use – pocket knife, flashlight, fine pen, etc. Maybe you can find something else to carry that has the same physical satisfaction as a watch if you truly need the functions of the Apple Watch.
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Problem is Tom that a watch is what it is to me; a tool, a necessity, an object of art, design etc. Nothing comes close.
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The folks at edcforums.com show all kinds of things to carry that are pretty cool. I’ve found other cool things to carry even though I still look longingly at my watches in their box.
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The problem is that so many of the things we do nowadays can be done on a computer device better than with the older tool. A watch is simply a piece of jewelry by comparison – a very nice piece of jewelry!
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Sorry for the multiple posts. They weren’t showing up at first so I reposted.
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Indeed. A mechanical watch is redundant in the way a petrol powered car should be
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Here’s a thread where the guys show what they are carrying every day. Of course there are some locking-blade knives which aren’t allowed in the UK, and several handguns which are also restricted, but there are plenty of cool doohickeys and tools that have some of that physical satisfaction to the touch and the eye that a watch does for me.
https://www.edcforums.com/threads/show-us-your-every-day-carry-volume-21.131899/
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I understand. See if any of these every-day-carry items are interesting. I find the other things give me something to handle and look at that have some of the same satisfaction that a Watch has for me.
https://www.edcforums.com/threads/show-us-your-every-day-carry-volume-21.131899/
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Not sure to be honest. My head is stuck on watches
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Yep. Obsessions are hard to break. Once I get stuck on one it stays there until I push if away with another one. 😃
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Looking at those objects it appears to be a list of things that do not do much apart from one single task. The Apple Watch vs watch argument is a case of what something can do vs what it is. In the case of a watch you get both; history, design, branding etc (what it is) and pure mechanical functionality at a very high level (what it does). The Apple Watch is what it does and I cannot think of another object that is both like a mechanical watch is.
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FWIW, I know from experience that you can live pretty well without any watch! And smartphones are these genius pocket watch computers of our time – and so if you get a pleasure from a “simple” elegant timepiece, my feel is you should definitely go for that.
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Problem from my side is, as featured it is, its soulless to me (it really does a smartwatch well, unlike pretty much the whole competition, though that new samsung thing isnt too bad for the price). I found myself looking at my old casio calculator watch with fond memories. I dont even remember my previous apple watches.
For pure feature – imo the only thing that it really replaces well on the phone is still the apple pay. The rest is “nice to have”.
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Sold mine yesterday – for what its worth. Using my (previously part time for runs only) garmin watch for now.
Only really noticing it when I go to pay for things and have to actually root around for my credit cards once again 🙂 (Yeah yeah, garmin pay – have you seen the non-list of UK banks?)
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