The art of wearing a watch originally stemmed from practicality and unsurprisingly, wanting to know the time. Aside from their timekeeping abilities, since their inception watches have become a staple accessory and grown into a fashion phenomenon.
In the modern era, we don’t tend to think of watches as just a time-telling device. The majority of people have a smartphone with that at most times of the day.
Watches can be inspired by our favorite movies, characters, celebrities, and even time periods. You can find watches designed around everything from Disney to internationally recognized Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While some people think watches are now obsolete, below we are going to look at several good reasons why you should be wearing a watch, although there are countless ones out there, here are some that cover the core areas.
Table of Contents
A Dozen Good Reasons to Wear a Watch
Showcase Your Style
With the huge variety of price points, styles, colors, and types, there are endless possibilities to have a watch that fits your personality. Regardless of who you are and what kind of things you like to wear there’s always a watch that can be paired with your formality, clothes, or occasion.
Watches have been iconic for almost as long as they have been around. Whether it’s through celebrity endorsements, military usage, or savvy marketing campaigns, watches have always had an appeal.
Even if you are constrained by dress codes you can always show off a little bit of personality by wearing a watch. In some countries, watches are seen as status symbols or a cultural norm and not just for style.
Look more Professional
Watches exude a certain level of elegance and make anyone look more professional. Take for instance you are in a meeting and instead of checking your phone, casually glance at your watch. Checking your watch is more polite and is less likely to end in you being distracted.
Obviously different watches have different formalities and knowing what watch to wear on any given occasion is part of the fun of having a small collection to choose from.
Pop culture further pushes this image with everything from organized professionals to spies, to soldiers, to celebrities wearing watches.
You would never catch James Bond without a signature timepiece, especially if he is donning a tuxedo.
Track Your Progress
Another great reason for wearing a watch is so you can keep track of your progress. It doesn’t matter which type of watch you have as you will be able to time yourself on any, but there are definitely some that are designed for activities.
For example, a lot of digital watches have stopwatches and/or timers on them. This means you can keep track of your fitness, how long you are doing different things for, and set yourself reminders.
This can be taken one step further with smartwatches which often have a ton of apps and functionality made for health and fitness. Whether you are interested in step count, your heart rate, or your running analytics, a smartwatch will give you additional benefits.
Appreciation of Craftsmanship
We see watches all the time so we tend to disconnect from how intricate they actually are. Traditional watchmaking is a detailed and specialized process, meaning your watch is a manifestation of craftsmanship and someone’s art.
Understanding the time taken to create a watch will give you a whole new perspective on wearing a watch. You are wearing a tradition, a piece of working art, a symbol, and a part of history, which is pretty cool.
The rise of skeleton watches showcased this craftsmanship in a whole new way. These watches allow wearers to see the inner workings of their watch and gain a whole new level of appreciation for the functionality.
Remove Distraction
A watch offers a simplicity that can help in a range of ways, but one of the major factors is removing distraction. We are all guilty of going to check our phone to see what the time is and end up spending ages scrolling through our newsfeed, replying to friends, or checking our emails.
Having a watch allows you to check the time, and only do that. With this in mind, it’s a great idea to wear a watch to work, a meeting, or even out on a date, so you don’t find yourself rudely checking your phone and zoning out from your social interactions.
Watches are Reliable
There’s a plethora of reasons watches are used in a lot of different professions. Since their mainstream introduction watches have been commonplace in the military, medical, racing, diving, aviation, and travel.
Some of these features specifically designed for certain people have found their way into everyday watch culture. Good examples of this are water-resistant or shock-resistant watches.
For the majority of watch users, having a water-resistant timepiece is not necessarily needed but it’s become a fairly universal feature that we will look out for. This stems back to the idea of being reliable and working in a range of situations.
Always Accessible
One of the best things about a watch is that when it’s on your wrist, it’s easy to check very naturally and looks a lot better than rummaging around in your jeans or bag to find your phone.
This can be helpful in a host of situations, whether you’re driving, on a plane, walking home, at the gym, or in a work meeting.
There are a variety of reasons they are used by the military by the fact they are accessible and reliable, which allows soldiers to synchronize watches. Having a practical and accessible accessory just adds to the rationale for wearing a watch.
Being On Time
The age-old saying goes that when you are late you are being disrespectful and implying other people’s time is less important than yours.
Grandparents often reinforce this idea, this could be put down to before we all had mobiles. If you were meeting somebody you would have to be on time, and could not reach for the phone to say you were going to be late.
Having a watch reminds you to be on time and even reinforces the importance of not being late. This is an invaluable skill that will always stand you in good stead, no one likes someone who is late!
Safety
Following the previous point, this accessibility allows you to safely and quickly check the time without reaching for your phone.
Looking at your phone can be illegal when driving and a risk when you’re in a busy place. Someone is not going to knock your watch out of your hand or attempt to steal it.
It’s always important to have an everyday watch that doesn’t have much value, this way you can wear it when traveling, in higher risk areas, or when you’re somewhere you might damage a higher end timepiece.
Helps Us Disconnect from Screens
The majority of us spend a lot of our days looking at screens, from our laptops to our TVs, to our phones. Having something you can look at for information that isn’t a screen is a welcome change.
Some people even use an hourly beep on their watch to signify it’s time to get up and move or take a break away from screens.
Taking time to disconnect from screens will make you more present in your life. So, the simple act of checking your watch, not your phone could save you a lot of time. This time you spend not looking at your phone you can spend working, socializing, or taking a break from technology.
An Easy Icebreaker
If you have a timepiece on, you will have an automatic talking point with people and vice versa. Asking people about their watch and finding out the significance of a piece can be a great way to get chatting with someone and break the ice.
Almost everyone’s watch tells a story, maybe it was a gift from their parents, an heirloom, their lucky watch, helped them from getting lost on a hiking trip, or kept them on time for an interview.
Appreciating and sharing our stories about our favorite wrist accessories is a good way to connect with other people with ease.
Remind Yourself to Enjoy Every Minute
Watches give us a better perspective on time and having a watch or collection of watches helps us understand the importance of time.
Having a better relationship with time and keeping it helps you strive to enjoy the little things more. Passing moments become more significant and you will appreciate things you see more.
Using a timepiece can be used in mindfulness too, taking a few minutes out of your day just to relax, reflect, and meditate.
Reasons to Wear a Watch Summary
As we mentioned before, these are just some of the reasons to wear a watch and give a broad overview of the culture surrounding timepieces. Are there any reasons you can think of that we missed?
If you are interested in learning more about watches, check out our guides on Watches 101 for detailed information to help you with your next watch.
