This morning I opened up my watch box to pick today's watch. I pulled out a Longines I hadn't worn in a couple of weeks. Looked at my phone for the time so I could set my watch. It was 6:37am. Looked at my watch and it was 6:37. It wasn't running. It just happened to be the exact time the watch had stopped. Technically it could have stopped at 6:37pm. It was a both a cool and weird moment. Has that happened to anyone else?

 

It happens to me on average once every 720 times I pick up my non-running watch.

 

It happened the same for the first time recently. Was kind 10am , always on a longines watch

 

But have you ever picked up a non-running watch where the date just so happens to be set to today's date?

Bliss.

Additional points if you watch does not have a quick set date.

 

That IS bliss. Hasn't happened to me yet. On my way to eliminating all watches with a date feature though. All I have left are three Seikos.

 

That’s a bit strange as you’d guess most watches are taken off at night, and most often put on in the morning, so you’d imagine the power reserve would have a significant influence (unless all your watches happen to have power reserves divisible by 12). Hope I didn’t overthink that

 

That is true but it does not apply if you regularly wear more than one watch, which I imagine is the case with a few of the members here....

 

Are you sure about that ?

I typically take my watch off at 11:00pm, and put it back on at 07:00am. Based on that I’ve always bought watches with power reserves of around 12x+8 so that I significantly increase the chance I won’t have to adjust the time when I next wear them. Are you seriously telling me, after all the years of focusing my buying habits (and missing great references due to incorrect power reserves), that I’ve been wasting my f$&@ing time

 

Ok, it wouldn't apply to random watches stopping at the right time but it would to the am or pm thing, so...er...there's a point in there somewhere!

 

Think @BenBagbag is simply saying that there's a 1 in 720 (60 times 12) chance you'll pick up a non running watch and the time on the watch will match the actual time of day.

 

Are you saying you're able to work your way through your watch collection so that none of your watches runs out of its power reserve?

 

True if your watch stops at a random time, and you pick it up at a random time. Not true if you have any kind of routine. But it was a joke.

I’m in two minds whether to explain or to just do a face-palm emoji. Is it just me ?

OK. You have a huge watch collection. You wear one on Sunday. Most likely you take it off in the evening. Let’s say between 10-11pm. It goes back in the watch box. That watch has a 52 hour power reserve. It’ll stop between 2-3am on Wednesday morning. Is there a one in 720 chance it’ll be right when you put it back on. No, as most often you’ll put it on between 7-8am.

If your watches all had a 57 hour power reserve they would normally stop between 7-8am, and if that coincides with when you put a watch on then obviously there’s a much better chance it’ll be right.

Anyway, I’m still going to do this.....

 

Indeed blissful. When I glance at my watch box- I def peek at the ones w date windows to help determine if I want to throw that one on. On the other hand, it can be mildly irksome when with the watch you really want to wear - it’s date is far out ... Decisions one hardly made before getting into this watch thing. Part of the charm I guess ...

 

Congrats for having such a consistent routine!

For me, I may go weeks without wearing a watch. And when I do wear one, it depends on what day I put it on. If it's during the week, I'm putting my watch on around 5:00am as I usually leave at 5:45 to go to work. If it's a weekend, I won't put a watch on until 8am, give or take. Then when I get home, sometimes I take my watch off right away depending on what's going on with the kids. Sometimes I wear my watch up until I go to sleep, which is sometimes at 9pm, other days it's later, again, depending on what's happening with the kids. So the math is 1 in 720, but you're right, it's probably less than that, but at least for me, it's no where near as consistent as you describe. Plus, not all my watches have the same power resserve, and some of them are manually wound.

 

The dead Seiko Quartz I have is the most accurate watch I own -- 2 times per day.

My Speedmasters, Seamasters, etc. all seem to be off by a few seconds 24 hours/ day.

 

So, if I have enough watches, and never wind them, one of them will always be telling the right time?

 

Yes.... and even more amazing is that the phenomenon will occur twice a day!...... WITH THE SAME WATCH!
Trouble is you've only got 60 seconds to find which of the 720 watches is right ...... by which time the 'fakkin thing will be wrong....
then you have another minute to find which of the 719 watches is right .... by which time that one will also be wrong....
then you have another minute to find which of the 718 watches is right .... by which time...........

 

Not if you organize your watches by time of death.

 

It's the little things that bring joy. LOL.