GQ article - Why True Watch Heads Never Set the Time on Their Watches

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I never had any

Even if every issue came with a free 6 pack ( not Fosters) I would still bin it, even the pages are too shiny for the ultimate insult.
 
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Even if every issue came with a free 6 pack ( not Fosters) I would still bin it, even the pages are too shiny for the ultimate insult.
If it came with Fosters you’d bin both the magazine and the Fosters!
All in all it would be a terrible waste of bin space! Which could otherwise be use to throw out better shit!
 
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I live tropical and wear Shorts, T-shirts and Thongs (flip flops for the US - Jandels for the NZ folks)
Never had that much inspection for me. And with a months alcohol budget for a jacket 🤨
You’re a regular snappy dresser then!
 
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He's the extreme exaggeration of nearly all of us. Most of us choose not have the precise time on our wrists so that we can wear the watches that we love to wear, for whatever reason that is... and most of us choose timepieces that only make a good approximation of the correct time.

Having said that, I have to say that I always set my current watch to the second using time.is and always set every clock that I own to my watch - even the 1904 Astoria mantel clock is reset every time it's wound. I even wind my date watches through 12 when I set them to make sure that am/pm is correct. I can't not do it. And I enjoy doing it.
 
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I hardly set time on my watches too, but I do care about its condition and accuracy. I mostly just grab it, give it a shake for it to run and just wear it like that. I have my cell phone for time, it just a habit.
P.S I only set time on manual wind watches lol
 
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Here is a perfectly good timepiece strapped to your wrist, where it is conveniently positioned for quick and easy access…….and you choose to fumble about digging a bloody phone out of your pocket? ::facepalm1::
 
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Here is a perfectly good timepiece strapped to your wrist, where it is conveniently positioned for quick and easy access…….and you choose to fumble about digging a bloody phone out of your pocket? ::facepalm1::

Sometimes it feels good to fumble.
 
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The article succeeded in its purpose of getting us all to talk about it, but it is not clear whether the writer spoke to even one person who actually doesn’t set their watch to the correct time. Not that it’s worth reading again, but if you do you’ll see that a boring rundown of various people acknowledging that their phones are more accurate than their watches has been tweaked by the editor and headline writer to make it seem like they’re saying they don’t set their watches at all.
 
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I hear you. I really enjoy my manual wind watches.
Although I only have one manual wind, I enjoy setting the time and especially winding it. I feel more of a connection to it.
 
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The thing I've learnt from this thread is that there are countries that call flip flops "thongs". Means something very different in the UK
@STANDY !

And yes, I too enjoy seeing the time and date on my watches when I put them on in the morning. I enjoy the interaction. I'm not bothered about time to the nearest second and I'll only reset the time if I've worn the same watch for some time and I've noticed it's drifted. For me to notice it normally needs to be around 2 mins off.

Just because a watch is METAS certified doesn't mean it needs to be set to the nearest second for me to enjoy it, and enjoy the knowledge that it is capable of excellent time keeping.
 
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And I thought I was weird never putting gas in my car…
 
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The thing I've learnt from this thread is that there are countries that call flip flops "thongs". Means something very different in the UK
@STANDY !

And yes, I too enjoy seeing the time and date on my watches when I put them on in the morning. I enjoy the interaction. I'm not bothered about time to the nearest second and I'll only reset the time if I've worn the same watch for some time and I've noticed it's drifted. For me to notice it normally needs to be around 2 mins off.

Just because a watch is METAS certified doesn't mean it needs to be set to the nearest second for me to enjoy it, and enjoy the knowledge that it is capable of excellent time keeping.
Thongs ? Whatever do you mean? Pictures….This forum runs on pictures. 😁😜
 
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This is an interesting point. I can’t remember when I was last asked for the time. But I definitely have been in my lifetime when someone noticed I was wearing a watch. Now with cell phones asking a stranger for the time is a thing of the past.
This week I was looking at my smartphone checking the weather when someone asked me the time. I pulled my sleeve back and looked at my wristwatch. Force of habit, I've had a watch on the wrist for 60 years, a smartphone in the pocket for less than 20.

Requester then wanted to know if I was sure it was just before 4pm and not 5, so I looked at the sky. Again habit, I always like to know the time of sunset to within a few minutes. With two busy USAF bases nearby there are a lot of folk passing through who are not entirely sure what time-zone they are in 😵‍💫
 
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I think Andy Warhol has been dead for decades. So I doubt he cares much what time it is. Or if his watch is correct.

Went to an estate sale today. They had at least 6 organs and several Jukeboxes. The guy was a hoarder and into creepy stuff. There was a coffin in the driveway with a life sized phantom of the opera doll in it. Also seemed too have an obsession with Indiana Jones and snakes.

After looking at the organs (toaster electronic) Worth as much as it would take to haul them to the dump, I asked about watches.

No watches or baseball cards have yet to be found was the reply.
Helped a friend with a storage locker he bought. Snow cone machine and handcuffs.
 
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I’ve got just the thing for these clowns.

 
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The article succeeded in its purpose of getting us all to talk about it, but it is not clear whether the writer spoke to even one person who actually doesn’t set their watch to the correct time. Not that it’s worth reading again, but if you do you’ll see that a boring rundown of various people acknowledging that their phones are more accurate than their watches has been tweaked by the editor and headline writer to make it seem like they’re saying they don’t set their watches at all.

[I did not read the article, just the OP and a few comments. ]

It seems that one theme is that digital watches are superior and another theme is that watches are mainly useful as jewelry?

As far as the old digital/phone is superior argument, the advocates seem to focus on only one feature, the longevity of accuracy.

Meaning, to say a digital phone is more accurate, you can't really compare them for one day, as a watch can be +0/-0 for 24 hours. The argument usually means their digital watch will be accurate in one year and longer.

A problem with this argument is that the proponents of digital have too short a time space. Extending it out 60 plus years, a mechanical watch will be more accurate because the digital will be dead. There's a good chance that the same phone will last 2 to 5 years due to the software. Digital watches also have a self life.

Therefore, comparing accuracy is somewhat selective.

The other argument in favor of digital seems to be that the digital/phone person doesn't need to do anything to maintain accurate time.

This is just a sad argument. It sounds lazy. A person who doesn't have 20 seconds a day to wind a watch is either too busy with the wrong priorities or too lazy.

Winding or winding and setting a watch (assume no date) will also keep that accuracy within seconds, which is more than enough. When anyone asks the time, who answers "9:38"? Most people will sat "9:40" or even "Quarter to ten". Comparing time accuracy between digital and mechanical is a poor comparison when arguing the superiority of one over the other.

I could go on (on on and on) about the value of mechanical watches but this is already TLDR.

These people who delight in arguing that mechanical watches are not useful are like people who only wear khaki pants and only drive the brand of car that is on top of Consumer Reports and that is at least 4 years old because who would ever buy a new car? Dull.

Lastly,



QED
 
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Here is a perfectly good timepiece strapped to your wrist, where it is conveniently positioned for quick and easy access…….and you choose to fumble about digging a bloody phone out of your pocket? ::facepalm1::


People actually put phone in their pocket? This I gotta see..mmmmmm. Phone in a pocket