The Watch Fasting Chronicles: a rotation challenge!

AllHerMovements

I didn’t know that wearing one watch for at least a week straight without changing it is called “watch fasting,” at least according to the guys at Two Broke Watch Snobs who say they have coined the term (Those guys are great, btw, and they have both episodes and blogs talking about what they have learned from doing this.) I’m more familiar with Hodinkee’s “A Week on the Wrist.” Either way, I like the challenge of sticking to one watch for a while because it allows you to pretend to be a one watch person for a bit. I find it also takes a way a little of my compulsiveness about seeking out the next watch when I just stick with and appreciate one at a time.

In my own attempts to enjoy each of my watches fully, I have tried and failed many times to stick to a longer fasting or rotation regime, like a month on the wrist. A month feels like a very long time to stay with one watch and so I have usually always failed when trying to do that. With one exception: my BLNR. My timeframe will usually be a week on the wrist but since I’ve worn the BLNR for almost a month now without changing it (my quarantine buddy and birthday gift before the world went bonkers!), I will start with that one and then move on to the others.

I’m finding that coming up with the “perfect” rotation plan for me is part of the pleasure of appreciating this hobby. I have 5 keeper watches (my Fab 5) and 3 others that I like but do not love (the bench players). I would like to set a goal to wear all 8 of them at least for a week. I’ve never done this and since I’m looking for distractions during this stressful moment, I’d love to share those attempts and experiences here.

Please do join in! The idea is: pick a watch, pick a set amount of time you will wear it (at least a week), then pop back in with photos and any reflections you have after you have worn it for that amount of time. Obviously, this challenge won’t appeal to everyone but if you like the idea or if you already do something like this, please share with us.

Marsimaxam

If that’s fasting, then I’m starving. I usually will wear one watch for a couple of weeks, then switch. Sometimes, I will alternate between two watches, one I wear to work, the other around the house. I have plenty of watches that don’t get a lot of wrist time... and I’m aware of the old axiom... if you don’t wear it, sell it... but as a collector, perhaps, I view watches as art... something to be admired. It’s not easy to wear them all when the number of watches you own exceed thirty... but, they all have their stories and history and I enjoy every single watch. Fortunately, I don’t need to sell, and, if I did, I wouldn’t know where to begin. Something to ponder in the days ahead...

Marsimaxam

Head still attached to shoulders after over 40 years of collecting watches. Have to be careful when complaining about how much something costs around wife or friends as the response I get is usually along the lines of...."sell a watch."

AllHerMovements

So folks: thought this thread had died but I do have an update. When the pandemic started, I was wearing my watches once a week each. Then from late March onward, I switched to, wait for it: ONCE A MONTH. I found that it was actually easy to put the others a way and just stay with one watch because life had come to a halt and I wasn’t going anywhere outside the house.

So I have successfully rotated through my starting five pieces and now in September I am back to the BLNR. That would pretty much be the end of the update if my spouse had not challenged me to going even longer than a month. So now I’m wearing the BLNR exclusively for two months straight! I’m pretty sure I can do it. It will be the longest time I have spent with one watch. My reasons for doing this with the BLNR is that I want to dream/pretend that I’m a one watch person and now I’ll really have that illusion of having just one watch. I also never really bonded with this watch since once I purchased it I already had several others and it was just an occasional wear because I was holding out until my birthday. Now that I’m pretty good at sticking to one watch, why not wear the heck out of this shiny pretty thing and put it to the test? I’m doing everything in it from bike riding to playing in the dirt with the dogs.

Advantages: I’m finding that the longer fasting rotation is making me a lot less obsessive about watches in general. And when I do happen to look at my other watches, I really appreciate them and look forward to when I’ll wear them again.

More pictures to follow...