Community Stories

What causes people to notice your watch?

Walrus
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Very rarely do people comment on my watch. My wife will ask me on occasion but it’s only to see if I bought something I didn’t tell her about. It’s fine though I have no need to impress anyone the watches bring me a bit of happiness for whatever reason. As part of my job I take a group of people from local hospitals hiking a few times a week. They started noticing I will snap a pic of my watch as we take a break by a lake etc. they asked me why I do that I explained I collect watches and post the pics on a watch forum. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it as most of them are homeless and or loaded with other issues. They appreciated me talking about something normal with them. So now on occasion one of them will ask me what type of watch I’m wearing today. Usually they will bring up someone in their family who collected things or say when their lives improve they want to collect something. Last week someone brought along a pocket watch they had in their belongings to show me so it worked out well, I was concerned they may look at it negatively but that was not the case at all.
 
Duracuir1
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My eye doctor noticed and liked my Wittnauer Polara. He was wearing a Royal Oak. I tried to trade with him but he saw right though me...
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my Jeweller gave me a Constellation in late December. I wore it to a nice restaurant that same day. The waiter noticed it as he told us about the daily menu. He lost his composure and asked about the Omega,

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My wife and I were having lunch at the local “Whole Foods” type place. A guy walked across the entire seating area because he had noticed my Tudor. I am not sure if he noticed the cyclops or the Oyster case, but he sure had an eye.
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I teach firearms, use of force, police tactics and de-escalation to almost 1500 police recruits a year. A few notice my watches. The BR 03, although unloved here on this Forum, gets the most attention. Especially on the shooting range with tac gear on.
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I recently wore my old Sub at work. A fellow instructor saw it and thought it was a Bulova. Suggested I buy his Breitling and join the “big boys”. I did not correct him. (Sub tucked away off site, no fresh photo).
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Finally, a colleague who outranks me saw me wearing my 33mm Cricket one day. Now I try to be 100% gentleman 100% of the time. But can also defend myself as needed. So this guy says “do they make those for men? That’s a ladies watch”. My wife later told me that my reply was not “a Cary Grant moment”. My reply at the time was: “your wife liked it this morning when we were getting dressed”. He has not made any further comments.
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Edited:
 
alam
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in my case, I tend to notice what others around me are wearing more often than the other way around, as it happened in this occasion
 
mr_smith
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I've only had my blue SMP (2531.80) noticed and just at work. Two people recognized it for the Bond connection with one of the two thinking it was a fake. 😲 At a different occasion, a person quite loudly said, "NICE WATCH"... I thanked them but immediately felt judged in that case - as if I was able to afford it because I made more money than everyone else in the room, which couldn't have been further from the truth.

One time noticed a guy in the grocery store (What section, you ask? Dairy!) wearing the same watch (2531.80) and I told him it was a nice watch, lifting my sleeve and showing my matching one. He was kind about it and said he'd had it for a while and it had been through lots with him. Brief but really nice exchange.
 
imfagent449
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Some friends and relatives comment because they know that I have a bunch of watches. However, there have been a few others over the years.

I recall that a man in the Cleveland airport walked up to me and said nice watch. I was wearing an IWC Flieger mecaquartz - what I wear outside the house most of the time.

A woman also noticed it when I was having coffee with her once. The crystal is much more curved than on the IWC GST line and it captures a lot of light- she said she noticed how clean it looked.

A friend I was driving somewhere commented that he thought that I was wearing an IWC.

My cousins son once saw it and started telling me about all kinds of mecaquartz watches that I had never heard of.

The only other watch that people notice is when I wore a Longines military style from the 1940s. Also, when I wore a Longines steel tank from a the 1930s - it was in great condition. Both were noticed by two female coworkers at lunch. One offered 300 USD on the spot for the Longines tank.
 
T
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Lucasssssss Lucasssssss
Only when people comment on what a small watch I am wearing, and how it looks like a ladies watch
Just out of curiosity, what watch do you wear, and what size wrist?
I watched some old "Columbo" tv episodes recently, and noticed how small the mens' watches were back then compared to today's.
Frankly, I like the smaller watches better...
 
AveConscientia
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STANDY STANDY
Had two young 20s guys Locally mention my Speedmaster in the last 12 months. One at a cafe and the other at a clothing store. Both mentioned they want one someday. So plenty of young WIS around nowadays.
I’m just out of high school. However there’s barely anybody I know my age who cares besides when I used to a wear a Casio DB 611.(I do have one friend who has a Orient Flight and a basic Seiko 5). Actually when I think about nobody outside of my family and close friends have ever remarked on any of my watches(from 1941 Wyler to SKX013) besides the aforementioned calculator watch.
 
OmeGez
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One person at work asked if I knew I’d smashed my watch ‘glass’ and pointing at my cyclops while telling me...
 
Lucasssssss
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T Tony
Just out of curiosity, what watch do you wear, and what size wrist?
I watched some old "Columbo" tv episodes recently, and noticed how small the mens' watches were back then compared to today's.
Frankly, I like the smaller watches better...

The comment I get it most on is an art deco Omega from the 1930s, which is 30mm. I am 6ft and enjoy going to the gym and running, so I can see where people get the comment from. It doesn't really bother me.
 
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