Does Anyone Wear A Watch Anymore?

Agree with all of Will’s points, even if I don’t put my life in the hands of a massive beast :smile:

  • It has an extremely handy flashlight (torch). I’m also guilty (or liberated) of walking away from my phone.
  • It can interface with MFA apps like Duo for authentication. It also interfaces with LastPass.
  • The kids FaceTime me constantly. With the watch, I can answer them audibly, whatever I’m doing, like on a ladder or playing pickleball. Since dad passed, my 87 year old mom calls me 4 or 5 times a day. Yeah, it’s a pain to to answer those, but it keeps her content and feeling loved. If I can’t answer, I just hit a canned reply.
  • It integrates with navigation apps like Apple maps and vibrates when a turn is coming up, allowing you to keep normal navigation prompts off. << I really like this.

Will’s last bullet point was really important. A family member has Atrial Fibrillation, but was passing physicals, which includes an EKG. Then she began getting alerts on her watch, for which she went to a cardiologist. Problem discovered and solved. My doc has begun using this data to augment my physicals. You might be surprised what your bio ticker is doing while you are sleeping.

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There is no trying to justify my Rolex. That sentence itself is slightly gross. I love it more than any other possession that doesn’t fly. I just wrote 500 words describing the visceral joy I get from having it on my wrist but… well… no words make sense because owning something so expensive makes no sense unless it is what you want. The iWatch and similar devices make total sense. I will never own one unless work requires that I do. (A dumb proclamation perhaps but 10 years ago I said that I would never own an iPad, “a laptop for stupid people.” :rofl:)

Anyway, my work watch is a Rolex Explorer II and my hangar watch is a Timex Ironman.

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They make no sense to me, however I’ve never cared what people spend their money on. If it makes you as happy as it sounds it does, then the money wasnt wasted.
Ive spent money on things that other people think is ridiculous. So ive learned never to judge.

Besides. It will most likely never lose its value. So its absolutely not anything you need to take time to justify to us :smiley:

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There are some beauties here. Of course @BeachAV8R takes the cake. Nice Citizen.
strong textAnd here is the rest of my collection.


Timex. They glow lol

Micheal Kors. For when i dont care what time it is because at night i cant read it

And here is my baby. Bulova has an interesting story behind it.

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I’m lovin’ the Garmin Tactical so far. I already have a Samsung Galaxy smart watch but I never use it because I always seem to get some sort of dent in it and I always have to swing my wrist around to see the time. I need the thing to be always on. It’s still in pretty good condition so I think I’ll be selling it while it’s still in pretty pristine condition.

I’m pretty sure I’d destroy an Apple Watch in a couple days in my line of work. I really don’t like how they look either … too hipster/old ladyish. I have two cell phones and I don’t need a third on my wrist.

The Instinct is surprisingly small and light weight (I forgot it was on today) but it’s got great health monitoring, GPS’ing … love the super accurate compass … great phone notifications … music control for my podcasts … a few storm warnings today lol, I might have to turn that option off ….

Pretty big learning curve on this one as it has so many options … Cheers!

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Me too Elby!

I had not worn a watch for decades but my kids bought me a garmin instinct and I’m really enjoying it. Use it biking and I have the app on my phone that let’s me know how close to death i am.
My garmin also offers an important gesture, that of annoyance or impatience when someone is annoying me. I slowly look down at my watch, then slowly look up, making eye contact. Works great! lol

I need to buy a watch

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Yeah… It’s not a tough watch. Not too fond of the square look either. However, with a plastic bumper and a velcro wristband, I can accept it.

But I totally love the functions of the apple watch! Especially for someone like me, who has apples on most electronic gadgets.

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Apple Watch has been tempting, but I love regular watches, particularly if they have a chronograph.

I feel naked without a watch on my wrist.



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No watch anymore, I did like wearing one but once I quit the habit I didn’t miss the sweaty wrists and hairs being pulled from my arm. I’m kinda wistful about them but I know that’s just nostalgia for the days I had a six pack instead of a box wine bladder above my belt. Love the binary watch, is it wrong that I covet it so much? :smiley:

Oh, I also have a Soviet pilot’s watch that I’ve loved since I got it in 1991. Thing is, it’s a pile of crap. I’ve had to take it to the repair shop four times now. Was that telling me something about Soviet military competence I could have told the world before February 2022? Nope. Just that in 1991 the USSR was having a little difficulty with things like quality control…

@Clutch, that’s a great lineup!

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I’m loathe to admit, I’m a watchaholic.

They are almost all pilots and divers, as much as possible with some historical background.

I just love the history of them; the precision, like an aircraft instrument.

Many are just homages, a Glycine Airman like those worn in VN, a couple of Smiths nods to RAF navigator’s watches, Rolex GMT like the Pan Am boys.

It’s terribly nostalgic, but probably no more so than flying the Spit in IL-2 or the Electra in MSFS.

Just an elegant instrument, from a more civilized age. :wink:

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I share your love for mechanical machines, especially if they are elegant and useful. A wristwatch is where it peaks, and they are timeless. (Ba-Dum-Zzz)

Clock gotta go Tic-Tac! It satisfies some inner urge of mine. Don’t need to see the cogwheels, just knowing they are there is enough.

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My Rolex fascination started with an ad in Flying magazine. In it, Chuck Yeager, at the height of his “The Right Stuff” fame was walking (swaggering really) away from an F-20, helmet under arm, flightsuit sleeves rolled up and a GMT Master hanging low on his left wrist. It’s just jewelry. And Chuck was just being paid to wear the thing. But to my teenage brain it represented an expression of precision, both in the wearer and the watch. Later, when I became an FO on the DC-10, I saw the Glycine for the first time. It wasn’t as immediately attractive as the GMT, but probably more useful to an airline pilot. The 24 hour hand initially made no sense to me. But time, I quickly learned, was everything. And time in several zones was instantly comprehensible with that watch.

I think I may have posted earlier in this thread a story from a few years ago. On a trip to Iceland my FO went touring while I did my typical boring: run, eat, “slam-click”, sleep layover. On the flight home he showed me a photo taken from the top of an old volcano. At the summit was a geological survey plaque. He placed his Speedmaster on the plaque at exactly midnight within a week of the solstice. The watch showed exactly midnight as the sun was exactly at its nadir at exactly true north. Time is everything. I and many of my peers harbor an unhealthy love for the tools that try to master it.

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:open_mouth: I didn’t know this, sorry for the incoming derail…

Was it absolutely glorious to fly? I have a bazillion questions… so ill just go with that one. Everyone knows my kc10 fetish and that includes the DC as well. Love it.

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Great story! And what a great idea for a picture.

I remember that ad! Yeah that got me too. Advertising aside, I always heard that the Edwards guys were fans of the GMT.

Personally, I have always wanted that Scott Carpenter Breiting :drooling_face:

Yeah, as I get older, I increasingly slam click and try to eat healthy. The overnights aren’t quite what they used to be anyway.

And those 0200 wakeups keep getting earlier every year!

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It was. That jet made such an impression that I still remember a lot about it, even after forgetting the many jets that have come into my life since. You flew it with your fingertips. As an FO, my job was just to fly and navigate. I knew and cared nothing about switches or systems. The flight engineer’s panel was difficult to see from my seat. The only way I knew the fuel quantity was to ask. So, yeah, just fly. It was glorious! Flying-wise, the 767-400, which I currently sometimes fly, is nearly identical. But it lacks much of the soul and nearly all of the quirkiness of the -10.

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I am so pleased to hear that. Its not something that ill ever experience, but its comforting to know she was a lady as well as a looker. Such a beautiful plane. Thanks for taking the time to explain that. It is one of my personal favourite aircraft and I’m not massively interested in passenger jets usually if i am honest.
Thanks

I got a couple of hours in the MD-11 sim. The Dial-a-flap thing alone mesmerized me.

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