A bit of a conundrum isn’t it – What do you really want from a watch.  What are the features – the true features I mean, that dictate which model you buy.  What is it that makes you realize for example that maybe that wonderful all singing and dancing watch you got the other day, doesn’t really do it for you after all?  Maybe a disappointment in that, “Oh I wished it had this” or that and “Why doesn’t it do this” or . . . I think you get the picture.

Looking at all the daily beaters (that is those watches that you like to wear most of the time) I’ve bought over the years, you do start to see the same story.

I now realize that whatever day watch I buy today, it has to have luminous hands and markers – this is an absolute must, because I don’t know about you, but I don’t see too well in the dark!
It’s also got to be comfortable – hence my thing about straps and bracelets and contrary to popular belief I do have bracelet watches.  My Breitling Aerospace for example has a titanium solid link original bracelet that is so silky smooth, it’s a delight to wear.  Conversely I bought a Traser, that bracelet wise, was sharp twisted metal!  And yes it now has a nice soft silicon strap and I’ve kept the watch.
The dial has to be configured in such a way that reading the time is simply a quick glance, not a case of figuring out which is the hour and minute hand, in amongst that retro calendar pointer, or GMT hand, or battery reserve indicator and so on.  The dial also must NOT be reflective and there should be good contrast between hands and background – simple common sense really.

Not rocket science, but all too often we’re blinded by the wonderful features of that NEW model, because it’s got this or that and so useful?  Here’s a few examples –

And the time is — quickly now!

Just let me get my glasses!

Now – just wait a minute . . it’s ten past two or three?

Now if I could remember which dial was local time?

Huh? Hang on I’ll get the instructions!

As the examples show, it’s sometimes a tricky business this telling the time and don’t get me started on the blinking light digital efforts that appear from time to time, the binaries and the hidden disks, so hidden that I am forced to approximate the time of day by checking the sky!

Anyway as I was saying, it is apparent that many of us actually and truthfully, only need a watch that is easy to read day or night, is comfortable to wear and maybe assists you in that it states the day and/or the date.  And this is an odd thing –  being retired, I find the DAY of the week, so much more important than the DATE, as weekends and weekdays sort of roll into one another.  I know some younger folk think we older ones don’t know what day of the week it is – and they’re right! LOL . . .

Maybe what we oldies need is a nice clear dial with big time and big day – period.

Well? Maybe not, but you get the idea.

Sorry about that, got a bit off track I suppose, but you get my drift?  We all too often get carried away with this new watch and that new model and yet we always end up wearing that old favorite, simply because it does just what you want it to do, no more and no less.

Dull day, indoors, poor light – but this is all I need.

Took this just a minute or so ago – it’s 2.30pm on a wet, very dull dark day in this northern hemisphere, indoors, my camera struggles in this light to even take the darned picture, but my old Breitling (my true daily beater for the last 14 years) simply says it all.  Easy to read uncluttered matte dial and hour and minute hand – clear digital day and date – truly luminous hands and markers when dark.  And funnily enough it does have a chronograph and a timer and a stopwatch and goodness knows what else, but just one simple crown – BUT – on my standard setting, it’s just as I like.

I really don’t know why I bother getting all these new watch models, I really don’t . . . . .