Which wrist watch

Capt.Bill11 said:

They don't keep time very well.

Most people I know who fo celestial navigation use a Timex or Casio.

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There was a time that the very expensive watches with quartz and well made were the best time keepers there was. Today, any digital watch can keep better time. Your cell phone keeps better. Timex and Casio are great for keeping time.

The O.P. asked about a watch for cruising ..which when aboard "cruising" and out of cell range I stow my phone so a watch is a must. I wear for my day watch a Luninox black navy seal addition.. although the glow off the face is so bright it would surely get one shot in indian country. My nice watch is a Tag Heuer "dive watch" .. its pretty for yacht club events but of little real use.
The luminox as at least 200 dives on it and it works great.. my fav watch ever.. although a alarm function would be nice. I use the wide version of "the band" and I don't even know it's there

HOLLYWOOD

http://www.worldofwatches.com/shop-...-https://www.chums.com/watchbandsluminox-3059

I wear a Rolex daily and have for 14 years. It goes into the ocean, pool, wear it working on the boat. They keep exceptional time IF you wear it every day, and they suck if you don't wear them. I cannot see owning one just to leave it on a winding unit - that is a waste of a great timepiece.

This year on business I dropped it off at the Dallas service center for normal service that was way overdue. After several weeks it arrived at my house looking like new. BTW they have the best service I've ever encountered. Never leave the house without it.

I'm wearing a simple Swiss Military, have not changed time
by 20 seconds in a year. It says water resistant to 200 meters,
I'm not going to test that claim!

Ted

I would feel completely naked without a watch. Like Hollywood, I wear a Luminox but I went for the stainless chronograph version. It's been used and abused for three years with no issues other than the battery. If I'm awake, it's usually on my arm. That goes for diving, working on the car/boat, body surfing, cycling, etc...

If I'm going out on the town, I have a few Panerai watches that I really like. . I really appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into an automatic watch.

Islanddreamer said:

I wear a Rolex daily and have for 14 years. It goes into the ocean, pool, wear it working on the boat. They keep exceptional time IF you wear it every day, and they suck if you don't wear them. I cannot see owning one just to leave it on a winding unit - that is a waste of a great timepiece.

This year on business I dropped it off at the Dallas service center for normal service that was way overdue. After several weeks it arrived at my house looking like new. BTW they have the best service I've ever encountered. Never leave the house without it.

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I worked with a man who wore a Rolex. He purchased it used and said it would be the only watch he'd need the rest of his life. Periodically he got it serviced. I know there are a lot of athletes and others who wear them for show, but I know there are also many like you who wear it because you believe it's the greatest watch there is. Also they still do a very good job of holding value.

Not for me and I'd be most uncomfortable wearing one on the boat, but I do understand it.

Working. A cheap timex or casio
Off the clock. Citizen radio controlled. I like it because it self adjusts to keep the time correct and has all the std time zones plus gmt and a manual set time zone.

I like wearing a watch simple because I like to know what time it is. I need one at work as I am always trying to keep to a schedule. When I am not working I still like to know the time and don't feel like looking at my phone just to check the time.

I have a number of watches but only three that I where consistently. I have Citizen Eco Drive that I wear at work. It replaced a Citizen Eco Drive perpetual calendar watch that I banged up so bad it messed up one of the dials. The new Eco Drive has white hands on a black face so I can read it without my glasses. It also has a stop watch function which I use at work. That watch doesn't go on the boat.

I have another watch that I inherited from my Dad. He wore this watch every day for 40 years. It was a Stainless Yachtsman watch designed for sailboat racing. It still keeps great time and survives dunking a very well. I use it on the boat but am out of the habit of keeping a watch wound.

Today I am wearing my original Citizen Eco Drive. The band is long gone so I have a band I made from paracord. It still runs great but since one of the hands is messed up the alarm function is a bit challenging to use. Keeps great time. Water resistant to 100' supposedly never tested it. It gets dunked a lot however.

I use a watch for a number of things, many of which make pulling a cellphone out is impractical, and dangerous to the phone (proximity to, or immersion in, salt water) or just inconvenient (seeing what time it is in the dark, hiking, rowing, all types of swimming). About the only time I feel I can do without a wristwatch is while engaging in sedentary, indoor activities.

No smartwatches?

For business purposes, I've tested them. I tested Apple and Samsung and Pebble. With one exception, I'm still trying to figure out the benefit. I always have my phone with me, so why would I try to do things on my watch instead of phone. I normally have a tablet close so I don't have to do too much on the phone. I'm dictating in a tablet now. Most of my posts are done that way.

A market trend is bigger phones so obviously size has become an issue. To me it's a huge issue with the watches.

Now to the exception. Health and Fitness. That is where I see a future. At this time, the others are well behind Apple. To me they're great for wearing to the gym and monitoring yourself. They also hold a tremendous future for older people.

Here are some of the current benefits.
1. The ability to see your daily activity. A great feature for most people to set goals and make sure you move and don't sit all day.
2. The ability to maintain information on your workouts.
3. Runkeeper with duration, distance, speed, and heart rate.
4. Watch your heart rate.
5. Meal planning, meal records, even how much water you consume in a day. Great health reminders.
6. Connection to Web MD including maintaining all your reminders for medications and records of taking them.

Here's where it gets exciting to me. We're not far from the time you'll be able to monitor your blood pressure and for those with lung issues, monitor your oxygen. Also, for those with heart conditions monitor for skipped beats. There's going to be a time doctors have you wear them. Even if you need to hook something up to other parts of your body, the phone will still serve as the composite and the warning mechanism. Breathalyzers are already functioning on iPhones. The follow up step is you blow into a connected piece and it does healthy analysis. Maintaining glucose records, INR, will be easy.

Smartwatches are the future but for far different reasons than most see them used today. Five years from now, 30% of us will be wearing smart watches. 10 years from now, 70%.

The other features will be nice, things like calendars and reminders and such, but health is where the boom is coming. The reason I'm bringing them up here is the number of people on this site who have faced health challenges. The most common reason for giving up boating is health.

I guess when you get to a point in life where exact time is no big deal....then watches are no big deal.

But the answer to the question...cheap ones keep as good or better time than expensive...so wear what your needs or ego want.

When I was a runner, I would wear a gps enabled heat rate monitor watch. It would connect to my heart rate monitor chest strap. It gave me HR, pace, time, split times, etc. For training it was very helpful and the technology allowed me to hit some significant PR goals. However, I want my watch to tell time. I don't need a computer on my wrist with a screen that is way too small to be practical. I agree that monitoring functions would great, but I won't be interested in wearables until there are advanced versions of something like the Google glass.

dhays said:

I like wearing a watch simple because I like to know what time it is. I need one at work as I am always trying to keep to a schedule. When I am not working I still like to know the time and don't feel like looking at my phone just to check the time.

I have a number of watches but only three that I where consistently. I have Citizen Eco Drive that I wear at work. It replaced a Citizen Eco Drive perpetual calendar watch that I banged up so bad it messed up one of the dials. The new Eco Drive has white hands on a black face so I can read it without my glasses. It also has a stop watch function which I use at work. That watch doesn't go on the boat.

I have another watch that I inherited from my Dad. He wore this watch every day for 40 years. It was a Stainless Yachtsman watch designed for sailboat racing. It still keeps great time and survives dunking a very well. I use it on the boat but am out of the habit of keeping a watch wound.

Today I am wearing my original Citizen Eco Drive. The band is long gone so I have a band I made from paracord. It still runs great but since one of the hands is messed up the alarm function is a bit challenging to use. Keeps great time. Water resistant to 100' supposedly never tested it. It gets dunked a lot however.

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Nice work on that band!

I omitted the key annoyance of smart watches. Having to charge them daily.

BandB said:

I omitted the key annoyance of smart watches. Having to charge them daily.

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One of the reasons I like the Citizen Eco Drive watches.

BIG CAT said:

Nice work on that band!

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Thanks. It was enough work that I probably won't try that type of design again.

I tend to leave a watch on all the time. Back in the day when I was working it was a gold Longines, slimline so it easily fitted under shirt cuffs. In theory I would still use it for formal occasions or business. But I need to get a new battery....

When I retired and started spending a lot of time outdoors I switched to a Suunto, with barometer, compass etc. It died a few months ago and rather than repairing it I decided a new watch was in order.

So I have changed to a digital Rip Curl tide watch. Made for surfers and so getting wet is not a problem. Even though I have a tide clock on board, I tend to use the watch most of the time. It has 500 in-built tide locations and then I just use a little laminated cheat-sheet for plus/minus adjustments in areas that I frequent. Knowing tide times is important for two reasons: with shallow water the norm I don't want to have the RIB marooned on sand or be unable to get back to the anchored boat at any time I want. When moving from place to place in the bay I will 'ride the tide' if possible. Also, my home berth in the Brisbane River requires going cross-current in a narrow fairway then turning 90°. I prefer to return in particular at slack tide times.

ksanders said:

Like few others here apparently I like a good quality Mechanical wristwatch.

The brand I prefer is Omega. The model I wear most of the time is a Planet Ocean.

If you ever see the inside of a mechanical watch you'll quickly apreciate the level of craftmanship required to make one.

Although I do not scuba dive...

This watch is waterproof to 2,000 feet. It has a sapphire crystal that won't scratch. The case is a type of stainess that flat will not rust or discolor.

The Omega Planet Ocean has good company among the finest mechanical dive watches ever made. Craftmanship that you just do not see in comsumer goods anymore.

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I, too, wear an Omega Planet Ocean. It's been on my wrist everyday for about five or six years, whenever it was purchased. The stopwatch is used almost daily. I'm too lazy to use my cell phone to check on time! I enjoy mechanical things and appreciate the detailed craftsmanship required to make an accurate timepiece.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. 78. I think "sneer" is a bit of a strong word. Personally I don't see the need for one considering my circumstances. The case has been made for both the high and low end models and the reasoning behind same so IF the desire to wear a timepiece is there, knock yourself out.

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Maybe, but it seemed like the OP was getting mostly " I don't wear a watch because I have the latest and greatest phone" type answers, or myriad other reasons to not wear one. That's not what he asked about. JMHO.

Rubber Duck said:

Which type of wrist watch is best for cruising?
Analogue, digital, Atomatic ?,
Degree of water resistance required etc.
Are alarms and features really necessary ?
All opinions welcolme.

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Why bother. Most of us have a modern mobile phone and as pointed out, it has time, calendar, compass, navigation, land or sea, (if you've downloaded a sea chart app), and alarms, and I've now got a decibel meter, virtual cockpit, for checking road speed, and all I have to do is call.."hey Siri, navigate to...", and we're off.
Oh, and I have a mounted time and tide clock in the cabin near the main helm. So, who needs a watch..?

PS. Apologies to Puget above me there. Sorry to be another, "who needs one" pita. But I do have a Seiko. Just don't wear it nowadays...but it did/does all I could want of a watch. But the iPhone is my one stop shop of needs, is all. Oh, yes, and it'd need to be real fancy and expensive to have tides on a wrist watch, I would think.

I wear the Casio ProTrek. It's an ABC (altitude, barometer, compass) watch that is solar powered, and uses a global atomic clock to keep accurate time. Also has a tide table capability but I don't use it. Have had it for about 6 years and have not had to do anything other than wear it.

Have gone scuba diving with it to 100' as well.

There is only one, the one that tells the story.

We just got a day of the week clock so I can tell which one of the seven days isn't a Saturday. Since retiring I hate being a slave to a phone..any phone. I still wear my old Pulsar.

bilge53 said:

We just got a day of the week clock so I can tell which one of the seven days isn't a Saturday. Since retiring I hate being a slave to a phone..any phone. I still wear my old Pulsar.

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WOW! A Pulsar! Haven't heard that name in decades. Good for you. I loved my Pulsar.

For years ( when I wore a beeper, and then the cell phone) I never wore a wrist watch. I did annoy my better half asking him what time it was too often, when the cell phone was in my bag. A few years ago I got a Fitbit (Charge) and it's been great.
Only needs a charge once every seven days and recharges in the time it takes to shower and dress. Tells time, alerts me with caller ID when my cell phone rings (and is somewhere out of sight) and has the ability to set (vibrating) alarms for whatever. Only downside I've found for cruising with it is it will count extra daily steps because of the motion of the boat. Otherwise with all the other features it's great. When they make it waterproof it will be perfect ( just barely water resistant now).

Utility is becoming the most important thing in the last few years. While I love all these new detailed watches with interesting displays, I find it difficult to see much of what is going on. My watch has a simple face which I have come to rely on.

As for the newer "smart" wearable technology, I see coming a day that your health insurer will require that you have one. I work in the health sector, and my employer suggests a device like FitBit (mine would be a "FatBit...) for continued feedback. That level of intrusion isn't needed.

Or, a poor-mans version of a swiss watch - Seiko. I wear my every day, except when doing major work when I switch to a G-shock.

(not my shot, stolen from flickr, but looked nautical)

Wifey B: Guilty....

Now, I'll tell you of what. To me, watches are jewelry which makes them fashion statements. As far as time, Chicago said it best:

Does anybody really know what time it is
I don't
Does anybody really care
Care
If so I can't imagine why

Ok, when I was a teacher I had to know all the time, but we had huge clocks in the rooms too.

Now back to fashion statements....so, I buy watches sort of like sunglasses. I have bunches, especially colorful bands, and I have faces like Fossil where one face can have 30 bands. Plus like Kate Spade. Then if I see one that's really unique, I fall for it. These are the ones I wear when cruising. I know to many of the guys here the whole color coordination thing is sort of baffling.

Then I have one that some fool man who loves me very much bought me and it's my date night, fancy place, opera, art showing, kind of dress up, fancy dress kind of watch. It's a Vintage Hamilton that the jeweler got from an estate sale and refurbished completely. Perhaps the background means as much to me as anything. It was owned by a stripper who never married, but touched the hearts of many people (in addition to perhaps touching them in other ways). She looked out for others, gave to anyone in need. She had a long time girl friend who died before her. She left everything to charity, most to abused women and children. I don't wear it cruising however, so superfluous to the question.

I have a Tag Heuer that I bought myself as a gift for getting hired at Continental. I paid under $400 for it new. The equivalent watch now goes for about $1500.

I was changing the start solenoid on my P29 Perkins. I had my watch on and reached across the terminal leads and my metal band completed the circuit. There were sparks...AND THE STARTER ENGAGED!!! I recoiled and sat back to figure out what happened....Shocked...pun intended. My watched had touched those posts for what was literally a microsecond and it was beginning to weld the watch onto the posts. I remember it took force to pull it off. As I sat there I realized.....HOT HOT HOT HOT on my wrist....OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!!! I popped the band off and there was fresh meat stuck to the band....skin from my wrist. The positive terminal caused a 3rd degree burn on my wrist...the negative...2nd. The watch still bears the scars of this incident as does my wrist. Luckily when I popped out of the engine space the refrigerator was right there and I grabbed a cold beer and applied it to my wrist. I grabbed another....

I do have an Apple Watch....meh. Like all things Apple, it does work very well and it does do what they say it does....but it really doesn't do much. If you are a person in meetings all the time, it might serve to be able to read texts and emails without disrupting the meeting...IOW...covert viewing or previewing. You can look to see who is calling or texting without digging the phone out of pocket or purse. It would probably serve women better since their phones are always buried in their purse. It has decent fitness applications as well if you are into that. And like B&B said, you have to charge it every night. I travel with a company ipad, a personal ipad. and an iphone. The last thing I need is another charger and device to keep track of. So it does not even travel with me.

Islanddreamer said:

Utility is becoming the most important thing in the last few years. While I love all these new detailed watches with interesting displays, I find it difficult to see much of what is going on. My watch has a simple face which I have come to rely on.

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My point exactly. The Citizen that I posted the pic of is a great watch, but I can only see it to read it in ideal conditions or if I have my glasses on. I like a watch that I can see easily in all light conditions. That is why I moved to a black face with white hands. A lot of detail on the watch is great, but not if it is too small for me to see quickly and easily.

My phone is in my pocket. Why would I want to pull it out of my pocket to check the time? I am not one of those who always has the phone in his hand.