Have not worn this is 4 years. Too heavy and huge theft risk.
Still love it's looks even though gold is a bit flashy.
Still love it's looks even though gold is a bit flashy.
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Who of you prefers the Apple Watch over his Rolex/Patek/Omega/Breitling/etc?
- Thread starter scarab0
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That's a little too much for my tastes, sorry. I almost bought a blue sunburst dial Yachtmaster in steel with platinum bezel, now that one is a looker without going too far. I could do a straight trade for my BLNR, but the scratch on the bezel would drive me nuts.
I have just recently gone the opposite of most of the people here. I always had an appreciation for watches, but never got into them mostly due to ignorance and lack of money. I had a Citizen Eco-Drive that I loved and wore for a while, but that was about it. Nothing mechanical.
I got a S0 SS AW not long after they were released and was instantly sold on the idea. Notifications on my wrist! I wore it for a few years before upgrading to an S3 SS last spring. As I wore that, I began to realize that the Apple Watch was not compatible with my job and the person I want to be. I am a teacher, and I consider my job to basically be about talking to people all day and making relationships with them. I saw the Apple Watch as an impediment to that goal. When I was engaged with someone and the watch notified me, it instantly took me out of the moment. If I looked at it, I was sending the message that the person I was engaged with was not important. If I did not, I had a hard time not wondering what the notification was, even if briefly, making it harder to give the person I was talking to 100% of my attention. This feeling carried over to my personal life as well.
About September of last year I took a logical look at the watch. In order for it to fulfill its purpose, I needed to use it for notifications. I could set it so only very important notifications came in. I realized that was not really possible. Further, I realized that if someone really needed me, there were already established ways of getting a hold of me. In short, the watch served little purpose for me other than distracting me and making me anxious.
My brother collects watches and had given me a 1950s Roamer manual that I wore on occasion and absolutely loved. Given my attachment to that watch and the Eco-Drive Citizen I still had, coupled with the realization that the Apple Watch was serving no good practical purpose for me, I sold it and purchased a Seiko SARB033. I instantly was in love and actually felt better without my Apple Watch. One thing led to another and I have since grown my collection to 8 watches that I wear regularly. Some are automatics, one manual, and a few quartz (those that are crapping on quartz should take a look at some of the offerings from Casio, Seiko, Citizen, or a micro brand like Dan Henry). I love the watches I have now, and I enjoy pairing them with an outfit, occasion, or even the weather. Today I wore my 1964 Dan Henry Evil Panda with a BMW M inspired NATO in honor of Alex Zanardi and his 24 Hours of Daytona run. I get a ton of enjoyment out of my watches now and I am not distracted by them when I do not want to be.
I know a lot of you love the Apple Watch, and I totally get why. I just thought it would be fun to share the perspective of someone who loved it and moved away from it. I decided I was too plugged in and it was stunting my ability to be present with the people around. The move from the Apple Watch happened to coincide with me deleting Facebook from my phone and making a conscious effort to live more in the world I was standing in.
I got a S0 SS AW not long after they were released and was instantly sold on the idea. Notifications on my wrist! I wore it for a few years before upgrading to an S3 SS last spring. As I wore that, I began to realize that the Apple Watch was not compatible with my job and the person I want to be. I am a teacher, and I consider my job to basically be about talking to people all day and making relationships with them. I saw the Apple Watch as an impediment to that goal. When I was engaged with someone and the watch notified me, it instantly took me out of the moment. If I looked at it, I was sending the message that the person I was engaged with was not important. If I did not, I had a hard time not wondering what the notification was, even if briefly, making it harder to give the person I was talking to 100% of my attention. This feeling carried over to my personal life as well.
About September of last year I took a logical look at the watch. In order for it to fulfill its purpose, I needed to use it for notifications. I could set it so only very important notifications came in. I realized that was not really possible. Further, I realized that if someone really needed me, there were already established ways of getting a hold of me. In short, the watch served little purpose for me other than distracting me and making me anxious.
My brother collects watches and had given me a 1950s Roamer manual that I wore on occasion and absolutely loved. Given my attachment to that watch and the Eco-Drive Citizen I still had, coupled with the realization that the Apple Watch was serving no good practical purpose for me, I sold it and purchased a Seiko SARB033. I instantly was in love and actually felt better without my Apple Watch. One thing led to another and I have since grown my collection to 8 watches that I wear regularly. Some are automatics, one manual, and a few quartz (those that are crapping on quartz should take a look at some of the offerings from Casio, Seiko, Citizen, or a micro brand like Dan Henry). I love the watches I have now, and I enjoy pairing them with an outfit, occasion, or even the weather. Today I wore my 1964 Dan Henry Evil Panda with a BMW M inspired NATO in honor of Alex Zanardi and his 24 Hours of Daytona run. I get a ton of enjoyment out of my watches now and I am not distracted by them when I do not want to be.
I know a lot of you love the Apple Watch, and I totally get why. I just thought it would be fun to share the perspective of someone who loved it and moved away from it. I decided I was too plugged in and it was stunting my ability to be present with the people around. The move from the Apple Watch happened to coincide with me deleting Facebook from my phone and making a conscious effort to live more in the world I was standing in.
Why would being a teacher is incompatible with owning an Apple Watch? I had a professor who used Apple Watch and sometimes while he was talking and received a call, he glanced at his watch, then continued his lecture. He rarely answered his calls in the middle of the class, so I assumed he used his watch for call screening (only for very important calls).
I share your thoughts. I originally owned multiple Apple Watches which I would rotate. Then I realized the Apple Watch provoked me into wanting to wear more mechanical watches, which over the course of the last 6 to 8 months or so, I have added at least 10 mechanical watches, of different shapes, bands and brands.
The Apple Watch is still a great device, but it’s allowed me to broaden my perspective on appreciating more than just having notifications and health related features, which is great to have, but sometimes I want the elegance of nothing more than having the time and sophistication of a really nice watch on my wrist, but that’s what works for me. Plus, I coordinate my watches usually based on what I wear for the day. Although, of course I can’t switch the bands out as easily as I can with the Apple Watch, which of course is a direct advantage.
The AW is a everyday watch compared to my other watches.
I only wear the other nicer ones when I go to events that need to look classic/formal.
I only wear the other nicer ones when I go to events that need to look classic/formal.
Well, I found that one habit I developed was exactly what your professor did, and that horrified me. I was prioritizing things like call screening or text/email triage during my time with students, as your professor was. Time with students is far too valuable to use on triage for things like that, not to mention the message it sends. To me it says that I need to know whether or not the text, call, email, etc is more important than you are. Not a good message to send to people you are trying to build a trusting relationship with. It was worse when I was working 1 on 1 or with a small group.
I teach high school math. Many of my students are neglected and ignored enough at home as it is. They don't need their teacher doing it as well. To be successful at my job, I need students to buy in, and part of that buy in comes from them knowing that they are important to me and that I am heavily invested in them. The Apple Watch was an impediment to that. Further, I found that I would do the same thing with my wife and kids, and it just was not a habit I was proud of, so I changed it.
I guess for me it really came down to understanding that 99.9% of the notifications are not so important or time sensitive that I am willing to risk degrading the relationships that are important to me by allowing it to interfere whenever it sees fit. If I were at a different job I could see wearing it during the work day, but even when I had one, it came off as soon as I got home and I usually left it off over the weekends.
I also want to say I do not judge those who do use the Apple Watch daily. Everyone has a different situation and philosophy. It is a great device, and if it fit better into my life, I may have kept it.
I am a real watch geek and I have about 15 watches that I have in rotation. 2 Quartz watches, 1 sports watch, also quartz and somewhat in between a full smartwatch and a quartz, the original Apple Watch in SS that I bought on launch day, 11 mechanical watches, 5 of those made in Switzerland from known brands and 6 made in Japan (Seiko and Orient). Totally love my Apple Watch for what it does and what it is but I mainly wear my mechanical watches. Just like those more at the moment. I have plenty of NATO bands for my mechanical watches and outfit them to the occasion.
So to answer the original question - I don‘t prefer the Apple Watch over my mechanical watches more the opposite but I still like the watch a lot.
So to answer the original question - I don‘t prefer the Apple Watch over my mechanical watches more the opposite but I still like the watch a lot.
Keep in mind that you've got to spend nearly $1K every 5-10 years to service a Rolex. They last forever because they essentially need periodic engine rebuilds.
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I've had multiple mechanicals over the years, too, including Rolex and Omega, but now I'm holding onto a single Omega, and I'm even thinking about selling that.
The funny thing for me, these days, isn't trying to decide wither I should wear the Omega or the AW, but, rather, trying to decide whether to wear the AW or nothing at all.
The funny thing is, I still have my 38mm SS Series 0 on link bracelet, which, although it is slow, I think is still the best looking AW. When I put the AW on a strap, it does make me think about my nicer watches, but, on the link bracelet, it really holds up. The link bracelet is among the best steel bracelet designs from any watchmaker in the last decade.
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I get the whole thing about being unplugged at times. All you have to do is swipe up and hit do not disturb it theater mode
8 watches is nuts according to my wife. Below is a photo of my collection from a couple of years ago, so obviously she thinks I am bonkers...
(a few small changes have occurred since then, but it's still pretty similar - down from 6 Rolex to 3, and from 15 Omega to 14, add a TAG and DOXA, add a couple of Luminox and a couple of Seiko and a couple more Citizen, lose one of the two Astron, etc...)
Wrong my sea dweller 17 years old looks like new works like new never saw a service place
I mean for a regularly worn watch. You said you’ve barely worn the thing over the last eight years, which is different, although you should probably still take it in for preventative maintenance. Besides, anecdotes aren’t evidence, and Rolex themselves say every 10 years is typical.
Outside of the very newest Rolex movements with ball bearings on the rotor, the rotor pivot is usually one of the first things to go, and, at 17 years, I’m imagining the lubrication in your watch is struggling, and it could seize up any day now.
If you were actually using the SeaDweller for, you know, diving, you’d want to have more periodic services, as well as frequent pressure checks.
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I prefer to wear my seamaster, the AW can sit on the side for days uncharged.
I have a lot of experience with mechanical watches to include performing my own service with my own set of watchmakers tools. I also own a number of Rolex watches as well as other high end pieces. I never service my Rolex unless they actually stop working. The cost of service of a Rolex that has stopped working vs. routine service is pretty much the same. The reasons that watches stop working can include anything from inadequate lubrication to broken balance staffs or mainsprings. During cleaning, lubrication and adjustment (CLA) Rolex is going to recommend replacement of worn parts any ways, so it really doesn’t matter if you wear the watch until it stops or you send it in for routine service. The cost is going to be the same. So the advice I always give is just wear the watch until it stops working. It won’t cost you any more to do so.
I was never really into watches to begin with. The first thing that went onto my wrist regularly was a Fitbit, which I replaced with an Apple Watch after a few years. The Apple Watch definitely piqued my interest in traditional watches, and while I have a greater appreciation for them now, I haven't bought into any. The functionality of the Apple Watch is ultimately the main reason I keep equipping it; the notion that I'd have something that "just" keeps track of the time and maybe the date is unappealing. Even the "smart" versions of traditional watches don't have the same functionality of the Apple Watch. So my appreciation for traditional watches probably stopped there, and rather than buying other devices, I've satisfied my interest in them by purchasing other metal Watch bands and occasionally swap them out.
But I appreciate your views all the same. That you are as conscientious as you are and have made the changes that you did makes me think that you must be a very good teacher. Your students are lucky to have you.
I like your philosophy. There have been many times I I felt similarly, about being "too plugged in." I've been fairly aggressive about disabling notifications for various apps, and I also use the silence or "do not disturb" feature fairly often. Similarly, I'm pretty aggressive about unsubscribing from emails, because we all get too many of those as well, and that takes time from ours days...
But I appreciate your views all the same. That you are as conscientious as you are and have made the changes that you did makes me think that you must be a very good teacher. Your students are lucky to have you.
I agree but I would recommend having it pressure tested once in awhile esp if used around water.
This. My main use for the AW has been fitness tracking. I'm not a big exercise fan but when I needed to lose a little weight due to a higher than normal blood sugar level, the exercise and calorie tracking has been inspirational.
The streak awards have been helpful too so if you don't wear your AW for a day in favour of another, you're back at square one and that becomes less of a motivator.
I have a watch pressure tester. While I do use it from time to time, as a general rule I don’t dive with watches I am not willing to ruin. Most of my search and recovery diving is done with a G-Shock, Suunto or Marathon SAR. My Subs are pressure tested, but really what’s the point of diving with a Sub when a SAR or G Shock works perfectly well?
However, it is true. If you plan to swim or dive with a watch by all means have it pressure tested every couple of years. Gaskets do go bad, and I never recommend showering with a watch.
I do own a few non-smart watches but since owning my first Apple Watch in June 2015 I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've worn them (or indeed days I've not worn the Apple Watch).
That said none of my watches are "high end" watches. As with premium brand cars I've thankfully never fallen down that rabbit hole!
That said none of my watches are "high end" watches. As with premium brand cars I've thankfully never fallen down that rabbit hole!
Except, Apple Watches only depreciate in value from day one. Certain high end watches appreciate in value. One of my Rolex watches that I bought brand new in 2002 for $2,025, is now fetching upwards of $10,000. My Apple Watch series 1 is fetching upwards of nothing.