The Wristwatch

Is there anything more emasculating than being approached by a comely young lady, eyes fraught with worry, desperately inquiring as to the time and your only response is "no." Or, even worse, your response is "yes" only to fumble in your pocket for your cell phone, unlock it, and then squint for the time, at which point the young lady has moved on to the next potential savior, toned buttocks swaying vigorously beneath her smart wool skirt.

And who is that savior? He's the gentleman who, when asked the time, lifts his arm, jacket and shirt sleeve sliding back slightly, automatically, revealing a simple elegantly appointed timepiece, and responds "quarter to three."And she smiles gratefully, says "thank you," visibly relieved that she has not missed her appointment. And what is that appointment? Why that's a conversation for another day.

Such a simple and happy ending, all thanks to a wristwatch!

Now I'll admit that I had a Casio calculator watch when I was in elementary school but I went through all of my teenage years sans watch. I had a nice Fossil in college for a bit but then the crystal scratched and the battery died (and the leather separated on the band) and I didn't get around to replacing it.

I'm now a convert.

Basically, I got an orange rubber cover for my Blackberry and it makes it really hard to take my phone out of my pocket in a timely manner. But a watch? Perfect! I can't leave the house without one now.

When accurate time is readily available on cell phones, laptops, and that one bank clock high above the Bay Bridge, what purpose does a watch have these days, you might ask?

a. It really is convenient. Time, day, date, all on your wrist is handy.
b. It's cool. I mean, an analog watch is really freakin' cool. Little gears and shit. It uses a fucking quartz to keep accurate time for crying out loud! Motherf-in' quartz!
c. It's timeless. A watch is the only accessory for men that is as varied and wearable in any situation as anything women have.

So you want to find a nice watch, what do you do? What do you look for?

The first thing I'll tell you: You will NOT find a watch worth wearing for less than $100. Sorry. That being said, you won't need to spend much more than that and you'll never need to spend more than $500 for a truly elegant watch, and if you look at the right sources you can find most stainless steel watches from almost any upmarket brand in the $200-$300 range.

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you brand isn't important. But it's not that important. At a certain price point ($100-$500), all brands are mostly the same:

a. They're all stainless steel.
b. Their movements are all manufactured in either Switzerland or Japan. Swiss quartz movement is generally regarded a little higher than Japanese movement, but that's mostly a holdover from postwar racism.
c. They're all water resistant to a degree (handwashing is okay) and virtually all are waterproof to at least 50 meters.
d. They're all battery-powered. You can find automatic-winding movements (and maybe even direct-winding movements) in that price range but ultimately those are more trouble than they're worth, requiring infinitely more attention and maintenance than battery-powered brethren. Save your manual winding watches for a true four or five-figure heirloom.

Let's briefly talk four aspects of functionality:

1. The crystal. The crystal is the clear covering of the watch face. This is both the largest and most exposed surface on your watch. If you can find a watch in your price range with a sapphire crystal (glass made with de-mineralized clear sapphire) go for it. This crystal will be extraordinarily scratch-resistant (only a diamond and certain synthetic carbides will scratch it). If sapphire crystal is out of your price range for the watch you want, try to find a mineral-hardened glass or a sapphire-coated glass. This'll serve almost as well as the sapphire crystal. An acrylic crystal is inexpensive but very easy to scratch, though difficult to shatter and cheap to replace.

A quick note: sapphire crystal is the easiest of the three materials to shatter but very difficult to scratch. Since you're much more likely to scratch a watch in everyday use at home or in the office than you are to shatter it, I recommend the sapphire or sapphire-coasted crystal. But if you're buying a watch for outdoor activities you may want to opt for an acrylic crystal. If you scratch your crystal while climbing, your watch is still usable. But if you break the crystal mid-climb you're pretty much hosed.

2. Water resistance. If you want a watch that'll withstand normal handwashing, showering, and occasional swimming, all you need is a 50m/5 atm watch. If you want a sport watch for regular water sports, snorkeling, and recreational diving, get a 200m/ 20 atm watch. 50m/100m/200m watches are priced almost identically. 1000m/ 100 atm watches are needed only for deep-sea diving.

3. The band/bracelet. Most of the time your decision will be leather band or metal bracelet. Leather bands are more formal and more comfortable. Any watch you plan to wear above "business casual" settings should probably have a leather band. Metal bracelets have a certain masculine appeal as well as an attractive shine. Bracelets can also hold up bigger watches with more features so most recreational watches are going to be metal banded. You probably won't find a leather banded watch with anything more complicated than a chronograph. Additionally, even if your watch is 200m water resistant, the leather band probably isn't. Bracelets will also last longer than leather bands. A leather band worn regularly, even properly cared for, won't last more than a couple years before needing replacement. If your watch is for vigorous outdoor activity, get a watch with a rubber strap and a rubber-coated bezel. That'll be a helluva lot more comfortable.

A subsidiary consideration of the strap is the clasp. I recommend a push-release clasp closure on bracelets and a standard hole clasp on bands, though the push-release clasps on leather bands are kinda cool.

4. Complications. A complication is anything added to a watch beyond a basic time-telling function. The most common complications are:

a. Date. This'll display the day of the month. You'll need to manually adjust the day at the beginning of every month that doesn't have 31 days. This is easy.
b. Day. This'll display the day of the week.
c. 24-hour. This'll display the hour in 24-hour time (essential for truly accurate day-date watches)
d. Chronograph. A stopwatch. Most chronographs time for up to 30 minutes. Some longer. Some time as finely as tenths of seconds.
e. Perpetual calendar. This'll accurately display the true day, date, month, and sometimes moon phase, without adjustment, for 100 years before needing factory resetting. Tough to find in under $500 watches.
f. Multiple time zone. A feature either on the watch face itself (showing one or two additional time zones that you can set) or a rotating bezel with cities on it that indicate the time in various financial centers when it's the time displayed on your watch.
g. Dive bezel. A rotating bezel that you can use as a 60-minute timer for diving.
h. Moon phase. Will tell you the approximate phase of the moon. A neat holdover from sailing and early flying days. Surprisingly useful for camping.
i. Tachymeter/telemeter. A display that when paired with a chronograph can determine speed and distance.
j. Power reserve. Usually found only on a winding watches. Indicates how much power is left on the mainspring before winding is needed. Some battery watches will have one too.
k. Alarm. Self-explanatory.
l. Minute repeater. Pressing a button or pulling a lever on the watch will actually make it quietly chime the time down to the minute. Good for low-light situations and for blind people.

The good news? Virtually every watch brand you can think of makes watches in most every style and you can buy a watch for under $500 with any of these complications. Generally speaking the more complications a watch has the more expensive the watch. You probably don't need more than some form of calendar and perhaps a chronograph if you want to time stuff. Most everything else is highly specialized and held over from days when there weren't laptops and your watch was your smartphone.

So beyond those basic functional decisions, you're picking a brand based on aesthetics. So before we talk brands, let's talk aesthetics.

What's the purpose of your watch?

If the purpose of your watch is business, you'll probably want either a leather strap or a simple small metal bracelet. Your watch only needs to display hours and minutes, but do you want a second hand? A simple day/date calendar might also be handy. There are plenty of sleek, elegant watches with those features that can compliment any business ensemble. Limit your bands to either black, brown, or tan leather band or steel, silver, goldtone, or rose goldtone bracelets.

If the purpose of your watch is travel, you'll probably want to get something a little bigger with a few more features like a second time zone function, 24-hour time, and alarm. Get as comfortable of a stainless steel or coated stainless steel band you can find.

For any recreational watch where you're even remotely near water, you want a stainless steel bracelet, rubber-coated stainless steel, or soft rubber or synthetic band. Chronographs can be surprisingly handy to have on your watch. Second hand is essential. If you're hiking or camping a lot then a moon phase function as well as a detailed calendar is practical.

The watch you wear for going out presents numerous options. Traditionally, a watch is not to be worn for formal events as caring what time it is would cause offense to the host and hostess. A semi-formal watch should have a black or brown leather band, depending on the color of your other accessories. Complications should be minimal or non-existent. A watch with an hour and minute display is all you need. An all-black watch (black band, face, and bezel) or a watch with a black band, face, and steel or gold bezel is perhaps most elegant.

The casual watch presents infinite options for coordination and flash. In general, you should have a steel, goldtone, and black metal watch. Within steel bands, have both a shiny and a matte band. I also recommend a few different face colors. In general, blue, black, and white face watches are the most common, but green, purple, and red are not unheard of. Shiny stainless band with a blue face is stunning. Contrast is good so pair a blue or black face with a silver bracelet and pair a white face with a gold or black bracelet. Only go monochrome with an all-black watch. A white face with a shiny steel bracelet is nice, but a white face with a matte steel bracelet can look a little washed out. The casual watch is also a chance to experiment with flashier styles. Here's your chance to bust out your big watches, your denim bands, etc.

Let's quickly talk case shape and style.

Round: the most common shape. Good for all formal or casual watches. Generally speaking any watch with multiple complications will be round.
Tonneau: Rectangular with flared ends. Elegant for formal watches.
Rectangular: Square or rectangular. Nice for formal watches.
Irregular: Other shapes. Elliptical and triangular cases are not uncommon. Sometimes appropriate for formal watches.

Skeleton: Face has no backing so some or all of the movement is visible. Cool feature for casual watches, though Stuhrling makes some that are appropriate for formal occasions.
Monochrome: Bracelet/band, face, and bezel (edge of the casing) all the same color.
Two-tone: Most commonly means gold and silvertones on the bracelet and/or bezel.
Dress: Sometimes used to refer to rectangular raised-bezel watches with leather bands.

Are you keeping score at home? Good. So let's recap the basic watch selection any man should have:

One formal watch. Black or brown leather. Sapphire or sapphire-coated crystal. Hour and minute hands only on the face. No other complications.

One recreational/sport watch. At least 50m water-resistant. Metal or rubberized bracelet. Several complications chosen based on need, including detailed calendar and chronograph. Acrylic or mineral-glass crystal.

One to three business watches. Sapphire or sapphire-coated crystal. At least one leather band and one steel or goldtone bracelet. Smaller face with calendar complications and perhaps second time zone complication. One of these could be your business/leisure travel watch

Three or more casual watches. At least one tan or brown leather band, one goldtone bracelet, and one steel bracelet. Monochromatic black bracelet watch and shiny steel with blue face watch good additions. Complications are up to the wearer. Sapphire crystal or mineral glass crystal depending on purpose and frequency of use.

Given all that information, which brands do I recommend?

1. Fossil. Probably the king of inexpensive watches. Huge line with a surprising array of complications and styles, especially in the $125 range. The only negative is that the Fossil name is inextricably tied to value watches so it's like driving a Hyundai. Nothing wrong with a Hyundai, but it's still a Hyundai.

2. Nixon. Originally a maker of surf and skate watches, Nixon has expanded their range immensely, now including business watches in the $500+ range. Still has an excellent selection of $100-$200 watches. Almost all of their watches are 100m water-resistant and their style ranges from funky contemporary to versatile business casual. Offers excellent recreational and sport watches. Similar to Fossil but not as well-known (and more eye-catching), selling primarily through independent mens' shops and surf/skate/snowboard shops.

3. Citizen. Has the market pretty much cornered in the $250-$500 price range. Offers the best array of complications for the price as well as solar-powered "Eco-Drive" technology which minimizes the need for battery replacement. Not much in the offering for formal watches or sport watches but excellent recreational, casual, and business watches.

4. Invicta. U.S. based company. Generally the least expensive Swiss-movement watches you can find (though they use Japan movements as well). Huge selection, with many watches in the $100-$300 range. Offers almost every complication available. Distinctive and relatively unknown so they "wear" like more expensive watches. Little formal selection. They also make the best dive watch for the price.

5. Movado. Classic Swiss producer. While most of Movado's watches are over $500 you can find a decent selection at discount retailer websites for around $300, sometimes as low as $200. Stylishly modern Movado black "Museum" face (hour and minute hand and a dot at high noon, nothing else) is immediately recognizable and when paired with a two-tone bracelet or black leather band makes for an excellent business or formal watch.

6. Zodiac. Another value Swiss-movement producer (owned by Fossil). They have an excellent selection of sport and recreational watches for around $200 (some significantly higher). Particularly excellent producer of "caouatchouc" rubber watches, a rubber that is very resistant to corrosion and color breakdown and ideal for water and outdoors activities.

7. Stuhrling Original. Excellent Swiss producer that tends to make versatile watches with a timeless retro look and feel to them. Produces an excellent array across all style ranges but, like Movado, is limited in its sub-$500 selections most or all of which can only be found online.

Brands to avoid? No brands in particular, though I'd steer clear of "designer" watches, as these are pretty much just rebranded watches by most of the above producers for an added designer premium. It's more important to know the features of your watch and the quality of the components (movement, band, and crystal) than the brand slapped on it. All of the above brands have long-standing reputations of using quality reliable components for their respective price points.

So where should you buy your watch?

If at all possible, you should purchase your watch from an approved brick and mortar retailer of that brand, especially one that specializes in watches and jewelry. If you can purchase your watch directly from a producer's boutique or outlet, that is ideal. The reason? You have easier recourse should there be a flaw in the watch and it makes it easier to maintain the warranty. In the end you might actually save money over an online retailer.

For instance, I purchased a Movado Faceto from a Movado store for $450. I can purchase that same watch online for around $250. While the online store might offer the standard manufacturers' limited two-year warranty on the movement, purchasing it from Movado gave me an extended four year warranty as well as three band replacements (guaranteeing the same factory calfskin leather band), and lifetime battery replacement included. Given that the bands are $50 each and battery replacement runs $5-$10 every couple years, the actual value of the goods and services received are pretty comparable to buying online. When you include the added security of the extra two years on the warranty and the convenience of dealing directly with the producer there's a marked advantage in some cases to dealing with a brick and mortar retailer, particularly if you're looking at spending over $200 on your watch. The secret is to mention that you're considering the discount retailers and you can usually secure the extended warranty option and other bonuses for no extra cost.

Costco is an excellent place to purchase watches, but you have to be patient as their selection is limited, but frequently changing. Costco will often have premium (and even luxury) watches for prices comparable to online with the convenience of a retail location. Costco also offers reasonably priced extended warranties for purchase.

That being said, online is a phenomenal place for purchasing watches, especially premium watches. While there are a lot of discount watch retailers on the web, you really don't need to go farther than Overstock.com for most premium watch brands.

You can get Stuhrlings, Citizens, Invictas, and Movados for 50%-80% off the MSRP. Overstock offers a phenomenal selection of Invictas and Stuhrlings in particular. If registered, the watches do carry the limited factory warranty on movement (keep your receipt!) and Overstock offers "platinum" warranty plans which I'd recommend on pricier watches. Probably not worth it for anything less than $150 or so. If you're looking to purchase a few watches to round out your collection, you can't beat buying three watches from premium Swiss producers (I bought a Stuhrling, a Movado, and an Invicta) for less than $500.

If you do decide to buy your watch online, I recommend heading out to large department stores or specialty watch retailers so you can get the look and feel of watches you may want to purchase. You might be surprised at how big a lot of watches are and if you have chicken wrists like I do you might find that you're greatly limited by the size and shape of the watch case. So take note of makes and models that you like and enjoy. You can probably find them online for less. And as I mentioned before, if you're at a retailer and you say that you're considering purchasing a watch online (particularly if you can quote a price on Overstock for the specific model you're considering), you may be offered a better price and/or a more attractive warranty package that could make buying from a brick and mortar retailer a more desirable option. You're more likely to get this offer at a watch retailer as opposed to a department store.

Most people call the shoes the foundation of a male wardrobe. I say it's the watch. When you get home from work what's the first thing you take off? It definitely isn't the watch.

Which means you know what's next? Shoes!