So for my birthday, I pooled some of the gift money and some cash I had stuck in an old lighter (no, seriously) and bought myself this watch. Why, you ask?
* Mechanical automatic watch. As in, you can wind it if you want, but the motion of your arm will keep it wound, too, and store enough energy to go over 24 hours off your arm.
* No branding. No name, no logo, no nothing, just the 12-hour time and a second hand in its own sweep wheel. Clean, unornamented, basically if Gabriel Hounds made a watch this is it.
* Heavy steel, mineral crystal, and water-resistant to 10 ATM – so I can shower or splash with it and not worry about it. And because I’m not changing a battery, I’m not compromising the seal by taking the back off, so as long as the crown stays screwed down it should be just dandy.
Think about that. I’m basically on the schedule of new phone every 2 years, new laptop every 3, just picked up an iPad and who knows how long that will be viable, and will almost certainly be getting the iPhone 5 through work sooner than later. (Of which more later.) Our house is chockablock with old electronics that need e-cycling. Yet here on my wrist sits a device that will more or less give me the correct time, without any other maintenance or support, for the rest of my life.
Also, no flashy features – no timer, no alarms, not even the date. The phone can do all that. This is just “what time is it right now.” Which, if you live in the moment, ought to be sufficient…