Let Watch Battery Die and Just Use Cell Phone?

[StarHalo]

If the power goes out, and all you use your iPhone 5 for is to occasionally check the time, its fully charged battery will last about nine days. My last watch battery lasted roughly 2,500 days..

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Kind of hard checking the time with a phone when you are using both hands working on something.

 

[moozooh]

To summarise:

— wristwatch batteries don't need recharging every day or two;
— looking at wristwatch tells time much quicker and doesn't attract as much attention to the fact;
— you can still use your watch when both your hands are full and when you're wearing thick gloves;
— you can swim with your watch and use it in heavy rain;
— you can have several watches as jewelry, while every extra phone is a potential inconvenience;
— use can use your watch in circumstances when cellphones are expected to be shut off;
— a modern wristwatch sits firmly on your wrist and isn't as fragile or easy to lose (or forget at your desk/overcoat pocket/in a car/at home) as a phone;
— you can get a wristwatch that serves its main purpose for under 10$.

So, plenty of solid reasons.

 

[stockae92]

I don't wear my cell phone on my wrist (to have it on me all the times) and I won't put my cell phone right next to me when I sleep. So wrist watch it is for me.

As for replacing battery, even for every year, is not that big of a deal. I DYI all the Casio / Timex (that requires conventional battery) and it would take me less than 10 min each if I do it slowly with cleaning. Just make sure you don't lost any tiny springs in the back of the module and lube the caseback seal with silicon grease, also make sure it sits correctly when you close the caseback.

Buy the battery in packs of 5 or 10 from ebay or amazon. You are all set for a very long time (for not a lot of money).

(not to mention the joy of owning solar, kinetic and mechanical watches that doesn't require battery, atomic watches that set itself, etc)

btw, I know this is not databank, but with one of these (Casio AE1200WH), the battery life is 10 yr! if you use the alarm or LED sparely, it will last way pass 10 yr!

 

[Illum]

Its by far easier to wear a heavy clunker and routinely wind it up every morning, ahh... the wonderful sound of a mechanical pocketwatch

 

[Ny0ng1]

Mechanical (automatic) wristwatch definitely. I would never buy anything other than mechanical watch anymore. Used to wear a seiko black monster but i was fortunate enough to have a rolex submariner as a wedding gift and i wear it everyday now.

A good mechanical watch can easily last 20yrs even with some abuse. Those high end would even keep or appreciate their value with proper care.

 

[Monocrom]

A good mechanical watch can easily last 20yrs even with some abuse. Those high end would even keep or appreciate their value with proper care.

A quality mechanical watch will easily last over a lifetime, provided it isn't abused; and if it is properly serviced (about once every 5 to 7 years). It's the last part where many watch owners who aren't heavy into watches usually screw up. They think that the lack of a battery means the case-back never needs to be opened up. And that if a mechanical stops working completely, then it has completely worn out and reached the end of its service life.

Recently read a heart-warming story on the biggest watch forum about a son who restored his dad's old Rolex, and presented him with his old friend. The father could never afford a Rolex on his own. He received it as a wedding gift from his parents-in-Law. He was shocked & happy! Wore the watch for the better part of two decades. Wore it doing the type of dirty jobs that would make probably every Rolex owner cringe. One day, it completely stopped working. He placed it back in its original box, and then put it away into the back of a drawer. Wore a much less expensive watch after that.

He wasn't a watch collector or even an enthusiast. He was just an average guy who simply knew that Rolex meant quality. Ironically, he was a victim of the legendary mystique surrounding the brand. Like many, he just assumed that owning a Rolex meant never needing to get the watch serviced. It was supposed to be that good. After all, it's a Rolex. Even though Rolex is a quality luxury brand, it doesn't work that way. Even a BMW M5 needs servicing. (Ironically, even more so than a car that isn't built for performance.) So, when the father's Rolex finally gave out, he just assumed that it had given everything it had and that there was no conceivable way to fix it. Thankfully, his son knew better. By this time a routine servicing wasn't enough. After about 20 years, the watch needed to be severely over-hauled. It was, and the father got his Rolex back.

A mechanical watch, properly maintained, is the sort of thing a young man can pass down to a future son after the man is old & grey. 20 years is about right for a quartz watch with a battery in it. The only problem with passing down a mechanical watch is if parts are no longer available for it. But there are ways around that. Rolex stocks parts for vintage watches years afterwards. Patek Philippe will actually make a needed part for a customer (if necessary). Granted, those are very expensive options. A less expensive one is to get a mechanical that uses an ETA 2824 movement, and make sure that the brand is part of the Swatch Group.

 

[cal..45]

A less expensive one is to get a mechanical that uses an ETA 2824 movement, and make sure that the brand is part of the Swatch Group...

...or - as mentioned before - a Seiko5 which will be undoubtely around in hundred years from now on (assuming mankind lasts that long still)


cheers

 

[Monocrom]

...or - as mentioned before - a Seiko5 which will be undoubtely around in hundred years from now on (assuming mankind lasts that long still)


cheers

I like Seiko watches. But their 5-series are more about excellent bang for the buck than something truly special for passing down. Even Seikos need routine servicing.

 

[FG68]

I have a Casio Ravine with G'Z Gear Tools - Compass, thermometer, Tides, Sunrise/Sunset...etc. But the battery does run down.

My Casio Protrex 3258 has many of the same features and it is solar - I always have it on my wrist - sometimes I forget the phone, but I still have the watch - on my wrist.

Belt and suspenders - your pants will never fall down

FG68

 

[Lebkuecher]

I bought a Seiko Kinetic watch about fifteen years ago and to this day I am still amazed at the quality and longevity this watch offers. I could use a new band now but the watch still looks new. I've replaced the crystal and the capacitor few times but I for one feel the small investments were worth it.

I love cell phones and in fact I work in the industry but there are times when I just don't want to lug around a cell phone so for me a watch is worth having. Sometime you just have to get away or why even carry a cell phone if you are in an area with no coverage.