Why a watch?

Men are known for the disdain for most things glittery. With some (notable) exceptions, men are not fascinated by jewelery, diamonds, studs and the like. Fascination (and craze) for shiny, glittery (and expensive) things is normally reserved for the fairer sex. We men don’t go nuts about shopping, and we couldn’t care less about the latest fashion (again, with some notable exceptions).

So for an average guy there isn’t much in terms of the fashion and jewelery departments. Fashion is usually contained to some nice suits, jeans, shirts, t-shirts and the like. You know what I mean. There isn’t much variety but we try to make the most of it. But when it comes to jewelery, almost all men have a thing for the thing on their wrist – their wrist watch. Most men wear one. And they don’t wear it for what used to be the primary purpose of a watch in the olden days i.e. to tell time. Telling the time in this day and age is not an issue at all since everyone carries at least 2 gadgets on them that are perfectly capable of doing that. Wearing a watch is much more than being able to tell the time. I know some of you are going to disagree and say that you’ve never looked at your watch for anything more than telling you if you are late for your date. But trust me, its not just this. You might think so, but a watch is much more than that even for the out most practical dudes amongst us. Some people are conscious of this, some of them a  little too much and this results in an obsession about watches. They become watch-collectors and adore their closet with hundreds of time-pieces, most of whom never really make it to their wrist. But even for the rest of us a watch is something personal. It is probably the only thing that has an appeal for men which is not influenced entirely by practicality and purpose. That would explain why mechanical watches are still the most expensive, in spite of the fact that much cheaper quartz watches almost always keep better time with almost no maintenance. It is the artistic appeal, the beauty of a time-piece, its make, its mechanism that evokes emotions in us men that perhaps are a lot more pronounced in women. And it is about your status as well. It is about your success. It is about your identity. It is about who you are. As the Seiko tag line goes ‘A watch tells more about who you are..’. And it is so true. That doesn’t mean that you need the most expensive watch to tell others you are successful. That’s so not true. What you need is a watch you know about, you genuinely like, and is like your companion always with you. It ticks away faithfully in times of trouble and success alike. As with mechanical or Kinetic watches – its a part of you since you are powering the watch. It won’t run for long away from you. It needs you. Trust me, its a good feeling to feel needed, even by a watch. Subconsciously it will emote your being. You will develop an emotional bond with the watch. Like in the movie ‘Pulp Fiction’ where Bruce Willis’ father goes through so much pain just to pass on the watch to his son. And the son does the same – risks his life and everything just to get back the watch.

It is one of those things – as with many things where emotions are involved – that you can’t really explain. You can only feel. So go ahead and find the time-piece that will evoke these feelings in you. It could be a 50 dollar Casio G-Shock, or a 3000 dollar Seiko Sportura limited edition, whichever the watch is, and whatever the price is, its the connection that matters. I urge you to embark on this, choose a watch today and make it your friend. A friend who is always with you.