On the death of wristwatches...or not.

Reading the New York Times article on resurgence of wristwatches among the younger generations today brings a not-so-surprising smile to me today. While the article focuses mainly on men, the same can be said of women to a large extent from that same generations. Afterall, even one of my sisters has ditched her wristwatch more than a decade ago, though for a rather different, if not cosmetic, reason. She doesn't want her arm to be tanned with a wristwatch shadow on it. No matter.

I've stuck by my watch all these times. With the flood of all-things-digital, alot of the gadgets have consolidated. The more utilitarian, commodity-type, functions like alarm clock and calculator were long gone, and have long been incorporated into the smartphones (and the PDA's before them), for all the good reasons. Less space, less bulky gadgets that we need to carry on the road, less battery required. And, who cares about what alarm clock or calculator others use anyways?

Ah, but, wristwatches are quite a different matter. Someone once said to me, if you want to see the taste and style of a man, you only need to look at the necktie they wear and the watch on their wrist. Of course there were other discerning factors, a well-tailored suit, for example. But you can go easily go out to a tailor shop and get a tailor-made suite. Neckties and wristwatches are a different matter. They require you to go out and choose, that in and of itself show the taste and style of the man.

Times have changed. Cool jobs for men don't often require formal wear, so there goes the necktie thing. Men's fashion has become one big sloppy affair, with men dressing more and more like women (men in skinny jeans! men going to facial treatment!). As the article has rightly noted, most younger men in their 20s and even 30s grow up with electronic gadgets. They might not care much about wristwatches since all they need (games, music, phone, clock, alarms, calculator, notebook, phonebook, browser, and more) come in one tinny-tiny gadget. The logic goes, that they would never need to look back to the bygone days for things like vinyl record players, walkman, and some such. It was due time to declare death of wristwatches.

Call me old-fashioned. I like wristwatches. I always have. While I can't think in the men's shoes, I can't say I would give up my wristwatch for my smartphone. True, strictly speaking, I don't need my watch since I won't leave home without my smartphone. But my watch is much much more than just for telling time. My watch is about the only thing that truly follows me since it's worn on my wrist (technically, so are my ring and earrings). I can't say the same about my phone. (Yes, I've lost my phone before, and it's a royal pain.) And I have always believed that my watch represents part of who I am. One other thing is, I truly enjoy the craftsmanship and beauty of a good watch. Vintage is even better.

As such, I like Patek Philippe and Rolex. I reserve the Patek for more special occasion, and Rolex and Cartier are for everyday use. My Breguet is even more special to me than Patek, and it sits mostly in my collection for my private appreciation. No cool gadget is going to beat that. They are like old friends that stay with me. You can't say the same about your iPhone or drod phone that you'll likely ditch or upgrade in less than a couple of years.

As the article has attested to it, these men in the younger generations are now coming to rediscover the coolness in wristwatches, it being a fashion in its own right. It's about time. My only question to these men is, what takes them so long to rediscover the coolness of wristwatch, dude?