I think the last time I used a wristwatch I was still in high school. I got it as a birthday present and I can still remember that feeling of wearing an adult watch: it was made of steel —or at least it looked that way— and it was way more elegant than those cheap plastic digital Casio watches that beeped every hour and had multiple functions.
One day the battery died and the band broke so I took it to the shop to have it repaired and the battery replaced. I can’t remember what happened but when I came back for it they hadn’t repaired it, I got angry at the shop and put the watch in a drawer. I never took it for repair, or see it again.
Fast forward to this year, and everyone is gossiping about the Apple Watch. Since I work on the iOS platform I’m usually overexposed to all things Apple. So I kept reading about smartwatches for a long time.
A few years ago, I probably would have wanted one, but now I couldn’t figure out how it would be useful to me today. But there was this one thing: I started liking the idea of having a watch again. Or more specifically, I started craving a nice old fashioned Swiss watch. At least until I saw their prices.
One day I was shopping for something else in a sports store and found this beauty at the outrageous price of 15€: 
I really liked the simplicity in the design, and how it was elegant without being fancy. And have I mentioned the price?
After a couple months with it, I couldn’t be more happy. I can think of a few ways this is better than an Apple Watch:
- Compared to the 400+€ of the sport edition, or the 1200+€ of the steel Apple Watch that I liked, this one feels practically free.
- Battery life is measured in years, not hours. I really don’t miss having to charge yet another device.
- Being able to just look at the time has made me pull out my phone less, which meant less time wasted on distractions. I don’t want to bring notifications to my wrist, I want less of them.
- It was very clear on the packaging that I could swim with it, and I’ve done it without issue.
- I’ve dropped it a few times and didn’t even care.
- I watched my baby chew on it as he was vomiting, and it made me laugh not cry.
- It will probably be as useful in five years as it is today, maybe many more. Even if it wears out after a couple years, for the price of one Apple Watch I could buy a lifetime supply of these.
A few years ago, I was one of those people who thought it was silly to have a device that just told time. Now I’m happy to have a watch that doesn’t tell me who liked my latest picture when all I want to know is the time.
In the same spirit of cost effectiveness and simplicity, but adding a thin layer of tech, I just read about the Runtastic Moment, which is the first “smart watch” I like. Just enough, nothing superfluous, long-life battery: http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/04/runtastic-moment-fitness-tracker/
Those look really nice, although still more than I need for 10x the price
I go watchless. Only way I found not to break them within 3 weeks. 😉
To be fair, it’s not a smartwatch per se, which is what I think I enjoy most about it. I’m in the same boat when it comes to those.
In High School I had a wind-up mechanical watch. I think I would prefer one now. Nobody would have to put in a battery for me. A few years ago I had a battery watch with a steel band. After the battery was replaced the third time by a jeweler who didn’t seem to know what he was doing with those tiny little screws he broke it. I put it aside and bought a new one. I only recently opened the old watch myself and bent one of the contact metal pieces on the set switch and now it works (that was the problem: I couldn’t set the time after the last jeweler played with it. Actually none of the jewelers seemed to know how to replace the battery (I mean the ones who let me watch them do it showed their fumbling and bumbling — I should have asked to buy their little tools rather than a new battery.)