WRIST WATCHES – Do we still need them?

WRIST WATCHES – Do we still need them?

I discovered (on google news) today new Chinese Quart watches are being launched!

I remember the time my dad got me a HMT watch. Initially I was very proud of it – it had to be wound by hand, it had two dials one for the time and another for day date.. quite large and heavy. But later on, when my school mates changed to newer kinetic models where no winding up of the watch was required, with more dials and flashy screens ,I was fed up. 

In fact the HMT watches kept on working and keeping the right time for decades. They never died! Dads loved them !

But over the past 2 decades, the watches seem to have changed for quartz watches which work on batteries, now the solar batteries are in fashion! Smart watches are’ in’ and the prices are more affordable.

But do we still need watches?  

Mobile phone is the most personal item that one carries. It has the function of phone calls. Messages, calculator, music player, movie player, still camera, video camera, gaming console and of course last but not the least - the clock, not to mention the timer, alarm and stop watch.

Looking at the wrist during a boring lecture is considered impolite. But a discrete look at the mobile will not only be polite, but also tell you how many minutes you have wasted!

A faulty battery in the quartz watch sends you worrying about getting a new one. It is not uncommon for people to change watches rather than batteries !!

Being a surgeon and a violinist, I find wrist watch cumbersome and it comes in the way of my profession and passion.

No worries about allergy to the watch strap

But is the wrist watch popular still? BBC survey in UK showed that 14 %  population felt no need for wrist watches as cell phone have taken over the function. So it is a growing trend to find your time on the mobile phone.

In fact the young people who grow up with technology find it easy to check time on the phone!

What do the wrist watch wears say?

These are a fashion statement, especially the expensive watches.  Some women still consider the watches as expensive pieces of jewelry! 

So if you are still wearing a wrist watch, relax…. You are with the 86 % of the population and you have the ‘time’ to look at your watch for the ‘time’!

Young guys like me (!) feel they are redundant.

Also no tell tale sun marks on wrists and no strap allergies !