1. Take off your watch and put it out of sight.
2. Without looking at any references, draw the face of your watch.
3. Then match it with your watch.
4. If you got more than 1, do it for all.
The watch is something that I look at most often in the day, but I just can't remember the precise details of how it's supposed to be.
Show me the picture of 2 watches, even closely related ones, and I can tell which is mine.
But ask me to draw from memory, and it's almost a blank.
Maybe it's because I buy digital watches instead of the conventional clock-faced watches with hour and minute hands.
Maybe it's because I'm a geek and prefer Casio G-Shocks, lots of small details on the face of the watch.
And maybe it's because I'm a guy, I translate what I see into functional object details rather than visual details.
Saw an advertisement once that claims the watch is the most defining accessory for a man, that it reveals the most about ourselves, a lot more than our clothes. After all, we change our clothes daily.
My wife got several watches, and what she puts on depend on what she wears.
I'd have been happy with only 1 watch, though I got 3 watches now.
The first is a Tag Heur I received as a teenager, but never wore until years later.
The second was the Casio MR-G I bought not long after I started working, after I lost my Casio databank watch at a gym.
The third is a Casio GIEZ, bought by Snowylady as a birthday present. It should be apparent why it is the watch I usually wear nowadays. Good watch too, if a little high on battery consumption, and no timer feature.
I can always remember my watch. I bought it about a two years back. It was a watch that caught my eye long before I even bought it. I saw it and thought that, that is the watch I wanted, and so I went hunting for it for a while and finally found it... so I have a special heart for it... and this is my second Baby G.
ReplyDeletenever spent more than $100 for a watch until my last one. $150. :P
ReplyDeleteMen usually go for digital.. but i personally still prefer the conventional clock-faced watches with hour and minute hands.
ReplyDeleteMy first watch of note was given to me on my 18th birthday by my aunt; it's a blue leather-strap Guy Laroche with a face design à la Franck Müller. After a year of constant wear the strap had to be replaced but other than that it is still in tip-top condition. I wear it when I wear black or dark colours.
ReplyDeleteThe next one is also from my aunt, a Swatch 826, stainless steel and more sporty.
Last December I received a brown leather-strap Armani from William, the face design is rectangular with Roman numerals.
I've found that I'd rather invest in good brand-name watches than to go through several cheap ones.
I don't wear a watch, according to the ad what would that say about me? ;-) With my mobile phone, I can tell the time which is what a watch mainly do.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to buy a watch but this being the 2000s I want one that is similar in functions to one used in Race Against Time junenile book series. Why oh why are watches stuck in a time-warp doing no more than tell the time and related functions, when they can function as data storage, PDA, MP3 player, GPS, Phone ("calling Dick Tracy"), Internet etc.
Basically I want a connected gadget phone.
I think the challenge is with the power supply. A protrek with GPS is already rather bulky with limited battery life. Throw in internet connection, laser beam and touch screen ...
ReplyDeleteok, I can live without the GPS... fine, drop the laser beam as well.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think I finally managed to collect all copies of "Race Against Time" ... after all these years ...
ReplyDeleteI always wanted a G-Shock, but I also wanted one which I could keep phone numbers of my contacts.
ReplyDeleteThis was back in the early 1990s when mobile-phones were still brick-like chunks of hardware.
I eyed the MR-G I found on Casio website for a while, but the opportunity really came only when I lost my Casio databank watch, giving me the perfect excuse to indulge myself.
The challenge was not so much finding one, but bargaining with the shopkeeper at Bras Basah Complex.
I managed to get it down to S$250 then, from S$300.
That model has been discontinued for a few years now, so I consider it a collector's item.
PS: I just learned not long ago from a collectors' dealer that the value is better if the original packaging is kept. :-( *sigh*
I forgot to mention ... the camera ...
ReplyDeletewhat about the thin garrotte wire for the times when you need to do some covert commando work?
ReplyDeleteWell, "Race Against Time" was targetted at juvenilles, so a garrotte might be a little extreme ...
ReplyDeleteok, a hand-held forcefield generator then, you know... to deflect thrown water bottles and the odd shoe.
ReplyDeleteFor the present, I'll settle for combining the 4G mobile-phone, GPS and PDA into a wrist-strapped unit, hopefully not bigger than a bracer ...
ReplyDeleteBah... for a forcefield generator I'd probably be convinced to spend slightly beyond my $150 limit.
ReplyDeletebABy-G for the men series is good, I bought one for ET more than 5 years ago and it is still working well. Wanted to buy him a watch for his birthday this year but he said no his present watch is doing fine.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I seldom use any of the other features of my G-Shock nowadays except to check the time.
ReplyDeleteBefore I had kids, the timer and stopwatch was used when I exercised in the pool or the gym.
Dual watch when I travelled. Sometimes the alarm too.
The 200m water resist ... useful only when I was doing scuba-diving ... which was more than 10 years ago. And I didn't need 200m, didn't have the $ and time to go that advanced in my diving lessons.
I can't understand the fascination for paying huge-mongeous amounts of good money on something that just tells the time. Any $100 piece does the same as a $10000 piece but then again, to each his own. Baobei loves watches and has a couple that need more than a few months to pay off. That SHE has to pay off I might add. I ain't throwing any of MY good money which could be spent on more interesting stuff on a watch.
ReplyDeleteSome watches are good for investments. But other than that, it's a matter of personal taste, or a matter of trying to project an image. I prefer not to pass judgment if I could help, though sometimes I can't help it ...
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, a reliable watch can also be bought for less than S$100.
hehehe yes. Well, she pays for her own toys so I don't say anything. Recipocally, neither does she when I buy a $XXXX.XX telescope or some other toy I like. ;)
ReplyDeletethats the right attitude. we pay for our own toys. i paid for my own $160 each white-gold plated swarovski crystal watches. original price $480 - $600, so they were good buys. or maybe they marked-up the price.
ReplyDeletewatches are just for telling time, maybe more functions nowadays with the advancement in technology, but hack, i go weak on beautiful watches. but i do have a budget too - $200 is my max.
Same reason why she buys a LV bag. Its all about the perceived social status not the substance.
ReplyDeleteAt least the telescope has functions you can't get with something cheaper. It does something darn it!
ReplyDeleteNo, I need the camera!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I get my next big break, I will humbly ask if I may borrow them... though to be honest if you know where the text can be got electronically I am quite happy to do with that. One should try not to disturb priceless relics without good reason.
ReplyDeleteAfraid not. When you get that big break, let me know in advance. You'll need to help me sort through my boxes of books if you want to get hold of the complete series. I sorta have been archiving them without sorting as I lack proper shelving space.
ReplyDelete