Thoughts on 50 years of wearing watches (and 1 year collecting/WatchCrunch)

I've been wearing watches for over 50 years. First, it was a hand-me-down Cub Scout mechanical (pin-lever) watch, then LED digital watches ('70s), LCD digital watches and quartz divers ('80s), quartz field watches ('90s-'00s), a mechaquartz chrono ('10s), and an Apple Series 1 (2018). Watches have always been a tool for me - to tell me the time, and maybe the date? day? elapsed time? and more recently my HR? sleep quality? weather? and workout stats? Accordingly, I do not view watches as jewelry or status symbols. And as someone who lived through the "quartz crisis," I understand the heritage aspect, but I'm just too damned cost-conscious to spend more than I need to ... Seiko and Timex have enough heritage for me.

I also have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and am currently a Patent Attorney, so I could buy any watch I want (and understand exactly how it works). The innovations in mechanical watches (co-axial escapements, silicon hair springs, etc.) are fascinating, but are not worth $$$$ to me when a quartz or smartwatch watch can be more accurate at a fraction of the price.

I'm on WatchCrunch because I like wearing "analog" watches ... both to disconnect and to visualize the passage of time (I work remotely from home, and hours can disappear without a watch displaying the time to me). I wear them for me, not for others.

In the last year, I've revived my c. 2000 Victorinox quartz field watch and my c. 2012 Seiko SSB045 chronograph, and purchased a Casio Duro, Invicta 1953 (Seiko NH35), Timex MK1 Mechanical (Seagull ST6), and G-Shock GW-M5610U to fill out a 6-slot watch box... and I'm likely done "collecting" (although I still might get a "DressKX" or Baby Alpinist as a GADA/dress watch).

Each watch I have has a purpose:

• my Duro is my "beater/diver" that I wear to the beach/pool and I wear every Friday night to tell me that the weekend has arrived;

• my 1953 is my first mechanical watch - I wear it often and enjoy the timing bezel;

• my MK 1 is my "vintage/heritage" watch - it is small (36mm, and very comfortable to wear), resembles a WWII (A-11)/Vietnam (DTU-2A/P) field watch, has useless lume, and uses a hand wound movement designed in 1975 - it even has poor accuracy (+22 spd), so I feel like I'm getting the full vintage experience 😂;

• my G-Shock is my "true" beater - it's my bug-out watch for the apocalypse... and is really the only watch anyone needs - I wear it at the shooting range and for cutting grass, washing cars, installing drywall, etc.;

• my Seiko chronograph was a gift from my wife, it wears great (41mm and 11mm thick), and it's super versatile - I have found new love for it on a Bond nato strap after customizing it with lumed hands (for legibility); and

• my Victorinox is my "beater/field" watch (with a very "2000's" red anodized aluminum case) - it has a shrouded crown and no sharp edges so it is my go-to for sports and playing around (like babysitting my crazy neices/nephews).