Date or No Date Complication?

I personally rarely have the date set correctly on my watches, and being a minimalist, I love the uninterrupted look of a time only dial 👍

Nice Photochop 😉

it is going to be a blue or gold dress situation! personally i prefer it without the date.

ideally move the power reserve to the reverse as well

Seems like I might be the odd one out, but I like the date on it. Gives it a more sporty feel that I can wear every day. I also like the complication. For a dress situation, I would prefer it without a date, but if I could only have one it would be with a date because I would wear it more often as an everyday piece.

That's saying all this without every owning the watch haha

Definitely no date, more of that beautiful dial and better symmetry

Nearly every one of my watches has a date complication. I don’t dislike it, and it’s obviously not a deal breaker, but I agree with @Max and @Mrbudgetwatch. I think not having the date makes the dial more beautiful, because it doesn’t break up the design and symmetry. 

In order of preference

1. No Date
2.  Date
3.  Day/Date

I look up the date, and often the day, three or more times a day on my watch, computer, or phone.  I can't keep certain things in my head.  I prefer a date on my watches.  Life isn't symmetrical.  Not everything can be so ordered.

I will say that I prefer black date numerals on light dials and white date numerals on black dials.  Most use a black date on a white date wheel and that irks me.

No Date

my eyes are getting so bad I can’t see most of them anyway 😂

While I appreciate the clean symmetry of a no-date dial, I find myself checking the date several times a day, and I miss not having it there. I can do without a day complication though, somehow it’s easier for me to remember the day of the week.

I think it looks cleaner and more elegant without the  date window

I thought that was an odd comment until I looked down at my Oris D65 Heritage and saw it was on the 2nd, and I've been wearing it for two days... It does have one of my favorite date locations. So inconspicuous I don't even notice it!

(My OCD required that I fix it)

I used to think a watch had to have a date, now not so much. I appreciate a well integrated date feature, but it's not necessary. I have several watches without and I don't miss it. 

I don't care for the power meter. I don't like it on a $200 Orient and I certainly don't like it on that GS. Not sure who the target audience was for the power meter. A single watch owner is going to wear it and keep it wound, and a multiple watch owner will expect it to run down in the rotation.

If you want to improve the look of the watch, photoshop that damn power meter off that dial!

I used to prefer no date and would bemoan the lack of no date options. These days however I appreciate a nice date window, given that the date is nicely aligned and the window works in the context of the dial. I see the date as the "time" on a larger scale, so its cool that a watch tells the passage of time on 2 different scales

No Date. I do not like the way most of the times the date window is incorporated into the dial. I change watches all the time and it is a pain to always gave to set it on autos not to mention manuals from the past that do not even have quick set. 

Here's something I don't get:  Every single one of us watch enthusiasts gave GS constant, unending, haranguing feedback to the tune of, "I won't buy your watch until..."

1.  You put that god&^%$ power meter on the back 
2.  You give me a no-date
3.  You give me a spring drive that isn't 18mm thick
4.  You give me a unique dial

So, GS comes out with the following:

1.  Power meter on the back
2.  No date
3.  Only 10.2mm thick!
4.  Omiwatari dial!

And, yet, I don't see any wrist shots at all of this watch!  They gave us everything we asked for...  so we ignored them. 

Maybe it's like how in high school, Cindy Markerel told me that if I changed my hair style (Flock of Seagulls was big back then), got Vans sneakers, and started wearing neon OP shorts, she might consider going to Prom with me.  I did all that!  Bleached my hair blond!  She still went to Prom with Mitch Gerard instead.

I prefer a date on my watches, and don't really consider a watch if it doesn't have one. 

That said, I hate a poorly integrated date window as more much/more than no-date, so it's not a simple yes/no thing. 

For me, the ideal date window doesn't completely remove an index/lume marking, is not a contrasting wheel colour, and doesn't have too "fussy" a frame around the date window. 

So in the example given, I don't like the date on the GS because of the removal of an entire index, and the frame around the date window. 

In my mind, CW and Damasko have nailed it in these examples, because the date wheel isn't contrasting, and there is still an index.

I hope you started calling her Cindy Mackerel the Fish Girl after that. 

You're correct about the date. If it's there, it should be well integrated. 

Love that CADPAT!

Depends on how often I expect to wear the piece. Most of my pieces with most wrist time have a date because I look for it just as often. 

From a strict design perspective, I definitely prefer the symmetry of a no-date, regardless of location.

In my everyday watches I tend to prefer having a date, because that is a complication I do pay attention to. It then comes down how well it's integrated with a dial (colours, fonts), how well the features on the dial are balanced, and often it is just: not very.

I do have a dateless flieger though, since the originals didn't have dates either.

When you have a date complication there is the particular issue where to place it. On a dress watch I find 6pm less disturbing to the symmetry than the more common 3pm. Even the much rarer 9pm can be interesting, to balance the visuals of the crown. I have one watch with date at 4:30. This is not good for symmetry, but has its practical advantages:

• as it is between digits it does not crowd out the digits themselves
• If you wear the watch on the left arm (like most right-handers do), and have your arm at a natural angle to your body then the date complication is level with your line of sight. Of course, if you wear it on the right this is rubbish and 10:30 is a better place.
• once watches get added complications with added subdials it is less often in the way of those other subdials

I want my daily to have a date, and all other watches (except quartz) to be without a date. It's so whenever I switch off my daily to another watch, I wouldn't have to set the date 👌

I messed a bit more with the image to increase the symmetry of this envisaged GS: 

I honestly think it depends on the watch. There are some watches with a date that I would prefer without, some (most) it doesn't really matter to me, and some I really appreciate. I generally like a 6:00 date on a watch. I prefer dress and pilot watches without a date, especially two-hand dress watches. Field watches and chronographs are watches where I don't have much of a preference for the presence or absence of a date complication. I prefer diver's watches without a date in general, but there are two divers in my collection that have date complications that I really like; my Citizen Promaster Diver BN0150-28E and my Seiko SNJ025 Arnie. I like the slight bit of asymmetry introduced by the 4:00 date complication on the Promaster, and I keep the digital display on the Arnie set to the date.

I wear a Seiko 5 as my daily after switching from a no-date Casio. Can't go without that day-date complication. Yeah it sometimes messes up the design but the added utility is more important to me. A watch with a perfectly integrated date that comes to mind is the Zenith Defy classic with that skeletonized date wheel - invisible until you need it and also lumed.

It really depends on what style im looking for. If I want something really classy and elegant, no date is just fine.  But when I do have a date on my watch, especially in my job, I use it all the time so I actually find it helpful to have. 

 I unintentionally have ended up with a date window on all of my watches and now I actually think I would struggle without it. I refer to the date ALL THE TIME. With that said, one thing I’m not a fan of is a date window at 4 o’clock. For this Grand Seiko, I dont think the date is a problem at all. 😁👍

I appreciate having the functionality that the date provides, but tend to prefer the cleaner look of a no date. There are some watches that are able to incorporate a date without cluttering the dial or impacting the symmetry, which I quite like.

I also appreciate the fact that a watch with no date makes it easier to just grab out of the watch box and go. If I have a watch with a date display, I want the date to be correct.

I prefer it with the date.  I think it helps balance out the power reserve indicator.

I like my date complications because I'm fucking stupid and I constantly forget what day it is. 

No date for me. I can never be bothered to adjust the date. I am of an age where I often forget what day of the week it is but I prefer to check that with my phone.