Is anyone else struggling to fully appreciate their dials with failing eyesight?

Yes. I have recently purchased a tissot 1938 heritage cronograph (salmon dial) and despite me staring at it all day like golem from lord of the rings, I was still surprised when I found out through YouTube that the railtracks on the dial actually had radial engraving. Like my eyes really cannot notice such fine details and it makes me sad. I feel like I cannot appreciate the piece of art my watches are 🥲

Yeah that’s why I wear big watches. And I have a tiny 6.5 inch wrist

I feel your pain,maybe we should get a high quality macro print on an A4 sheet & keep it in a pocket, just to remind us why we spent so much money on something we can’t see???

That’s a bugger, it’s the loss of fine detail that pisses me off, even the bigger models don’t help that.Nice collection Bub the way.👍

Hello progressive lens glasses😃

My fiance would be mad that I am carrying a big picture of something around and it’s not even hers 😂

I still appreciate the dials but I start to struggle with some of the date windows. That annoying, or frightening even.

Welcome to my experience. I have to put on my reading glasses to admire my watches too.

Also, a good cyclops is your friend if the watch has a small date. It becomes a necessity.

Where’s the town clock tower?

Some of the date windows are small on watches. It just can't be my failing eyesight 👍

Agreed, it’s the one criticism I have with the big Sinn,huge dial tiny date window, better off forgetting about it.

I can relate, I keep magnifying glasses around the house and office and I keep watch makers loupes in my bag for watch meetups and shopping.

Love no-date watches for that reason.

One reason I've become enamored with my Heritage Ranger-I can actually read the blasted thing!

Singing to the Choir, my friend!! Drives me crazy.

I’m mid 50s, but happily my close vision is still fine.

Dread the idea of reading glasses and or bifocals 😬

Do they make contacts for reading close 🤔

I'm near 52 and ever since I was 41 I've been needing reading glasses and while watch collecting legibility is a key concern in my case. Some watches I have sold has been purely because of this, like the CW Sealander GMT in white.

There are two levels: ability to read the time and the capacity to see all the details in a watch.

Now I can only appreciate the details in a watch with glasses. In a day by day basis my main concern is to be able to read what time is it thus tool watches like pilots, divers and field and exploring watches are my preferred go to.

Even there the alleged king of legibility has let me down, the new Explorer, and more humble ones are doing a better job.

Between 11 and 1, the bold logo and text can make it difficult to know the time with eyes not focusing.

This doesn't happen with my Summiteer, even with the clear dial one thanks to the blue hands and subtle logo.

Good to know you’ve got a solution that works for you

Your in good company & now you know.😀

Yes, absolutely. Think that's why Grand Seiko do very little for me & I generally prefer divers because of better legibility. Also hate dates with a passion - look rubbish, I've got a memory so it's a redundant function and I can't see it most of the time anyway.

It's shite getting old, but better than the alternative!! 😂

It's a terminal disease called age. I'm with you on this one.

Yes I’m absolutely suffering from this so much so I’ve sold watches because I’m struggling to see them. I wanted a sinn ezm 13 for a long time but when I got it I was having trouble seeing the minute hand. I’ve tried on some lovely grand seikos with lighter dials but I struggle to see the hands without glasses. I tend to buy black dials with large hands. Mostly dive watches. Only exception is my speedmaster while it has a busy dial and thin hands it is extremely legible

It’s so annoying that at this stage in my life I can afford to get the watches I like but I don’t have the eyes to appreciate them 🫣

I only bother to set the date on my watches for wrist shots 🫣 this is how I know I have a problem and it’s no longer a hobby 😊

It’s what draws me to the Tudor Pelagos and the IWC Mark XX - I can appreciate the big details! Today I’m wearing a Pelagos and an Alpinist. The Alpinist is great but a little harder for me to appreciate!

Yeah I am drawn to big hands and markers now. Like a Tudor fxd, Sinn, type 1 fliegers, or GO SeaQ

Some good guidelines to consider for the future, the dials always look great in the macro publicity or review shots but reality is somewhat different.

I think I’m drawn to Pilot style for the reasons you mention, also the bigger dials which used to be a turn off style wise are becoming e necessity.

Still have to be grateful to be able to read them without specs at this stage. Happy collecting.

Yes, I have different sizes, and in general clear not cluttered dials and contrasting hands is my go to combination.

Yes that wrist shot makes the difference really apparent, again the Alpinist looks sensational is macro/promo shots but maybe not so legible in real life.The Tudor on the other hand clear as a bell.Im going to have to reconsider my Diver aversion.

Those two shots make it really apparent, The Sinn looks super legible in images & you would think more legible than the Speedie dial but not so?

I’ve resisted a Speedie because I didn’t think I would be able to read it with all the info on the dial but maybe I’m wrong.

I think the fact that the hands are all white and not metal filled with lume that they stand out so very well certainly better than you would think also the lume is very good and is good all night long