No More Date Complications?

Actually, after having purchased a piece without a date complication, I've found that it's a must have for me. I'm sure I'm in the minority on this forum.

Date complications suck. I mean who pays? do we pick them up or meet at the restaurant? Coffee or alcohol? My house or yours? I’m with you. They suck

Absolutely hate date complications. Many a cool dial destroyed by that pointless function!

Thats what a memory is for 🤣

Fortunately as I get older and eyes become blurred, I can't see the date on my Willards so it's easier to ignore. (Who needs to know the date at the bottom of the sea anyway?!)

Really does get on my nerves, why can't manufacturers release versions with & without a date, then we'd all be happy & they'd sell more!!

Rant over 😄

I like date complications on a dress watch at work, no matter how many times I sign and date I still check the date. I don't understand day complications - how often do you forget what day it is?

I'm neutral. It depends on how it's done for each individual design. Some dials just look a lot better & cleaner without.

Poor implementations also spoil them for me. Weird dial placement & non-colour matched date windows bug me.

The date window is fine, but the best position to maintain symmetry is at 6. I can see how it can be hated on though.

For a daily wear, I do find I miss having the date function at a quick glance, especially while at work. On the other hand -no pun intended 🙂- it is really nice to wind up and just set the time (and not be concerned with am/pm either) ! I also agree with others that the dial symmetry works best w/o a date window.

I think a time only watch is a nice addition to a collection and I often wear my Lorier Falcon III on weekends as a nice change. For an only/daily watch though, it would be tough for me to not have the date.

Get a winder or embrace the miracle of quartz.

I prefer watches (divers especially) without date windows, but some watch designs really pull it off well like the Seiko SPB143 and most any watch with the date at 6 o’clock.

I kind of like a date complication in the sense that it can be very useful, especially if you have to date forms at work. But it's so easy to forget to change them that they never feel totally trustworthy to me.

When I do actually need a date complication, I'm probably better served by a digital watch.

Winder maybe? If problem is with design then ok but from your painpoint view winder would do the job

unless it's a pointer date wich I really enjoy the look, a date complication is not usefull for me.

I don't hate the date but am definitely more attracted to dials without. I've seen some dials that really just seem spoiled by poking that square hole in them to show the date. And as I get older I just can't even see it more often than not... which is much of the reasoning behind the cyclops window (which I also do not care for, in most cases).

But, in defense of the dates, they do have their place. And some are done quite well, in which case it's part of the art. Like the pointer date. That's cool!

I’m loving the the diversity of opinions! I expected a date complication pile-on but happy to see folks enjoying it ❤️

When you own Soviet /Russian watches with day / date complications it's easier. I only correct the date, to correct the day I need to look it up. So I don't bother. 😁

Interesting. I'm new to the watch game myself (less than a year) and I actually like setting the date if needed. It's a comforting ritual to start my date, give it a few winds, set date, start my day.

I’m going the same direction with my watch choices, unless it is an integral design in the watch (I’m looking at you, Glashütte Original big dates).

Us ADD kids need that day and date function to stay alive 😬

This journey of collecting will evolve over time for each of us. Two years from now you may "have to have" GMTs or Chronographs. As long as it brings you joy, we will celebrate with you 👍🏾!

Side note, this by no means a long post on WatchCrunch. Hell @Aurelian literally posts short novels 🤣

I like big dates and I cannot lie...

Nope one watch without and it’s a big no, which is a problem as I so like Farer and Baltic

Submariner and Submariner Date?

Not sure we'd all be happy though.

Lol the date function is super handy imo, far from pointless

I enjoy a date complication and I find it useful. I do not like day complications as I always know what day of the week it is and honestly I’m not sure how someone could forget 😂

I like having the date on my watches. It's not hard to set! And symmetry isn't everything.

I’ll double down with a gmt date quartz

I don’t necessarily care if a watch has a date complication…never gonna set it though 🤷‍♂️

A lot of people see a poorly placed date window and focus their frustration on the complication rather than the implementation. Fact is, date windows don't ruin dials, lazy designers and cost-cutting do. We've all seen and probably owned beautiful watches with date complications harmoniously integrated into the overall design, and we've also all seen and probably owned watches ruined by date windows that appear to have been punched through the dial as an afterthought (lookin' at you, Longines).

This extends to the color of date-wheels, too. There's a knee-jerk assumption by many in this community that date-wheels should always be color-matched to the dial, but most of the time, that would actually throw off the balance of a design, leaving an uncomfortable visual gap where they eye expects to see an element that matches the indices and leads the eye around the dial. There are examples where color-matching makes total sense and contributes to balance, but most often that's when the date window doesn't sit where a dial marker otherwise would (4:30, etc).

Related, I see a lot of comments whenever this topic comes up that confuse "symmetry" with "balance" and they're very different things. Symmetry isn't a design ideal, whereas balance absolutely is. Great designers introduce emotion and visual interest by violating symmetry while maintaining balance with other elements to create a sense of harmony. Those are the designs that keep us intrigued and inspire deeper feelings. Nature isn't symmetrical and symmetry can often lead to designs that look "right" at first glance but are ultimately institutional, industrial, and impersonal, lacking the tension and release that elevates design to art. It's also worth considering that watch cases are almost never symmetrical, nor are the markings on all but the most minimal of dials, nor are the wrists the watch sits on, so a symmetrical dial that exists in an asymmetrical setting can actually look out of balance within its surroundings. One of my favorite examples of a watch with no symmetry but perfect balance is the early 70s Omega Seamaster Chronograph, where the big date window at 3 combines with the crown and pushers on the right to perfectly balance out the inset sub-dials at 9 (and since the date window replaces the hour marker at 3, the hour marker at 9 is removed to compensate). The the stupid amount of dial text at 12 is balanced by the subdial at 6, which also uses size and color to keep things in harmony. It conveys more information than the Speedmaster yet manages to be more legible and, to me, more compelling to look at.

All of this to say that, yes, minimalism and symmetry CAN be appropriate and beautiful in the most skilled of hands and in certain circumstances, but it's, at best, a personal preference and by no means an objective designers should strive for or have their designs judged against.

Design rant over...as always...love what you love, keep the conversation going!

Kinda depends the watch, I can do without it on a dressy piece or occasional wear, but it's a must for a daily. As it stands 2 of my 3 analogue watches have dates, the third doesn't