philmophlegm: (Sid James)
philmophlegm ([personal profile] philmophlegm) wrote2008-02-12 11:59 pm
Entry tags:

Douglas Adams was wrong about this



Late last year my watch broke. And apparently that's it - it's dead. I've had this watch since I was ten years old, so it's over a quarter of a century old. It's a Casio AX-250, like this one only black rather than blue: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360022022529&ih=023&category=31387&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1 .

I was very attached to this watch, and now I have to say goodbye. I could buy a second-hand one, but that would also be a quarter of a century old and probably wouldn't last much longer (and because they are very collectable now, they can go for quite large sums).

I'm currently using my 'new' watch, a Gucci analogue one with a red and green face and lizard-skin strap (like this one, except for the strap: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-Genuine-Mens-Gucci-Watch-needs-Repairing_W0QQitemZ120219567327QQihZ002QQcategoryZ31387QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem ).
I say 'new', but it was the watch my parents bought me when I passed my A-levels, so it's seventeen years old in its own right. I have only had four watches in my entire life.

The Gucci one is nice, but I want a digital. Because I've worn a digital for so long now, it takes me a while to work out what the time is when I look at an analogue watch.

And whereas digital watches were, for most of the last twenty years, very un-hip, all of a sudden, they're very trendy. The fashion thing obviously doesn't matter to me that much (I was after all wearing the digital watch all through that 20 year period), but it does mean that now there are lots of digital watches out there that appeal to me.

So I thought I would ask for some advice. Do any of you like any of these watches?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quiksilver-Mens-Designer-Digital-Watch/dp/B000PI0232

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nooka-ZEN-V-Unisex-Digital-Leather/dp/B000WTSQFU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=watch&qid=1202813889&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philippe-Starck-PH1082-Unisex-Digital/dp/B000KLJF4G/ref=pd_sbs_jw?ie=UTF8&qid=1202813889&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Storm-4337-BK-Rubber-Digital/dp/B000X5JKUS/ref=pd_sbs_jw?ie=UTF8&qid=1202813889&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Dice-BD-018-01-Digital-Leather/dp/B000KKIFW0/ref=pd_sbs_jw?ie=UTF8&qid=1202813889&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Dice-BD-018-02-Digital-Leather/dp/B000KHPCJW/ref=sr_1_86?ie=UTF8&s=watch&qid=1202814566&sr=1-86

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diesel-dz7071-DZ7071-Mens-Watch/dp/B0012UOYDQ/ref=sr_1_87?ie=UTF8&s=watch&qid=1202814566&sr=1-87

http://www.zgwatches.co.uk/lambretta-monza-digital-menÂ's-watch-la2073bro-p-568.html

http://www.zgwatches.co.uk/mens-jacob-jensen-watch-digital-bangle-530-p-415.html
(I think these two look a bit like Liberator teleport bracelets!)
http://www.zgwatches.co.uk/mens-jacob-jensen-watch-digital-bangle-533-p-417.html

http://ledwatchstop.com/store/matrix-retro-watch-neoclassic-p-131.html

http://ledwatchstop.com/store/watch-galaxy-programmable-display-blue-p-196.html

http://www.shadestation.co.uk/cPath/-2_440/products_id/6681/osCsid/3648dd0b2c8d1e77fb91212a1e2c3412/product_info.php

And weirdest of all:
http://ledwatchstop.com/store/unique-watch-tokyoflash-biohazard-leather-p-252.html

[identity profile] tovaglia.livejournal.com 2008-02-13 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Definitely agree that a road atlas is far better than satnav, even though you have to pull over and stop to read the road atlas if you suddenly get unexpectedly lost (this does happen to me quite a lot). Also agree that a paper diary wins hands-down over a PDA. There's something about the act of writing something down on paper that fixes it in my memory much better than entering data on a screen. Something to do with the way we were taught at school, I expect.

Anyway it sounds like you are actually trying to decide on the basis of fashion rather than gadgetry (ie you are not bothered by whether the watch can tell you the time in New York, solve differential equations etc, you just want it to look nice). In which case, you ought to ignore my opinion as I am not at all up on men's fashion!

[identity profile] philmophlegm.livejournal.com 2008-02-14 12:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I think it would be more accurate to say that I'm trying to decide on the basis of 'style' or even 'cool' rather than fashion. If the next watch lasts 25 years, then at some point it won't be fashionable, but hopefully will remain stylish.