Features of a 'good' watch?

On the recent thread about the 5 things what every man needed, almost everybody agreed about the importance of a quality watch.

I'm confused about what everybody means when they say a 'good watch.' What are the features that separates a good watch from a ordinary watch?

When I think of something 'good' for clothing, I think of something that will have specs that will make it last longer. For example, how a canvased suit will not bubble like a fused suit. Yet, it seems with watches, this idea is inverted. Its the more expensive watches which lose seconds every month or year.

I'm just trying to understand why my Timex watch wouldn't be considered a 'good' watch, other than the fact it costs less than $30. It will be less likely to lose time. And, the style is classical and clean.

May I direct your question to: www.timezone.com or http://www.thepurists.com Jon.

Or, put negatively, check out what former President Clinton has on his wrist. That's not a good watch.

what did/does clinton wear? an ironman watch (timex)?

actually, I think he now wears a bell and ross.

It's ironic that windup and automatic watches don't keep as accurate time as a $30 Timex. But personal style involves arational components like working sleeve buttons, antique finished shoes, hand-sewn button-holes, etc. They provide aesthetic satisfaction and pleasure just as a $30 Timex can.

Why did I patiently reset an automatic watch today when I could have gotten 600 Timex watches that I would not have to reset except this coming Sunday morning? Why do I have a manual transmission, manual top convertible with the engine in the middle and not place to put suitcase? If you have an answer to that one please tell my wife, as I can't explain it to her (who only has quartz watches thank you).

Why do I have a manual transmission, manual top convertible with the engine in the middle and not place to put suitcase? Â If you have an answer to that one please tell my wife, as I can't explain it to her (who only has quartz watches thank you).

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Why, it's simple. Â The mid-engine arrangement offers a lower polar moment of inertia which provides for smoother weight transfer when cornering. Â Adding a suitcase would only throw off the balance of the car. Â dan (ever appreciative of proper sports cars)

"good watch" means dressy and expensive. without being dandy-ish.

if you came into my office with a $10k watch on your wrist, i'd think you were a fop.

I own a number of watches.
For me, a "good" watch meets certain criteria:

1:
I never need to change the battery, which means it is mechanical (automatic or manual winding) or else the movement is one of the new-fangled Seiko Kinetics or Citizen Eco-Drives

2:
I never have to worry about the metal tarnishing or the finish wearing off, which means that it is either stainless steel or gold (not plated)

3:
I have a good chance of handing the watch down to one of my sons because of the watch's high-quality manufacture.


"Good" watches which meet these criteria can be had for less than $100 to over $100,000.

I agree with kai,and would add 2 things - I like a classic watch face, simple but pleasant to look at and easy to understand, and forsome reason I find that the quality of the glass, the thickness with a certain distrortion of light when viewed from an angle, is very attractive.

Pres. Clinton wore a Timex Ironman runners watch to his televised innaugural ball. Shortly after this event, he was sent many more appropriate watches to wear from designers all over the world.

Pres. Clinton wore a Timex Ironman runners watch to his televised innaugural ball.  Shortly after this event, he was sent many more appropriate watches to wear from designers all over the world.

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Sounds like a smart move and good strategy from the President to me.

I say good watch is one that is constructed sturdy. The casing of the watch should be constructed from solid block of metal (steel or precious metal) not plating.

I say excellent watch is one that has mechanical movemement and also has sturdy casing & bracelet.

I define a good watch as a mechanical watch, either handwound or automatic.  After that, everything is left up to the wearer's taste, be it trendy, timeless, or somewhere in between.  Quartz watches, like fused suits and corrected-grain shoes, are perfectly acceptable for the masses but not desirable for a stylish man.

Its the more expensive watches which lose seconds every month or year.

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That's part of their charm.  Mechanical watches are powered by human ingenuity alone, and therefore are as imperfect as their human creators.  (Think about it this way: a photograph will capture an image much more accurately than a painting, but no one's paying $40 million for a photograph of a vase with flowers.)  While a watch should possess a minimum amount of accuracy, without which it becomes an expensive bracelet, losing or gaining a few seconds a day is nothing to sweat.  After all, how often is the rest of the world running precisely on time, as measured by the atomic clock in Colorado?

When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight oclock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excruciating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools. (Faulkner, S&F)