MANecesseties

The problems I’ve always had with wearing a watch are; I have a phone with a giant screen that shows the time, and they look like feminine jewellery.

The latter is really just a preference thing, I know. But it always seemed that a watch was either meant for kids or old men. Old men with rings and necklaces.

The former always seemed like the best way to tell the time until my wife bought for me a $2 calculator watch from the dollar store. I quickly lost one of the calculator buttons but the time telling function turned out to be one of those small things that set off a chain reaction that can only lead to me spending way too much time on ebay.

Over the last 10 years I had grown so accustomed to pulling my phone out to find the time that I had forgotten how much easier it could actually be. Now I just look at my WRIST. I have now reached such a rate of information absorption and impatience that I am unwilling to reach in my pocket and pull it out, preferring to have it right there on my wrist. Taking out my phone simply to find the time seems like such a chore that if I’m not wearing my watch I’ll just give up and wait until the next time I’m on my phone to see how late I am.

I had originally gone looking for another calculator watch. One that could sustain a day or more of light rubbing against the inside of a sweater sleeve. But then I saw something called a “drivers watch”. The local flea market had one and I immediately fell in love with it. They are generally vintage (before there were digital clocks in every car I’m guessing) and the time is displayed on the SIDE of the watch with the “face” not on the top, but pointing at you while you are driving or typing, which is really all I ever do.

Once I saw the prices of these watches however, I started looking at other vintage watches. MANLIER vintage watches than those worn by even the oldest of men.

I had always thought I could be the kind of guy that carried a pocket watch, and even have one given to me by my grade 12 girlfriend. I’ve thought of digging it out again. But the act of taking it out and flipping it open always seemed too involved, and then later pointless as I could just do that with my phone. Also, while time may heal the burn of lost love, it probably won’t fix the broken hinge.

This brings us to the trench watch

A Trench Watch on the other hand is the best of so many worlds! It’s a pocket watch, but has a strap. It’s a wrist watch, but has the classic and manly look of a pocket watch. It winds up like a watch of mine should (exceptions given to watches that run on sweat, meat, coal, or nuclear power) and it’s usually pretty giant.

Prices for trench watches vary but are usually pretty high. My only hope may be to have my father give me his (I’m not certain he has one, but if anyone does it’s him) or to find one that has been designated as useless by someone who just doesn’t know how awesome it is.