Is it a new fashion trend? Or is it a movement? More and more men join in on this phenomenon but many of us don’t even know the reason behind it. So if you are wondering why so many men wear broken watches nowadays, you are not the only one.
It all started when The Wall Street Journal published an article in which they claimed that watches have become jewelry pieces (instead of devices to keep track of the time) now more than ever.
“With smartphones practically glued to our palms at all times and smartwatches muscling in, traditional timepieces are just no longer as vital as they once were in any practical sense,” Jacob Gallagher (the author of the article) said.
But if that’s the case and we use other devices for time-keeping purposes, then why are watches still present on our wrists nowadays? According to Hamilton Powell, watch expert and CEO of online luxury watch market Crown & Caliber, there is one very logical and simple explanation for this.
“The fact that [the traditional watch] continues to not just survive, but thrive, has got to cause people to stop and think ‘what is a watch in 2018?'” Powell started his explanation and continued saying that the old-fashioned watch “represents something that mankind has been able to go through the forging of steel and gold and precious metal. We have been able to capture the most elusive thing that there is, and that’s time. It’s maybe the greatest engineering feat of humankind in that we’ve actually been able to measure time.”
According to Powell, a traditional watch constantly reminds us of that feat and the serenity it brings to a world where we are attached to our digital devices all day long. He thinks that by manually winding a watch, we “create a small moment where we’re intentional about how we’re going to use that time”.
“So I think people have come to recognize that it’s not about telling the time of day. It’s a moment where we remember that there’s a beauty to not being so busy, there’s a beauty to simplicity and this is actually the last simple thing that I own,” Powell continued to explain.
So even if your watch is broken, it’s still a great idea to keep wearing it. Not just because it goes well with your outfit, but also to stay present at the moment and make the most out of your day as you possibly can.