One watch - worn every day for xx years?
Discussion
I’ve got a 2024 Seamaster 300 which I bought new from an AD, prior to this I’ve only ever had cheap “disposable” watches then wore Garmins 24/7 over the years as I trained semi-seriously for too many Ironman triathlons.
I bought my Seamaster with the intention of wearing it most days only swapping back to a Garmin when actually working out, I want to wear it for as many years as it will last and try not to worry about any scuffs and marks it picks up.
Going down the watch rabbit hole has made that very difficult and I’ve been on the cusp of other purchases a few times but keep turning away. Partly due to preferring to spend the money elsewhere, kids, holidays, bikes, home improvements etc. I settled on having the OEM bracelet, rubber strap and 2 NATO’s to change it up every few months and it feels like a new watch each time I do that
Do any of you have one watch, of any value, that you have worn almost continuously for decades? If so what condition it is in now? How many services etc.
I’d love to hear the stories
I bought my Seamaster with the intention of wearing it most days only swapping back to a Garmin when actually working out, I want to wear it for as many years as it will last and try not to worry about any scuffs and marks it picks up.
Going down the watch rabbit hole has made that very difficult and I’ve been on the cusp of other purchases a few times but keep turning away. Partly due to preferring to spend the money elsewhere, kids, holidays, bikes, home improvements etc. I settled on having the OEM bracelet, rubber strap and 2 NATO’s to change it up every few months and it feels like a new watch each time I do that
Do any of you have one watch, of any value, that you have worn almost continuously for decades? If so what condition it is in now? How many services etc.
I’d love to hear the stories
Got a Seamaster 300 back in 2001 and wore it for decades until last year I got an Apple smartwatch. It’s so damn useful and you don’t have to worry about theft when going into London. The old Omega and a few other nice pieces now just reside in the safe, only downside with the Apple is the constant nightly charging.
Starburster said:
Got a Seamaster 300 back in 2001 and wore it for decades until last year I got an Apple smartwatch. It s so damn useful and you don t have to worry about theft when going into London. The old Omega and a few other nice pieces now just reside in the safe, only downside with the Apple is the constant nightly charging.
I’ve tried Apple Watches in the past, whilst very useful I just can’t stand them personally though my wife loves hers. I like Garmins for sport tracking as even when I had an Apple Watch Ultra the battery wasn’t sufficient for some of the longer runs / hikes / rides I did and would cut off mid activity.I got too focused on all the tracking metrics with Garmin and now just wear it to workout then they live in a draw until the following day
I’m making a conscious effort to use my phone less as an ex-engineer now in another career path I love the intricacies of having a little mechanical machine on my wrist
Seiko Chrono, owned/worn for 35 plus years
Broke the strap recently, Seiko said no parts available, so I bought a flightmaster as a replacement, then someone on here put me onto a new, old stock strap... so now I have two.
I still wear the original every day. Keeping the flightmaster for best
Broke the strap recently, Seiko said no parts available, so I bought a flightmaster as a replacement, then someone on here put me onto a new, old stock strap... so now I have two.
I still wear the original every day. Keeping the flightmaster for best
Byker28i said:
Seiko Chrono, owned/worn for 35 plus years
Broke the strap recently, Seiko said no parts available, so I bought a flightmaster as a replacement, then someone on here put me onto a new, old stock strap... so now I have two.
I still wear the original every day. Keeping the flightmaster for best
I love that, I keep looking at the ssc speedtimer and think it blows everything sub £4000 out the water chronograph wise Broke the strap recently, Seiko said no parts available, so I bought a flightmaster as a replacement, then someone on here put me onto a new, old stock strap... so now I have two.
I still wear the original every day. Keeping the flightmaster for best
It's not quite 'decades' but I've worn my Omega PO daily for 8 years. One service in that time.
It just does everything I need. I'd only replace it/add to it with a Rolex, but even if I had the spare cash, I'm not quite in a place at the moment where my head allows me to buy a watch that is the equivalent cost of a decent car.
I have an Apple Watch gathering dust. I use a Garmin for running only, the iWatch I was using for podcasts but the interface is so awful I've given up.
It just does everything I need. I'd only replace it/add to it with a Rolex, but even if I had the spare cash, I'm not quite in a place at the moment where my head allows me to buy a watch that is the equivalent cost of a decent car.
I have an Apple Watch gathering dust. I use a Garmin for running only, the iWatch I was using for podcasts but the interface is so awful I've given up.
My parents got me this Rolex 6694 as a graduation gift in 2002, and I’ve worn it pretty much every day since. I started buying a few other watches about five years ago and do wear them occasionally, but I’d still say I wear this one 90% of the time. Other than a new mainspring about 15 years ago and a snapped stem, I’ve never had it serviced (I know, I know 
). It still keeps great time — granted, I’ve never put it on a timegrapher, but I never need to adjust it. I occasionally go over the crystal with Polywatch and remove the bracelet and end links to give everything a good clean, but that’s about the extent of the maintenance it’s had.
). It still keeps great time — granted, I’ve never put it on a timegrapher, but I never need to adjust it. I occasionally go over the crystal with Polywatch and remove the bracelet and end links to give everything a good clean, but that’s about the extent of the maintenance it’s had.I bought my SMP300 in 2013 and wore it daily up until around 2023 or so.
Nothing wrong with the SMP, just acquired a few more pieces since and have been rotating between them randomly.
The SMP is still very dear to me in that it was my first watch that I bought which was for a decent chunk of money at the time.
Nothing wrong with the SMP, just acquired a few more pieces since and have been rotating between them randomly.
The SMP is still very dear to me in that it was my first watch that I bought which was for a decent chunk of money at the time.
pistolpedro said:
My parents got me this Rolex 6694 as a graduation gift in 2002, and I ve worn it pretty much every day since. I started buying a few other watches about five years ago and do wear them occasionally, but I d still say I wear this one 90% of the time. Other than a new mainspring about 15 years ago and a snapped stem, I ve never had it serviced (I know, I know ). It still keeps great time granted, I ve never put it on a timegrapher, but I never need to adjust it. I occasionally go over the crystal with Polywatch and remove the bracelet and end links to give everything a good clean, but that s about the extent of the maintenance it s had.
Beautiful watch, I love to see / hear about them being used for decades rather than being sat in a box as part of a collection). It still keeps great time granted, I ve never put it on a timegrapher, but I never need to adjust it. I occasionally go over the crystal with Polywatch and remove the bracelet and end links to give everything a good clean, but that s about the extent of the maintenance it s had.
I bought my Speedmaster in 2001 and wore it every day including activities like sailing and swimming. All great until one day it stopped. Turned out that sea water had got in and it seized up.
My wife then bought me a Longines which I then wore every day for a few years.
Unfortunately I got the watch bug. Speedy now repaired and wearing my Longines today. But also now have various other watches which I rotate. And have a growing ‘want’ list of other watches. It’s a disease!
My wife then bought me a Longines which I then wore every day for a few years.
Unfortunately I got the watch bug. Speedy now repaired and wearing my Longines today. But also now have various other watches which I rotate. And have a growing ‘want’ list of other watches. It’s a disease!
Mr E said:
5610 on the left. Worn 5 days in 7 I d reckon for the last ~17 years.
It s on its second strap & plastic surround. No batteries (doesn t have one). I haven t had to adjust the time for years (radio).
It just works.
https://www.watchesofespionage.com/blogs/woe-dispa...It s on its second strap & plastic surround. No batteries (doesn t have one). I haven t had to adjust the time for years (radio).
It just works.
Starburster said:
Mr E said:
5610 on the left. Worn 5 days in 7 I d reckon for the last ~17 years.
It s on its second strap & plastic surround. No batteries (doesn t have one). I haven t had to adjust the time for years (radio).
It just works.
https://www.watchesofespionage.com/blogs/woe-dispa...It s on its second strap & plastic surround. No batteries (doesn t have one). I haven t had to adjust the time for years (radio).
It just works.
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