Whenever I look at the CW or Non-CW of the Day threads, I’m always intrigued by how people choose their watch (or in some cases watches) for the day. Is it dictated by…?

• What you’re doing

• Where you’re going

• What you’re wearing (or possibly a combination of all three?)

• The weather (e.g. avoiding leather on hot days)

• Strict rotation

• Pure whim or random lot

• Any other considerations

I’ve tried rotating and I’ve tried basing my choices on clothes and activities. Nowadays I hardly ever wear a watch for less than about 5 days (much longer on a trip, when I give some forethought to the selection), and usually when I feel like a change I reach for one I haven’t worn for a while.

What’s your MO?

For me, I just generally go with how I feel when I look at my little collection. Of course, if I'm doing a specific activity or plan on going somewhere in particular I might decide on a certain piece.
For my day to day usage though, my main requirement is comfort and familiarity.
Pat

Probably all of the above! Mostly weather/activity driving what I’m wearing and thus a combination of those determining the watch. But a lot of the time simply opening the box and grabbing whatever takes my fancy. And now and then trying to ensure that each watch gets a fair rotation so they don’t feel sad and left out…

It probably adds up to being fairly random overall. The only other thing I’d throw in is that naturally newer pieces tend to get a higher proportion of wear while they’re newer.

P.S. I’m looking forward to @Bahnstormer_vRS’s response which will be something along the lines of: “Is it the Obscura? If yes, wear it.”

This is my process of how I choose:
1) What you’re doing/Where you’re going/The weather (bracelet or strap)
2) What you’re wearing (mostly to please my wife after I have narrowed choices based on 1)

I have tried these in the past but they made me anxious so I try to be strictly rational and use the two-step process shown above:
- Strict rotation
- Pure whim or random lot


Examples (your post made me think about what I actually do):

work/from home/hot, warm, or cool = nothing because too lazy to get dressed most days.

going out to dinner/show/etc./ walking with my wife/hot = Rolex Datejust on bracelet
going out to dinner/show/etc./ subway with my wife/hot = Tag Huer Twin Time GMT on bracelet

going out to dinner/show/etc./ walking with my wife/warm or cool = Rolex Datejust on bracelet
going out to dinner/show/etc./ subway with my wife/warm or cool = Oris Pro Pilot on OEM croc strap (because she hates the 41mm Tudor 1926)

taking a walk and/or doing errands/walking with my wife/hot = Seiko Diver on rubber strap
taking a walk and/or doing errands/walking with my wife/warm or cool = Tudor FXD on OEM Velcro single-pass NATO

manual labor/with one my siblings or friends/ hot, warm, or cold = Seiko Diver on rubber strap
other weekend activity/with one my siblings or friends/ hot, warm, or cold = Tudor FXD on OEM Velcro single-pass NATO

doctor's appointment/walking my father to his doctor's office/hot = Rolex Datejust on bracelet
doctor's appointment/walking my father to his doctor's office/warm or cool = Tudor 1926 on leather strap
(my parents are elderly so this is often a once a week excursion to one of the many doctors he needs)

* I have two CWL on the way so they will get mixed into the rotation (TP300 for Seiko Diver and Sealander 39mm for Oris ProPilot)

The of-the-day threads are so fun. I love seeing everyone’s watches and can’t wait to see replies on this thread.

I try not to be too strict with rules for my rotation, but generally fall into a pattern of an at-work choice that rotates roughly weekly and an at-home choice that stays fairly consistent with some room for whim.

The at-work rotation is in a pretty steady C65 cycle these days with Super Compressor and Aquitaine GMT Orca Black switching roughly weekly. Incoming from the sale C63 Sealander GMT Hunter Green Ombré is about to have a say here.

At-home is dominated by Marin Instruments Odyssey Skin Diver. I tend to put it on when I arrive home in the evening like Mr. Rogers changing into his cardigan and to wear most weekends. It’s comfortable and works for everything from dinners out to hiking or yard work. The whim part comes with choices like inspiration from @Thunder1 for Longhorn game day burnt orange, or which ever lesser worn item grabs my attention to frequent strap changes on all of the above.

With difficulty.

I wore my moonphase watch (not CW) for the whole first month of ownership, but other than that, I generally don't wear the same watch for more than 7 days. I'm wearing a CW C65 today, keeping perfect time. It might be a Berny tomorrow, although a CW sale watch may arrive in the post.

Pretty random for me, see what takes my fancy in the morning

98% of the time: pure whim. whatever i feel like in the moment.

i think more about it when it's time to dress up (which dress watch?), time to travel, or if i *know* i'm going to be doing some really rough/dirty work. outside of that, it's purely mood driven.

For me it is a combination of occasion, what i want to wear, and a some rotation. Unless I'm travelling, where I tend to limit myself to two watches(!) I don't normally wear the same watch two days in a row or indeed twice in one week so can get a good mix of wear. In rough order my thought process will be:
1. What am I doing today? In the office would be one of my more formal watches, working from home I'll go more casual. Weekends I might also have one watch for the day and switch to another if doing something in the evening. Temperature can influence leather vs bracelet or nylon.
2. What do I want to wear? Nothing more scientific to this one so I'll open up the box and see what takes me (sometimes I'll have been decisive and know what I want to wear).
3. When did I last wear it? This isn't strict rotation but as noted I normally won't wear the same watch twice in one week and I'm fortunate to have enough to do that e.g. if I'm in the office three days then I can avoid repetition. I do have one of the apps to track wrist wear so if something has been a bit neglected I might make a conscious effort to wear it.

With 17 watches in the collection at the moment (I was trying to keep it at 15...) I do aim to rotate - if I'm not wearing a watch then do I need it? But some watches get more wear than others as they are more allrounders. I would say I'm not big on rotating straps (too much hassle for me to switch from a NATO to bracelet for example on a whim but I would do for a holiday) and that would also bring a whole added layer of what watch and what strap But I have a couple with QR bracelets and straps that are quick so C63 and C60 Ombre for example can quickly go from working well for an office day on the bracelet to being more casual on nylon.

I follow a two stage approach when deciding what to wear.

Stage 1: I look at a watch in the box and ask myself “Do I want to wear this one today?”

If the answer is yes then I wear the watch, if the answer is no then I proceed to stage 2.

Stage 2. Choose a different watch and repeat stage 1.

It works for me but then I’ve only ever got 6 or 7 watches. It might take Guy all day if he used this method.

Does anyone have to visit a safety deposit box?

JAFO wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 7:21 pm Does anyone have to visit a safety deposit box?

If your collection extends to such a size/value that you need to make use of a safety deposit box, then surely you’d have a man to visit it for you?

JAFO wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 7:21 pm Does anyone have to visit a safety deposit box?

safe deposit box only happens sometimes when we travel for a long period (like a couple of weeks). if my wife is going there, i may ask her to take a few of the more valuable pieces. but they come home when i do.

For me there is occasionally a distinction between the watch that I post in the CW or Non-CW threads and the actual watch that I have selected to wear for the majority of the day (with that watch often not posted at all).

Watches in that category are likely to be watches from other than my favourite brands, that I don’t wear very often, or CWs that I don’t wear that often, perhaps when trying out a new strap. Also included will be occasions where I look at the thread, notice a particular model being worn and think “I have one of those, I will wear it for a couple of hours”.

As to the main watch that I have selected for a particular day, I always have a group of better favourite watches available to wear, with usually three of a group of six to eight set and running at any time. The group will mainly consist of robust watches with 100m or more of WR, on a bracelet, mix of dial colours. Fairly random as to which gets picked up to be worn as most are interchangeable.

No strict rotation, I am happy to have watches that aren’t worn for about a year.

90%+ of the time I wear a watch on a bracelet, so no consideration as to hot/cold, bracelet/leather. Watches with a bracelet are also easier to dunk in water and clean at the end of the day. Leather only likely to be worn on the rare occasions that I wear a dress watch.

As to the specific questions:
What you’re doing - yes to a certain extent. A JLC or the Bel Canto often worn to nice restaurants.
Where you’re going - yes to a certain extent. An Explorer and or Explorer 2 invariably worn mountain walking.
What you’re wearing (or possibly a combination of all three?) - yes to a certain extent.
The weather (e.g. avoiding leather on hot days) - No.
Strict rotation - No.
Pure whim or random lot - the first three criteria have more weight, but occasionally I wear a particular watch on a whim, or for amusement.
Any other considerations - I no longer wear a high profile 6 digit Rolex in London. Older models ok.

Neil