It is better to determine one’s own taste and preferences rather than listen to those who would impose their will?

The question of “what is the best watch or watch brands” can mean so many things. Is it the best looking watch? The most accurate watch? The most comfortable watch? The most expensive watch? The best watch for the money? The watch that will get you the most dates and lead to successful job interviews? The best watch to pass down to an heir? Watches, like so many other topics that blend practical and emotion considerations, are so interesting to people such as myself because of how many things they can mean to such a diverse group of people. Get a group of equally educated collectors in the same room and you’ll find that while similarities may exist, no two own the same watches or have the same reason for being interested in watches. That is one of the fundamental beauties of being “into” something. That the life experience of different people have brought all of them together, in their own way, to the same place. Try asking them to agree on what the best watch is.

Sometimes the line of inquiry on “what is the best watch” gets a bit more inquisitional. This is when things heat up and the person engaged in socially interviewing me forces me to choose. “Money aside, and assuming you could get anything, what would be the only watch you’d choose to own.” Just one? And I have to choose right now? It begins to sound more like a punishment rather than an gift. I am being asked to turn aside my entire fascination with the world of timepieces and choose a winner? My existing and dream collection of watches is to be put aside, and a “god watch” is to be chosen that I will have to worship until the end of my days. What type of nightmare is this? From being in a position where timepieces compliment my life, this person asking not only to throw away a life of choice, but to become the subject of indentured servitude to one master. They didn’t know what they were asking, but it is what they were asking.

Flustered, I usually can’t find a polite response that informs them I cannot answer the unfair question. The only instance where it is fair to ask such a question is to narrow it down into a specific fantasy scenario such as being on a deserted island or in space with no other options. At that point the whole veneer of being a mechanical watch aficionado and snob must be wiped away and practicality must be taken into consideration. Sorry, if I am stuck in space or in a survival situation I am going to go with something practical. I prefer a useful time telling tool that may help me remain alive rather than a beautifully artistic traditional timepiece that I can gaze at in appreciation as I wither away from a lack of sustenance. Or perhaps that is the real question they are asking. Will I choose to fight for my life and choose a solid lasting tool, or a comfort item that will emotionally sustain me when all hope is lost?

There are very few situations where you can only choose one watch.
Being lost in space may be one of them

Speaking of practical, putting aside my ideals of educating people on how to find the best watches for them, there really aren’t superlative brands or watches. My lack of giving people a solid response to “what is the best watch” is also a pure indication that no watch is without its pluses and minus, and that “best” must be narrowed down to a more specific element. Passionate people on watch forums and right here on aBlogtoWatch endlessly argue on whether a timepiece is good or bad, or what the best pieces are for a particular purpose. Watches serve so many roles in our society that the best thing about them is the variety and wide selection. The best watch is one that you can afford and that you find visually appealing. Buy it and then wait for another “best’ watch to enter into your life.

People at all interested in “the best” of anything should consider themselves pretty darn lucky. Choice is a luxury of the first world and the ability to select among options to find that one item that is best for one’s subjective existence in a particular moment is a privilege that I don’t take lightly. Each time I place a timepiece of extreme value or price in my hand I am awed by the world around me that has led to its existence. Not just as a mechanical creation, but as a facet of society that reminds me that a great deal of us are so above scrambling for our next meal or running away from imminent bodily danger that we can afford to wear artistic tools. Isn’t that the real purpose of a fine watch? To remind yourself of the pleasures of civilization and what the social contract has afforded us?

I would not feel comfortable calling myself a “watch lover” if I had a single favorite watch or brand. If that were the case I’d change my career to only writing about that one subject. As a watch lover I enjoy the wide world of timepieces in general and personally have no interest in choosing a favorite. My collection of watches is just that, a collection of various watches of sometimes extreme differences that I enjoy in addition to those many watches I editorially review on a regular basis. I choose not to have favorites and enjoy the plus sides as well as quirks of the many timepieces I get to enjoy. That choice is something I relish and I simply cannot personally entertain the notion of choosing a favorite.

If you are the type of person or collector who easily gravitates toward favorites, then I compliment your ability to commit and find everything you are looking for in a single area. No doubt you discovered that area of focus alone without someone prescribing it to you. Whether or not choosing a favorite item is right or wrong for you – no opinion leader or editor such as myself has any right in making that decision for you. What we should strive to do is expand your knowledge of something we possibly know more about or are more exposed to than you, give you the tools to do it yourself.

So, no, I don’t have a favorite watch and there is no best watch in the world. Frankly, I am pretty happy about that and I can’t tell you what your own next personal favorite watch will be. What I can do is help you find that out for yourself.