There's no reason why a perpetual calendar has to be fussy looking. I can think of loads that are just three handers with a date window, and you wouldn't even know it was a perpetual calendar until it ticked over to the right date on the last day of the month.Originally Posted by Markw
diamond encrusted watches - especially on watches that were never meant to be flashy.
precious metal dive watches - seems illogical to me
oversized cases - (TW Steel)
manual wind movements with screw down crown (mentioned previously)
watches that blatantly rip off other company designs
24 hour or military time subdials. Or night/day indicators of any sort.
Another vote against screw-down crowns on hand-wound watches, contrasting date wheels (or rather, non-well-integrated dates in general) and polished centre links. I also don't care for metal bracelet clasps which don't include some provision for micro-adjustment - looking at you, Omega.
God, I'd forgotten about that. It makes a watch like it has a cheap fortune-cookie movement in it. Horrible.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Moonphase
I believe he is referring to date windows that show multiple dates such as this photo. I agree with him, the multiple date looks horrid. Lose the date function altogether and put the 3, 6 and 9 back on and this would be a great looking watch.
Ah, yes, I see what you mean. Not sure I hate them exactly, but rather unnecessary, certainly.I believe he is referring to date windows that show multiple dates such as this photo. I agree with him, the multiple date looks horrid. Lose the date function altogether and put the 3, 6 and 9 back on and this would be a great looking watch.
2 tone gold and s/s
Yes. I mean I *know* that whatever the date is today then yesterday was one number earlier and tomorrow will be one number later. What I want a watch to tell me yesterday and tomorrow's date is utterly, utterly beyond me.
Rubber straps and bracelets with slanted links.
I guess it's purely a design feature, inspired by altimeters and other airplane instruments. I don't think it's really meant to serve a huge functional purpose. Though I guess it does allow you to see what date it is even when the minute hand is at three.
Yes, look outside!
Personally, what I dislike on a watch;
is the lack of/or poor lume on hands and hour markers.
the gap between watch head and strap/bracelet.
....and that is about it. I have become far more willing to accept varied designs since joining the forum.
My previously misguided prejudice on some design elements has been eroded by the myriad watch images posted on here every day, and for that I am grateful.
The idea is to overcome obscured date misery.....
I dislike anything too flashy, big or worn by footballers eg most of hublots offerings.
I think you're right about this. Oh well, I'm a sucker for it.
Good point. There is also the issue that men seem in general to be more willing to wear what they personally like (whether it be for function or for jewellery) whereas in my experience women tend to wear what they think others will like.
<waves hand> I like cyclopes too, at least on watches where they were originally intended to be.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't buy a de-cyclopsed Sub (unless the price was so good that it covered having a new genuine crystal with cyclops added).
Numbers on the dial that are overlapped by another element on the dial or simply cut off.
triple date :(
Orange dials
Bezels that don't line up perfectly
Christopher Ward's current branding
Watches worn on the right wrist. There can't be that many lefties out there.
Yes, a quick google search for aircraft altimeters reveals examples of similar looking things, presumably having a window with multiple figures allows you to more easily see the figure during a very short glance when it's moving up or down. So perfectly suited to a pilot inspired watch, I suppose....with the added benefit that you can tell the date even when it is what would be mid change for a single window
I used to think that the open date window fad was absurd but recently I've come round to appreciate it for the reason you suggest above, that it allows the date to be read accurately even when the date is changing over, as well as the fact that it allows you to read the date when the date window is obscured by one of the hands. It is, I now have to admit, a fad that actually seems to have practical benefit.
I'm left-handed, it's never occurred to me to wear my watch on the right wrist...
It's funny how preferences vary.
I'm left handed and I can still remember being given my first watch in circa 1978. I instinctively went to put it on my right wrist and those with me (father and shop assistant, I think) said "it's goes on your left wrist". I tried it on my left wrist but it just felt utterly wrong. The only place it felt right was on my right wrist.
In response to the question, I can't imagine myself wearing a square watch.
I'm not kind of person that hate anything but I really can not stand any kind of kitsch, although it is difficult to fully define, because tastes differ.
I personally prefer to choose a minimalist design.
Generally speaking, I would tend to agree. Not always however.
Bling. Any bling.
Tapering straps. Subdials that cut into a numeral.
Overdone machismo in all forms.
Oversized watches in general. (Fliegers that are actually used in cockpit and other useful big watches totally excluded.)
I am actually very, very picky these days. I just do not like most watches, but it is not my problem if someone else does.
In some places where I operate, the sun never rises / sets for several months. I have become dependent on 24hr. But I fully respect a proper, personal hate on unnecessary clutter.
I didn't like it in pictures, but when I saw one in real life I was like "Aah, that makes sense now." It's an acquired taste; when I see a no-date Sub now I think, "Oh no! That poor guy's cyclops has fallen off!"
Any watch where the brand is the main reason most people buy it.
Date if there is no quickset function, especially on an expensive watch. (I curse my Navitimer every time I have to set it!)
Lack of hacking, especially if it's expensive. (That means I also curse my Zenith)
Any PVD or other black or coloured coating.
And like many other posters:
Roman numerals
Skeleton dials
Jewels anywhere other than in the movement
Quartz seconds not hitting markers
Cyclops
Small movements in big cases
My pet peeve is watches that are thicker than they need to be, or are styled in such a way that they look too tall and slab sided. This ends up excluding a huge number of popular models.
Skeleton watches.
Tritium tubes.
"GMT" watches with two 12h hands and day/night indicator.
Anything that is more than 12mm thick.
Coin edge bezel.
Did I mentioned tritium tubes?
Watches with complications for complication sake that are hard to read, like this wonder:
and basically all watches I cannot afford :D
Plenty enough to annoy you, by the sounds of it! Between six and ten million in the UK.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Polished centre links on an otherwise brushed oyster.
Oversized watch/undersized movement. Leads to all the horrors including the date wheel being too near the centre.
I also can't stand a wrong colour/shade date wheel.
Moonphase…looks kind of silly...
What I hate enough to stop me buying a watch
1. Sub-second markers on a non-chrono
2. Date windows showing more than one date (e.g. IWC)
3. Random dashes on the dial, between the hour markers (specifically Breitling)
4. Gems on the bezel
5. Non-magnifying cyclops - why on Earth have one?
6. Bezels that don't align
Things that annoy me but I might still buy
1. Minute hands not reaching the minute marks (e.g. Rolex sports, weirdly the Oyster Perpetual manages this??)
2. Manual wind that has screw-down crown (I bought the PR20 LE because it was beautiful, mind you)
3. Rolex Cyclops - OK, it is part of the styling but it distorts the minute hand for a few angst-filled minutes per hour. It does magnify though, which is nice..
4. 120 click bezels - 60 might feel 'cheaper' but as someone who uses the bezel a lot, they are easier and quicker to turn
I agree with many of the observations here - in fact it occurs to me that there might be more things I don't like than do.
Recently I've tried to step back, relax a bit and appreciate the overall personality of my watches, rather than focus on their particular details. I'm finding that in use, it's this personality and how well it suits me which makes an enduring impression - the niggling details seem to disappear into the background. Time will tell, but maybe if a watch is worn long enough to truly become one's own, these imperfections may even come to be seen as appealing quirks.
The quest for my perfect watch soon became an obsessive pursuit of ever higher levels of execution, which only led to watches I now realise to be incompatible with my normal dress code and lifestyle. Screw perfection - I'm looking for long term contentment now.
Last edited by forpetesake; 6th October 2014 at 16:16.
Numbers
Coin bezels
Integral bracelets
Multi-date dates.
Like someone mentioned earlier, I guess my tolerance has increased over the years. Thought about buying a moonphase the other day, and I know I'll get a quartz pretty soon! And that's thank to you guys, and your pictures ... :-)
I do struggle with numbers, if there's all of them. I have a Reverso, and I like it, but I think that's my only one with 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 ....
Last edited by bork; 6th October 2014 at 12:47.
there definitely seems to be an awful lot to dislike out there!
I'm going for yellow watches and oversized Breitlings myself.
complications
busy dials where i have to actually look for the hands to see the time rather than just glance and immediately see it
more than 1 date showing
day wheels i find the date handy but cannot abide the day being shown
month who needs to be reminded of what month it is constantly
Critical comments
Gray
For me the GC Rainbow Python watch that has just been advertised to me by junk email (Google it to see just how horrible a watch can be) seems to tick every box of what there is to hate about some watches. Well done, that designer!
This is exactly what ruined the Black Bay for me…..
Busy watches... Too much on the dial.
This is why I dislike most Breitlings.
Too much bezel and not enough dial...
Rolex Daytona in particular.
Any watch that is difficult to read at a glance.
I don't want to have to study the damn thing just to tell the time.
Moonphase
Why?
Jewels anywhere other than in the movement.. Bling.
Watches without a date.
I rely on my watch to remind me of the date.
(well I have reached a certain age and have a bus pass).
I also hate cheap straps on beautiful watches- you have to get the balance right.
I do no like most crowns/pushers and loathe concave casebacks from an ergonomical pov.
Esthetically I am not keen on date windows and banding/blurp on the dial.
Concerning time telling I do not get multi dial puzzle analogue chronographs.
Highly busy watches (eg. Chrono Hydro conquest) and jewellery (anything with fake or real diamonds)
NATO or RubberB on Rolexes
Yes eat me
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