I own twelve watches, and I don't think that's enough.
Before you decide I have completely lost my mind, let me explain. I am not a watch collector in the traditional sense. I don't spend my evenings studying mechanical movements, I don't care how many jewels are buried inside a watch where no one can see them, and I have never felt the need to impress another man by telling him what I paid for the thing on my wrist.
I buy watches for the same basic reason I buy shirts, shoes, belts, and other jewelry.
I want the right look.
If you wear a narrow range of colors, rarely dress up, and live a fairly consistent lifestyle, one or two watches may be all you need. If you wear black, brown, navy, gray, cream, and other colors, own both gold and silver jewelry, and move between casual, social, business, and dressier settings, the answer may be very different.
The number of watches you need has less to do with watches and more to do with the life you live and the clothes you wear.
Stop Thinking Every Watch Has to Be Expensive
One of the reasons I can own twelve watches and still want more is that I do not believe every watch needs to be expensive. In fact, I prefer buying inexpensive watches, even cheap ones, if the look is right.
I don't care very much about the name on the face. I care about the way the watch looks on my wrist and how well it works with what I'm wearing.
A $20 watch that coordinates beautifully with an outfit can be a better style choice than a $300 watch that fights with it. The more expensive watch may be better made. It may last longer. It may impress someone who knows watches.
Fine.
But if the $20 watch looks better with the man, his clothes, and his other jewelry, I know which one I would rather see him wearing.
There is another practical advantage to buying inexpensive watches. If I lose a $20 watch, I'm out $20. If I break it, I'm out $20. If the battery eventually gives out and replacing the battery becomes more trouble or expense than the watch is worth, I can buy another watch and toss the old one.
Lose or break a $150 to $300 watch and that's another story.
Buying inexpensive watches gives me something I value more than having one prestigious name on my wrist.
Options.
I can own a gold watch with a black face, another with a cream face, a silver watch with a black face, another with white or silver, and a black watch with gold, silver, or black details. I can have brown leather, black leather, gold metal, silver metal, and black metal bands.
Suddenly the watch becomes part of the wardrobe rather than some sacred object I'm expected to wear with everything because I spent too much money on it.
I don't care what name is on the watch. Expensive, inexpensive, famous, unknown, I'm remarkably open-minded.
Except Timex.
We must never own a Timex.
A Timex is something you get when you graduate from high school. You wear it proudly for a while because someone gave it to you and you're eighteen years old. Then you grow up, develop some taste, and buy your own watch.
I Am the Star of the Show
I have another reason for not caring very much about the name on a watch. I am the star of the show. Not my watch. Not my jewelry.
When I walk into a room, I want people to notice the complete man. How I look, how I carry myself, the confidence I exude, and, once I open my mouth, how I communicate. The impression I make should be based on who I am rather than who manufactured the watch on my wrist or how many dials they managed to cram onto its face.
I want my watch to support me. I want it to work with my clothes, coordinate with my other jewelry, suit the occasion, and help complete the picture. I do not want it to become the most interesting thing about me.
If someone walks away from a conversation with me thinking, What an interesting man, I did well. If all they remember is my watch, the watch was doing too much work.
I think the same should be true for you.
You are the star of your show. Your watch is supporting cast.
So How Many Watches Do You Really Need?
There is no universal number, and anyone who gives you one is probably telling you more about his life than yours.
One man may genuinely need only two watches. Another may be better served by six. I own twelve and, as I already admitted, I still see gaps.
Start with the clothes you actually wear.
If almost everything in your wardrobe is black, gray, and navy and you wear only silver-tone jewelry, you may not need much variety. A good silver watch and perhaps a black one could take you a long way.
But what if you also wear brown, tan, beige, cream, and warmer colors? What if you own gold jewelry? What if you wear a gold chain one day and silver the next? What if some evenings call for black jewelry? What if you move between casual clothes, business attire, dinners, weddings, clubs, travel, and more formal events?
One watch starts working awfully hard.
The case color matters. The face color matters. The band matters. The size and thickness matter. A massive, thick watch may look perfectly good in a casual setting and then fight with the cuff of a dress shirt. A slim gold watch may look stunning with business clothing but completely wrong when you are dressed for something rugged or highly casual.
This is why I do not start by asking, How many watches should a man own?
I ask, What does this man wear, and where does he go?
Think About Your Clothes Before You Buy the Watch
Most men shop for watches backward. They see a watch they like and ask whether they should buy it.
I would rather you look at your wardrobe first.
Ask yourself what you own that you currently cannot coordinate as well as you would like.
Do you wear a lot of brown and warm earth tones? A gold case, cream face, and brown leather strap may be exactly what you are missing.
Do you wear black and brown together in casual settings? A black case and dark face with a brown strap may pull those colors together beautifully.
Do you wear navy or black business clothing with gold jewelry? A slim, refined gold watch may be far more useful than another bulky sports watch.
Do you wear silver jewelry? Then you should probably have a watch that supports it.
The goal is not to accumulate watches for the sake of accumulating watches. The goal is to give yourself enough options that the watch on your wrist looks as though it belongs with the rest of you.
Numbers Are for Children Learning to Tell Time
I also prefer a clean, minimalist watch face. I don't need the numbers 1 through 12 printed around the dial, and I certainly don't need I through XII pretending the watch is more sophisticated because the numbers happen to be Roman.
Numbers on a clock face are wonderful when a child is learning to tell time. A grown man should know from the position of the hands what time it is. I don't need a 3 printed on the dial to know the hand pointing to the right means three o'clock.
Simple hour markers are more attractive to me and, in most cases, far more sophisticated. They give the watch face room to breathe. A clean gold marker on black, silver on white, or black on cream can look elegant without trying too hard.
My preference is simple. I want a watch to tell me what time it is. That's all. I don't need six little dials, four pushers, a rotating bezel, or enough information on my wrist to land a small aircraft.
If I need to know the date, I'll look at a fucking calendar. If yesterday was Sunday the 5th and my brain is too small to figure out what today is, I have problems no watch is going to solve.
Never, Ever Wear a Digital Face Watch
I have one more rule, and unlike most of my advice, I am not particularly interested in negotiating this one. Never, ever wear a watch with a digital face. To me, it is the absolute epitome of tackiness.
A digital display may tell time with extraordinary precision. Wonderful. So does my microwave.
I want a watch to look like something a grown man deliberately chose to wear. I want hands, a clean face, attractive markers, and proportions that work with the rest of what I have on. I do not want glowing numbers strapped to my wrist announcing 8:47 as though I might otherwise become confused and miss the school bus.
Yes, I know smartwatches are popular. Yes, I know they count steps, read messages, track workouts, monitor sleep, and apparently perform half the duties once assigned to a family physician. I still don't think a little television strapped to your wrist improves the appearance of a well-dressed man.
If you need one for health, work, exercise, or some other practical reason, use it. I am talking about style. And from a purely style perspective, I wouldn't wear one if it came with tomorrow's winning lottery numbers.
I Searched Amazon for Men's Watches Under $30
And while working on this very guide, I decided to test my own argument.
I went to Amazon.com and searched for:
men's watches under $30
That was it. Nothing sophisticated.
Almost immediately, I found a watch for $19.99 with a gold case, cream face, simple gold markers, and brown leather strap. I could immediately see how well it would coordinate with my brown clothing and warmer outfits.
I bought it.
I don't particularly like that it tells me the date. Apparently the watch thinks I need help with that. I'll try not to hold it against it.
Then I found another watch for $7.99. It had far too many dials for my taste, but it also had a black case, black face, brown strap, and warm gold-tone details. Would I wear it with a casual black-and-brown outfit?
Absolutely.
Together, the two watches cost less than $28.
That is my point.
One expensive watch may give you one look. For the same money, a carefully chosen group of inexpensive watches may give you an entire wardrobe of options.
Let Me Teach You How to Shop
I don't want to simply tell you that inexpensive watches exist. That isn't very helpful. I want you to see for yourself.
Go to Amazon.com and search:
men's watches under $30
Don't change the wording. Start there and look at what comes back. You may be shocked by the number of choices.
Then try Walmart. Yes, Walmart. Get the idea out of your head that a stylish man can only shop in expensive stores. Walmart carries some very attractive watches for men. I have particularly liked a number of Elgin watches I've seen there.
Don't just scroll mindlessly. Shop with a purpose.
Look at the case color. Gold, silver, or black?
Look at the face. Black, cream, white, silver, or gold?
Look at the markers and hands. Do they coordinate with the case?
Look at the band. Brown leather, black leather, gold metal, silver metal, or black?
Then ask the only question that really matters:
What would I wear this with?
If you cannot think of an answer, you may not need the watch.
If three outfits immediately pop into your head, now you may be looking at something useful.
Shop for the look, not the price tag.
Spending More Did Not Find Me Better Watches
After seeing what was available under $30, I tried another search in the $30 to $50 range.
I expected to find even more watches I wanted.
Oddly, I didn't.
I found only one I would buy.
That alone taught me something worth passing along. Spending more does not automatically give you better-looking choices. A higher price may buy better materials or construction, but it does not guarantee better style.
The one watch I did like was an ultra-thin gold watch with a restrained face and fine gold mesh band. It cost $33.99.
If I were still working in the banking industry, this is a watch I would absolutely wear.
It is business stunning.
I spent years in the IT area of banking and rose rapidly enough to spend time around executives and senior people. I paid attention to how successful men presented themselves. I noticed the French cuff shirts, cuff links, tie bars, watches, and other details that helped create an air of refinement.
That $33.99 watch could have walked into those rooms with me.
Its slim profile, restrained face, and fine gold mesh band looked polished and executive without screaming for attention. On a man wearing a navy or black suit, or a crisp white French cuff shirt, I seriously doubt anyone across the conference table would guess what it cost.
More importantly, they probably wouldn't care.
They would see the complete man.
A $25 Watch Nobody Would Guess Cost $25
During the same shopping experiment, I found another watch for about $25 that looked remarkably sophisticated.
It had a rectangular gold case, a pale textured face, a gold bracelet, restrained hands, and four Roman numerals.
Yes, four Roman numerals.
You already know I have opinions about numbers on watches, but I can forgive four when the complete design looks that good.
Put that watch on the wrist of a well-dressed man and I seriously doubt anyone would guess he paid about $25 for it. The watch looks refined because the design looks refined.
Price and perceived sophistication are not the same thing.
A $300 watch with the wrong outfit is still the wrong watch. A $25 watch that perfectly completes the man may be the better style choice.
Nobody is going to stop you at the door and demand a receipt.
I Started This Guide With Twelve Watches
Remember how this guide began?
I told you I owned twelve watches and didn't think that was enough.
While researching and writing it, I found the $19.99 gold-case watch with the cream face and brown leather strap. It filled a legitimate gap in my wardrobe.
I bought it.
Then I found the black, brown, and gold casual watch.
I bought that one too.
Then I found the slim gold mesh watch that would have looked right at home in the banking industry.
I bought that one too.
So I started this guide with twelve watches and, before I finished researching it, I owned fifteen.
I wasn't done shopping.
That may sound as though I just disproved my own argument. I think I proved it.
I did not buy three more watches because I suddenly became obsessed with collecting watches. I bought them because I found three distinct looks that would work with clothes I already own. The watches were inexpensive, the combinations were useful, and the financial risk was almost nonexistent.
One gave me a warm gold, cream, and brown combination. Another gave me a casual black, brown, and gold combination. The third gave me a slim, refined gold mesh option I would have gladly worn during my years in the banking industry.
Different watches. Different jobs.
That is what a watch wardrobe should do.
So What Is the Right Number?
Maybe three.
Maybe six.
Maybe twelve.
Maybe more.
The right number is the number that gives you enough versatility for the life you actually live without buying things you will never wear.
I am not suggesting that every man needs fifteen watches. If you wear the same basic colors every day and rarely move between different settings, fifteen watches would probably be ridiculous.
But I also reject the idea that every man should buy one expensive watch and wear it with everything simply because it cost enough to make him feel obligated.
Your watch should work for you.
You are the star of the show. Your watch is there to support you.
Buy the look that works. Coordinate it with your clothes and your other jewelry. Spend what makes sense for you, and never assume a higher price will make you look better.
Sometimes the perfect watch for tomorrow night costs $19.99.