Watching the Watches

In the golden olden days, having a fancy fob-watch and chain draped elegantly from your waistcoat was a sign of respectability and class. Add a monocle, top-hat or classy bowler and nobody could mistake your status in society.

Today the fob watch has gone the way of a collector's item - something that grandpa used to wear that now gathers dust on the mantle or inside a display cabinet.

I have been paying attention to the watches that men wear nowadays and I have been trying to come up with some sort of rule by which you can tell what sort of man he is by looking at his watch. It would be very handy to be able to size someone up by asking him the time:

"Excuse me, Sir, do you have the time?"
"Yes, it's half-past four."
"I believe you are a family man with three children, working a 9-5 job in a semi-executive capacity in a medium sized company. You probably drive a late-model station wagon but most likely not a mini-van. Your wife's name is Susan."
"Well, Sue, actually. But how did you know all that?"
"Oh, you are wearing a combination analog-digital with a rectangular face."

Regrettably, such a rule does not seem apparent. I have found that one's watch says very little about the person. I'll give you an example. I met a man the other day who, by all other accounts looks like your quintessential English gentleman - pressed suit, shoes shined to a high-buff, cufflinks - the whole nine yards. He even spoke with a snobbyish British accent. Cheap black Casio digital.

Case number two: middle-aged bearded man, quite respectable looking, but certainly not your high-class type, probably an accountant, maybe a business man, medium-priced suit, books under his arm walks past me this morning: bright-yellow diver's watch with a round face almost as big as his hand. Go figure.

For those of you dying to know what type of watch I wear, it's a Q&Q analog - as plain as they come. When I bought it, the casing was gold coloured. Over time (pun) the gold paint wore off. When I went to replace the watch band, the salesman, with a somewhat quirky expression on his face, asked me if I wanted a gold or silver coloured band because at that stage only some of the paint had worn away. But the metamorphosis is now complete. The watch has completely taken on a dull silver colour. I hesitate to ask, but I wonder if that says anything about me?