To be clear, I make watches for fun, but my feelings about wearing them haven't changed since before I began tinkering with them. There are numerous reasons to wear a traditional, non-smartwatch. Of course, if you're reading this, you're probably thinking about why regular watches are stupid. And guess what? On that point, I cannot disagree with you. You're not entirely incorrect.

People wear wristwatches because they make our lives easier. They serve a purpose for us. Smartwatches are useful, but the relationship between one's worn accessories and oneself is not the same as the relationship between one's phone and oneself; a phone can be put down, ignored, or even turned off, whereas a wristwatch is supposed to live on your wrist throughout your waking hours. The wristwatch evolved in response to specific requirements. That history is reflected in our relationship with it and with time.

The Past Is the Prologue
First, some background. Wristwatches may seem antiquated, but they are actually a relatively new invention. While clocks and pocket watches have been around for a long time, the wristwatch did not become popular until the pilot's watch was introduced in the first half of the twentieth century. They didn't start appearing on the wrists of the cool until later, when the sport dive watch became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. The quartz watch did not become popular until the 1970s, when technology made a good, dependable wristwatch available to everyone and forever changed the way people thought about watches. Even watch brands we think we know could be wrong.

In terms of technology,
There are, of course, more accurate ways to keep time than wearing a watch. Many of these methods are free of charge.
Those who dismiss the dated wrist-mounted watch may regard its fans as superficial, dressed in little more than jewellery. Though some people wear watches for insignificant reasons, the motivation to wear a watch isn't always impractical. Wearing a regular watch, in my opinion, is far superior to using any other method to keep time.

Time Is More Valuable Than Money
No, this isn't a recommendation for a luxury watch as an investment. A watch, whether a $14,000 Rolex Oyster or a $50 Timex, can alter your relationship with time and, as a result, the way you spend it. This is the most important thing a regular watch can do for its owner.

Using a watch, especially a mechanical one, necessitates setting the time on a regular basis. This ritual makes you aware of time in a completely different way. This awareness of time is how I discovered that the phone companies' clocks, as well as those in all the churches in my neighbourhood, are all off by more than two minutes.

Your Individual Statement
Whether one intends it or not, wearing a watch of any kind is a personal statement, similar to growing a beard or wearing a specific type of eyeglass frame. This statement could be made for purely aesthetic reasons, or it could be made for entirely practical reasons. Whether you like it or not, the specifics of the watch type chosen, as well as how it is worn and treated, will reveal a lot about the wearer.