If you own several watches, making sure you wear each one regularly is important. A good rotation system helps your watches stay in good condition and lets you enjoy your entire collection.
Benefits of Watch Rotation
Better Watch Health: Mechanical watches need regular movement. Wearing them keeps oils flowing properly and prevents parts from sticking.
Know Your Preferences: Tracking which watches you actually wear helps you understand what you truly like, guiding future purchases.
Enjoy Your Collection: The main reason we collect watches is to enjoy them. Rotation ensures you appreciate each piece you own.
Simple Ways to Track Wrist Time
Here are some practical methods to keep track of which watches you wear:
1. Watch Box Organization
Arrange your watch box so newly worn watches go on one side. Watches that haven't been worn move to the other side. This visual system quickly shows which watches get neglected.
2. Basic Spreadsheet
Create a simple spreadsheet where you mark the date whenever you wear a watch. Add simple charts and analyze patterns.
3. Watch Journal
Keep a small notebook where you write down which watch you wear each day. This creates both a wear record and a memory book of your collection.
4. Calendar Method
Use any calendar to note which watch you wore each day with simple color codes or initials.
5. Watch Tracking Apps
Today, apps offer more user-friendly solutions for tracking. Although they usually come with a trade-off of being designed to work with a wide variety of user needs.
6. Full Nerd
With Excel, the sky is the limit. There are some of us with custom spreadsheets who know their wrist time down to the minute.
Using WristLog
WristLog tracks how often you wear each watch with the aim to be as easy for the user as possible. Record that you're wearing a watch today with one button click.
It shows clear statistics and graphs of your wearing patterns. The app displays the last day you wore a watch and total days worn for each watch, making it easy to see which ones get the most wrist time. The calendar view uses colors to show your wearing habits over time.
The app provides data about your collection to help you decide which watches need more attention or which ones you might consider selling.
WristLog also helps you track how accurately each of your watches keeps time and records when you last wore each piece.
Using Your Tracking Results
Once you know your wearing habits, consider these approaches:
Seasonal Wearing: Match watches to seasons - perhaps leather bands in winter and dive watches in summer.
Occasion Rotation: Assign watches to different activities - work, weekends, formal events, or sports.
Week Challenge: If you discover unworn watches, commit to wearing each neglected piece for a full week to rediscover it.
Collection Review: If certain watches consistently show minimal wear over several months, consider whether they still belong in your collection.
Conclusion
Watch rotation isn't just about being fair to each watch—it's about building a thoughtful relationship with your collection. By tracking which watches actually make it to your wrist, you gain valuable insights into what you truly enjoy.
Whether you use a simple journal or a tracking app like WristLog, consistent tracking provides valuable data that will guide your watch collecting journey, helping ensure each watch in your collection gets the attention it deserves.