Horological Meandering

Not an industry insider, but I wonder what the percentages are for buyers willing to buy a watch with a Date versus No Date. Not to paint with a broad brush, but new buyers might prefer a Date and those with more experience and have distilled their prefer... 

A Date function annoys me because I have so many watches I have to set them everytime I wear them. So I have to look up the date to set it. It's ok with a perpetual because that's the complication focused on day, date, month, year, etc. My guess is date p... 

Most of my Seiko watches have a date, but I like the cleanliness of No Date GS models. It makes me wonder why watch companies don’t offer 10-20 percent of a model without a Date to cover the fringe enthusiasts.

But would a No Date Nautilus or Royal Oak be desirable? -John

Best Thomas ...  

I enjoy all three pieces despite the various date situations. ...  

1. your second picture 2. your third picture Best Thomas

if not / why not.

...  

That’s a RO dial I really appreciate. Wonderful! Fake or fact…? 🤔

A little photo tweaking can make a big difference. True? Imagine AP doing this with only 5-10% of their watches to meet the desires of a “purist” persuasion. -John

don’t just try it once? I assume that some people from AP are visiting this site from time to time. You started a great discussion here, John. I appreciate it very much.

and acquires a watch, or not. Your original premise seems completely off the mark imho. Only new collectors like dates and seasoned purists don’t? Not following you, sorry 🙂

Answering to your comment “A ‚purist‘ considers the totality of a piece…”: of course! I, for example, am definitely not opposed to a date display in general. Many of my watches show a date. But it is essential for me how it is implemented. Is this date in... 

Yes I was replying to John both to his assertion that a no date AP jumbo would be for the”purists” and to his original premise of the thread, which was new collectors would go for pieces with a date and those purists with “distilled “ tastes would want no... 

And you did after all qualify your premise by saying “not to paint with a broad brush”

They made also designs with different date indication or without date. Imagine the Tourbillon-design of the last photo without Tourbillon and … voilà! ...  

However, I love Rare Handcraft and artistic dials, and on those the date is a *huge* No for me! In fact, I'd even take off the hands if I could! Think for instance of the gorgeous 5177 in enamel by Breguet, whose charm is at least in part spoiled by the d... 

The example of the Breuer makes me wonder about their decision process. Only to be a fly on the wall in a product development meeting. “No, no, no! We need to break the continuity of the clean enamel dial with a clumsy Date portal.”

I … almost … agree with everything. Regarding the 4:30 position for me also in this case it depends how the date window is integrated. For example my BP FF where I can accept it: Compared with the Bathyscaphe where I have the problem that the date window ...  

I agree with everything FabR says. Definitely prefer no date, but won’t rule out a watch with a date if executed well - unless at 4:30, which is a bridge too far for me.

As a physician, though I’ve mostly gone to electronic medical record’s, I do still prefer the functionality of having a date on my wrist when signing paper orders and prescriptions. Aesthetically, no date is always more pleasing I have both types for that... 

Love any big date. Because I can read them . Hate most small dates, but not all . In general watches are make to keep time only. IMHO

Plus an appreciation of what is not required. A proper selection of a tool for the task.

For me it depends. I have to admit that I prefer clear puristic designs more and more. I am not opposed to a date display in principle, but it is important to me that the date indication is tastefully integrated into the dial. A positive example for me he...  

It’s a pity and I absolutely don’t understand why the Ginza is not produced regularly. I would buy it at once without hesitation.

When you see these two examples, why would a company decide the No Date would be a minority? That Moser is killer!!!

My AD told me that many of his customers wouldn’t buy a watch without date and asking for pure dials for aesthetic reasons at the expense of function is a “minority program”. “80-90%” of his customers opt for a date version. It is not a small AD. It’s Buc... 

ruins all the goodness and beauty of that dial. But I agree with your asessment. Maybe the larger your collection gets the less often you find the "with date" option to be the more desirable option. Reasons for this?... you have a lot of watches and its j... 

I enjoy my “affordable” Seiko watches with Date. I also enjoy my Panerai without Date. However, I wish my Date windows and hour markers where better balanced. I am not a fan of watch winders. I think of them like idling your car so it is ready the next da... 

Keeping it simple Time Only or Time and Date?

answer that says it all! 👏 Cheers Thomas

I would have to say my Journe perpetual or my Journe octa sport. Both dates are very legible.

unless the date is contributing value to the design, but most basic date @ 3:00, or date @ 6:00, watches aren't crossing that threshold.

honestly, to me, just clutter].

I use the date complication and opt for it whenever possible. I am not a big fan of most traditional, time-only watches (except for certain vintage pieces). That being said, the date should be unobtrusive, and I love it when the date disc background is th...  

The Date window for the ALS1 is the design element at the vertex of the triangle and can't be removed. The Chopard would be interesting to see in a No Date option with a small diamond marker at 6. Thank you!

A wonderful piece. 🙏 Best Thomas

I cannot go without a date and in fact it’s more of a hassle not to have it. My favourite sports watch (FF) has the date at 4:30 which was a wonderful design decision in my opinion. If a watch doesn’t have a date, it will have to be very extraordinary for... 

I have both Date and No Date. Some of my Date watches would look better if their design and date window execution was tighter. Makes me wonder what they were thinking while it was still on paper.

I really do wish I could enjoy no date watches. Perhaps my mentality will change so then my watch world will open up!

But there are exceptions as mentioned above. If we consider the ubiquitous box date at three then I will usually consider it unnecessary, but it is not a deal breaker. Other configurations like pointer date or big date are more acceptable but having to se... 

I love to know what the date is. My favorite watch with a simple date function is my Rolex GMT from 1986. Very, very practical.

with date at times it comes helpful.

Journe octa perpetual Or, Journe octa sport. Had them both, dates on both are very legible Double window dates. Thanks for asking.

legible big date that deletes no indices or numerals although it might be too prominent. What I like even better is my Nomos 200m piece with a large single disc date at the bottom of the dial that is so stealthy that on the 6th it appears to have no date ...  

Very harmonious. Best Thomas

When the date is well thought or the base of a watch ( DAToGRAPH ).

People on this forum don’t like date windows. The rest of the population doesn’t care. 😄

I‘m a size S

Generally I prefer no date from an aesthetic point. Unless it's the Lange 1. No date also make it easier to switch between watches. What complicates it for me is that when at work I often find myself checking my watch for the date - in wich case it actual... 

That said, i have a no date watch on my wrist now. All my watches with date, i have only one that i keep on the right day and date, the other one have an automatic date system which keep itself on the right date. It doesn’t matter, albeit i prefer no date... 

I don’t bother to set the date on almost all my watches. The exception are my perpetual calendars, there I couldn’t stand an incorrect date as showing the right date no matter what is the purpose of a PC.