MTF[PuristS]
13383
To be fair
Oct 12, 2016,23:30 PM
The vociferous "No date" supporters are a tiny minority amongst PuristS and general watch owners. They just shout louder.
Most owners have both date and dateless watches.
I have no particular fixed view as the date display is compulsory in some circumstances e.g. World Timer, Traveller, Pilot's, GMT, Perpetual Calendar and Astromical watches.
It can be argued that date displays are less requred for dress watches and chronographs.
A date display is actually a superior engineering and function proposition.
It requires more complicated design, components, power (torque and reserve), testing, manufacturing, adjustment and costs.
Manufacturers would rather take the simplistic cheap route of No Date but obviously, there are compelling commercial and prestige reasons to offer it.
Whe date displays were first introduced in watches even as simple pointers with low power requirements, they were recognised as an advancement in horology.
The date disc was the next advancement and watchmakers struggled to get the best "instant jump" precision at midnight, requiring complicated power management mechanisms.
Thus, asking for no date as a blanket request is far too simplistic for both technique and aesthetic reasons; not to mention real world commercial factors.
As you illustrated, there are sufficient products without date to choose from without criticising every new watch with a date. Other choices already exist.
I also have a Grand Seiko dateless wonder.
Regards,
MTF