Vintage watches: Would you even adjust the time on them?

I was late for work today. Waking up the room was bright from the morning sun. My throat dry, muscles sore from the sleep. Fast forward to the shower and my mind has one focus - what to wear, and what shirt to pair it with.

So being late I slapped on the chosen wrist watch (vintage of course), and then take it off for another that I happened to think of at the last moment. I look at the clock and realized that I am beyond late, and head out the door to the waiting Uber.

The wrist shot ensues, and I noticed that the automatic movement has begun to tick from my morning's fuss. The time on the watch wasn't accurate as I've not had the chance to adjust it yet.

And then it hit me - is there even a need to adjust the time? More often than not I'm looking at my watch to admire the details instead of the time.

I remember reading somewhere that men are buying vintage watches for their style, not even bothering to adjust the time anymore. It's a trend.

"What a sham to sell more watches without having to service and check them!" I remember saying. The only people this will serve are sellers, and with the trend of watchmakers growing old and refusing to work anymore, this article seems to be the first of the may that will serve the shift in mindset about the functionality of vintage watches.

"C'mon, let's do an Andy."

But when you examine it on another level, not adjusting the time on an already functioning vintage watch would actually prolong its lifespan. Pulling the crown out to engage the gear train places a little bit of wear, and shortens the amount of time it has left to service.

And especially for those who can't (or didn't) pull the crown out properly (it should pop out with a solid click, on most cases), engaging the gear train without a complete lock can lead to damage.

Let's not even talk about complicated watches with moonphases and day-date wheels.

So much of the price goes into a simple dial that we forget about the function. A damaged or ill-treated movement isn't really worth the premium.

To sum it all up, I probably will never get used to not needing the correct time on my watch - mostly because I am a big believer of function, and also due to the fact that I sell watches and would like to keep close tabs on their wearing condition.

But for those who can see themselves adjusting (har har) to not needing to heed the time on their wrists, do make sure that you have worn and checked that the watches do keep good vintage time before you 'do an Andy".