Fratello Talks: Don’t Baby Your Watches!

Welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. This is a very special episode, as it’s the debut of the podcast in video form.
This week, Nacho is joined by RJ and Morgan to discuss the topic of babying watches. As the title might have given away, we have strong feelings about this subject. Our advice, in short; don’t baby your watches! But before we jump into it, let’s check what the guys have on the wrist this week!

[@HasanQazi]

I was wearing my seamaster during a pretty rough car accident. Car didn't survive, I got pretty beat up, but the watch survived with just a few scratches on the clasp. Nothing else!

[@michaelriera6277]

Fun episode of a topic for us watch obsessives. For someone with OCD it is difficult to stop obsessing over the scuffs, dings. After an awful polishing at a Seiko Service Center (New Jersey, US), I’ve stopped requesting polishing when servicing my watches. My mother gifted me a quartz Chrono Seiko as a graduation gift. 25 years later I needed to replace the movement. I wanted the watch retain all its age so no polishing requested. 2 months later I received the watch back over polished, the Seiko stamp on the clasp relief thinned, and steel coating on parts of the bezel removed from the heavy polishing exposing the brass metal beneath. Seiko refused everything and unfortunately I had no pictures to prove the damage inflicted. Lesson never send a watch to Seiko Service and take pictures of your watch before sending for service.

[@FratelloMagazine]

You can indeed only polish a watch so many times before it loses its original shape and form. Sad to hear your watch was ruined.

[@VMIyanks04]

I’m definitely of the mindset that watches are meant to be worn! I was extremely fortunate to be able to purchase a new Speedy for my upcoming Air Force retirement at a great price. I want my kids to know why I bought it, for 20 years of service to my country. I wear it everyday and they see it. I know my wearing it everyday, it means more and more to my kids for years to come. I also love to change straps almost everyday to further make sure that I wear it nearly everyday! The only times I switch it out is for a cheap diver for pool/beach/summer water fun, and to my Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical for mowing and hard work and other rough tasks. Thank you for the great article and podcast! Love the video podcast format also! I always look forward to all your opinions! You bring great joy to me and my friends! Cheers!

[@OBWAT]

What a great way to mark your retirement! Hope you enjoy it

[@FratelloMagazine]

Thanks, much appreciated, and congrats on your Speedy purchase (and upcoming AF retirement).

[@VMIyanks04]

Thank you for this conversation! (Yes I watched it twice and commented twice! Lol) It’s very timely for me since I’ve been thinking about selling my 3861 Hesalite and getting an Explorer. In my head from everything I’ve researched, it seems like the Explorer would be a better GADA watch for my daily life as a married Dad with 5 kids. But then again, if the Speedy was able to go to the moon and back, I guess I can make it to the supermarket and back! Cheers!

[@Number_006]

Thanks for the conversation!

[@FratelloMagazine]

Thanks for commenting!

[@aarons.stuffs]

This episode is missing nothing but the candlelight 🕯️😉

[@andywilliams4887]

@ Nacho - having a bicycle accident and damaging your watch is one thing, but even mentioning the potential 'vibrations' when pedalling to work each day tells me that you baby your watches. Unless it's a genuine vintage or very high value piece wear a Casio if you're worried lol.

[@WilsonCQB1911]

Lol, yes! I felt like they were saying "don't baby your watch" while telling everyone that they baby their watches.

[@anthonystevens8683]

Like you guys I purchase my watches to wear and they all get worn. Yes I do get annoyed when I see the first scratch but I get over it quite quickly and carry on wearing it without thinking about getting it refinished. To me it's all part of the journey, those scratches and dings will bring back memories, some good and some not so good but further wearing will create some new journey marks that may be great. Many thanks for sharing.

[@Kostja81]

It's a great video. I think it is normal that you take precautions with your watch in scenarios where it's highly possible that you will damage your watch. I don't wear my Seamaster 300m diver at work anymore since my workplace is highly magnetic. But it was on my wrist doing a lot of ridiculous stuff 😅 for almost 20 years. The only watch i take extra care of is my grandfather's Omega from the cca. 1945.

[@paulandrersand2922]

Enjoyed the video, cool topic. Very watch-nerdy topic :) But: don't baby your watches, but you take it off when loading/unloading the dishwasher? A very daily task and seems a bit "babying" your watch imo :) Keep up the great work and content.

[@FratelloMagazine]

Babying is something else than just taking care of your stuff. Meaning that you shouldn't deliberately damage your watch. Wearing a gold watch and then loading/unloading a dishwasher is asking for problems...

[@paulandrersand2922]

@@FratelloMagazine regarding gold watches I totally agree. But the dishwasher is a daily task/routine, especially with 4 kids, and not wearing your watch doing ordinary daily tasks makes it hard not to categorize it at babying.. but that is just my opinion. In everyday life I try to avoid damage to my watches as much as possible.

[@bag3lmonst3r72]

​@@paulandrersand2922I don't wear my watch at home. Certainly not during everyday chores like cooking, mowing the lawn, laundry...it sits in its case and I only take it out during social activities, sports etc. And when I do I don't baby it. It's had a few battle scars from rigorous use but I'm fine with those.

[@dska2294]

Sidenote, here, I wanted to get a Cartier Santos, but I was worried about the glossy Bezzle taking on all the scratches. I know people say not to worry about it, but I think the design calls for that being glossy. Anyone who feels this way, I bought the Hermis H08. I consider this to be a modern alternative to this otherwise classic watch. The case is DLC, the bezel is this titanium brushed appearance. It doesn’t take on any scratches at all. Still has that very slim and curved square profile. Anyway, I do like to wear my watches, but if there’s a very high profile part of the watch sport in scratch, it’s hard not to see that.

[@cal.3861]

good episode. I would like to see an episode on if you guys think "does accuracy of the movement matter when considering a purchase". I think it is an interesting topic and one they may be split down the middle. Me personally, I choose watches that are extremely accurate as I feel that is what Im paying for. I never understood someone who can buy a 10k+ watch and not care about accuracy. Not sure how people like that justify paying the price for a hunk of stainless steel.

[@mlogicli]

Person: "i dont baby my watch" Same person: "i take off my watch when putting dishes in dishwasher" 😅

[@FratelloMagazine]

There's a difference between babying and deliberately messing up a gold watch by sticking your hand in the dishwasher. You probably get the difference ;-)

[@stefanpersson240]

RJ, I was surprised to hear that you take the watch off when you put things in or out from the dishwasher, in particular when you say that you don't baby them. I use my watches with caution but I have never scratched them in the dish washer.

[@bag3lmonst3r72]

I don't baby my watch, but I'm not reckless with it either. I don't wear it at home, only when I'm heading out. And I don't wear it when I'm working on my car engine, doing yard work, or DYI-ing in the house. That's just avoidable damage. I do have a few dings and scratches on the watch from normal wear and tear, and I don't mind them at all. So...wear your watches like you're supposed to, but don't be reckless (unless it's a G-shock). That's all there is to it.

[@samstraughan9054]

I have a Zenith Defy Classic that I wore golfing a few times, and something went horribly wrong with the movement. It was under warranty, and fixed without issue. So OK, only the Rolex when golfing from now on.

[@josevasquez1781]

I currently own 48 watches so it might seem like i baby them but in reality it takes weeks to get around a certain piece, I wear my watches with they intent to care for them but if a scratch or ding happens oh well nothing to cry about, in other words I'm not reckless especially the ones over 10K

[@OBWAT]

If you can afford to not care if your watches get beaten up then good for you! But some of us prefer to 'baby our watches', or more specifically try to avoid clumsy collisions with door frames, cupboard shelves, walls etc etc so as to continue to enjoy the quality of the finishing of the watch and preserve its value should we need to sell it. I can confirm as someone who has several scratch free and frequently worn watches that I very much enjoy owning and wearing them all!

[@michaelriera6277]

I try my best to keep my watches factory fresh, but I always seem to find a way to scratch, scuff, ding. It is very painful, but I enjoyed wearing my watches. Even when at work in the office I wack it accidentally in side of desktop. I think I’m just clumsy and in the end I just accept it as part of the watch life.

[@peteglanton9259]

What did the guy in purple say his dad collected?

[@TuxBearlux]

I want my watch to age like the wrinkles on my face. 🙂❤

[@SABUJMIDACYDANCES-wy5dy]

good meting

[@OBWAT]

RJ on what's worse: "people who are worried about other peoples watches and their condition". You mean like people who insist that I shouldn't 'baby my watch' (aka looking after the condition of your luxury purchase)?? 🤦‍♂

[@FratelloMagazine]

Touché. My point came from the fact that I received many messages from people who saw me wearing a watch during a round of golf, and told me not to do it etc. It's my watch, so I can do whatever I want with it (and yes, I checked if it would harm the watch). But indeed it is true that I shouldn't tell others what to do with their watches either. However, I still stand by the fact that watches are meant to be worn ;-)

[@OBWAT]

@@FratelloMagazine Fair enough! Understood your original point. Though I will say that babying a watch is not synonymous with not wearing it or keeping it in the safe! It's more about being careful in your environment. Which unfortunately now means not wearing a watch at all on the rare occasion I visit cities like London. But that's a separate topic.

[@robertrocha597]

This is the dumbest conversation ever. A lot of people purchase those watches because it is their gail watch and there is nothing to want to preserve their look. If you don't care about damaging a 3k watch good for you but this convo was awkward and out of touch.

[@FratelloMagazine]

Not really. Only in recent years, a watch became a luxury item. People who bought their Rolexes and Omegas 20 or more years ago still paid substantial money at the time but still own a watch you can wear every day without caring too much about it (not to be confused with deliberately damaging or scratching it). There's a difference between babying your watch and just simply wearing it with caution, and the latter is what we tried to say in the video.

[@robertrocha597]

@@FratelloMagazine tried to say but didn't. The last 40 years certain brands have become "luxury" but at some costs people can't afford to bang up a Tudor, rolex, etc. It is a first world problem that someone uses the phrase "tool watch." I understand your point but the video got nowhere.

[@davecorry7723]

Disappointing. Fratello, I see you as more journalists than vloggers, so this episode struck as quite ... amateurish. You had an opportunity to explore the world of those who strive to keep their watches looking like new, but instead you first title it with a loaded word, and then you have a panel where all three of you hold the same opinion. "Baby" has a lot of baggage. Few would proudly say, "I baby my watches." You could have kept it neutral with something like, "Preserving watch aesthetics," or, "People who like their watches looking as new as possible," or some such. But nope. And why didn't you have someone on the panel who - you know - actually likes to keep their watches looking as new as possible? They are a minority, but there are many people like that. Someone who could actually explain their point of view. Who knows, you may even have *learned* something. Instead, while you're all busy agreeing with each other, the host at one point claims about wearing your watches, "There's really no downside." Oh, really? So ... all those people how like their watches looking new are just ... wrong! Oh, those silly people! Great that your panel was here to point it out and just lay-down the blanket, "Just wear your watches." Finally, having a panel where everyone agrees with one another is just boring. Even if no one changed anyone's mind, imagine the nice tension if you had shown both sides of the debate. Oh, and one final thing that a lot of your side of the fence do: you characterize those with to keep their watches looking new as, "Worried." Do you *really* believe that the overriding emotion one of those people feel is worry? Because I'm pretty sure it's joy in seeing their beautiful watches. And maybe even pride at being the guardian for such a thing. But of course, we don't know, because you didn't not to have any of them on camera.

[@canek9799]

Scratches tell stories wear your watches definitely this guy's baby their watches even though they say they're not, probably the more expensive the watch it is the more they baby it, personally my most expensive watch is an omega sea master 300 and have put it to the test by scuba diving, climbing do all sort of activities with the watch on it has scratches case is banged but every time I look at it I look those scratches it brings good good memories, as they say if you buy for investment just keep it in a freaking safe, if you buy it to wear it, just wear it don't worry about it some times people worry more about the watch than breaking a bone. It cost me a lot of effort and time to save money to buy the watch but I own the watch the watch doesn't own me and I make a pretty good use of it don't matter if I'm wearing a scuba suit or a 2 piece suit I wear my banged watch and show it with pride.