The Forgotten Art of Reading a Watch

Wearing a watch used to mean something. It wasn’t just about checking the time—it was about understanding how to use a tool that could navigate, calculate, and even save your life.

Today, most people don’t actually know how to use a watch beyond telling time. Ask the average person what a dive bezel does, how a tachymeter works, or how to track two time zones on a GMT, and you’ll probably get a blank stare.

As smartwatches and digital devices take over, the skill of truly reading a watch is disappearing.

Let’s fix that.

⏳ Why Knowing How to Read a Watch Still Matters

Some might argue that analog watch skills don’t matter anymore—after all, we have GPS, smartphones, and digital clocks everywhere.

But here’s the problem: technology fails.

✅ Batteries die.
✅ GPS signals drop.
✅ Phones break.

A mechanical or quartz watch, on the other hand, keeps working no matter what. And if you know how to read it properly, it becomes more than just a timepiece—it becomes a survival tool.

📍 How to Use a Watch as a Compass

If you’re lost without a compass, your watch can help you find your direction.

In the Northern Hemisphere:

1️⃣ Point the hour hand at the sun.
2️⃣ Find the midpoint between the hour hand and the 12 o’clock mark—that direction is South.

In the Southern Hemisphere:

1️⃣ Point the 12 o’clock mark at the sun.
2️⃣ The midpoint between the 12 o’clock mark and the hour hand is North.

This simple trick can prevent you from getting completely lost in the wilderness.

🕵️‍♂️ Understanding a Dive Watch Bezel

A dive watch bezel isn’t just for looks—it’s a life-saving feature for divers and anyone who needs to time events without a stopwatch.

🔹 How it works: The rotating bezel lets you track elapsed time by aligning the zero marker with the minute hand.
🔹 Why it matters: Whether you’re timing oxygen levels, tracking an interval workout, or boiling an egg, a dive bezel gives you a visual countdown without needing an extra device.
🔹 Where it’s used: Pilots, astronauts, and military personnel all use rotating bezels to track mission-critical timings.

Even if you never dive, knowing how to use a bezel gives you an incredibly practical timing tool.

🌍 How to Read a GMT Watch & Track Multiple Time Zones

A GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) watch was built for travelers, pilots, and international operatives who needed to track multiple time zones at once.

🔹 How it works: GMT watches have a 24-hour hand that points to a second time zone on the outer bezel.
🔹 Why it matters: If you’re communicating with people in different parts of the world, a GMT watch lets you track their time at a glance.

Example:

• You’re in New York (EST).

• You set your GMT hand to track London time (GMT).

• Now you can check your local time and see the time in London instantly.

Instead of relying on a phone app, you can always know what time it is anywhere in the world—at a glance.

⌚ The Forgotten Purpose of a Tachymeter

Ever noticed the engraved scale on the bezel of a chronograph watch and wondered what it does? That’s a tachymeter, and it’s one of the most underappreciated tools in watchmaking.

🔹 What it does: A tachymeter lets you calculate speed over a set distance using a chronograph (stopwatch function).
🔹 How to use it: Start the chronograph when an object passes a set point, stop it after traveling a known distance, and read the speed on the tachymeter scale.

Use cases:
🏎 Racing: Determine how fast a car is traveling over a mile or kilometer.
🚴 Cycling & Running: Measure your own speed without needing a smartwatch.
🚢 Boating: Track water speed without GPS.

It’s a real-world measurement tool, built into your wristwatch—if you know how to use it.

📶 Why Most People Can’t Read a Watch Anymore

The ability to read and use a watch has become a lost skill, for one big reason:

Digital devices replaced our need to think.

❌ Smartwatches calculate everything for you.
❌ Phones handle time zones, conversions, and tracking.
❌ The average person relies on apps instead of understanding timekeeping themselves.

The problem? If technology fails, they’re completely lost.

But if you know how to use a traditional watch, you can:
✅ Navigate without GPS.
✅ Track time without a phone.
✅ Measure speed, time intervals, and events independently.

It’s self-reliance in a world of dependency.

🛠 The Bottom Line: Your Watch Is More Than a Clock

Wearing a watch isn’t just about looking good—it’s about knowing how to use a tool that can serve you in real life.

Next time you look at your watch, ask yourself:

🔹 Do I actually know how to use its features?
🔹 Could I use it if I had no access to technology?
🔹 Am I relying on my phone for things my watch can do better?

Because the truth is, a watch is only as useful as the person wearing it.

💬 Do You Know How to Read Your Watch?

Do you actually use your watch’s features, or have you relied on your phone for too long? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your take.

🔥 For more no-BS watch insights, subscribe to Own The Watch!