The classic tool watch styles are the dive watch, pilot’s watch, and field watch. Watches that ostensibly serve a purpose for some particular use case, but realistically most of us do not have that use case in our daily lives. Sure, you may find an occasional use for the bezel on a dive watch, but I’d guess that most of us here aren’t regularly scuba diving.
So: what would the features of a watch be for an actual, regular use case that you have? Since I’m guessing many of us have desk jobs, let’s say features for any particular use case that you have, be it your profession, or a hobby, or just something that shows up often in your daily life.
For me, computer programmer and frequent bike commuter:
It took me a long time to realize this, but a GMT complication is genuinely useful in my job, since computers always store time data in GMT and then translate to your local time on the fly (usually). But when you’re looking at the time in a database, or server logs, or something like that, it’s usually in GMT. I had a big “aha!” moment when I realized that a GMT watch is like an actual tool watch for a programmer, which is what prompted me to make this thread. :P
I’d also like it to have the buckle near the bottom lug so that it doesn’t touch the keyboard. This is how I wear my NATO straps; it’d be great if it was a two piece strap that was designed to be worn this way. A keyboard-friendly strap would probably make sense for just about everyone these days.
As for the bike commuting part, every mechanical watch I own seems to be durable enough to not have any hands fall off while riding, so that doesn’t appear to be a concern. I was thinking that a reflective strap might be a plus, though. Not so much for visibility when riding, but for when I’m waving at the bus driver to say “pick me up.”