I’m so glad that you have asked this as I’ve been wondering what peoples opinions on this matter are.

I have a small collection of three nearly identical watches in different color schemes; all of which have the date wheel. However, I want to add one more variant of the same watch to my collection that has a domed sapphire crystal, a much better blue lume application and no date wheel. But, I am so used to the date wheel and do often find it useful because it is easier for me to look at my wrist than it is for me to unlock my phone and look at the home screen in order to quickly view the current date. If I do get this watch variant, it would essentially become my primary, daily worn timepiece (whereas the other variants that I own are saved for the weekends or for events that I am attending).

So, based on what others have said here (along with my own thoughts and date-wheel preference), I am still confused and don’t know what to do, haha.

I don’t give a damn what day of the month it is. I’d much prefer the day of the week, something much more important to me than the date.

Symmetry

Work. If you don’t regularly use that watch, you’ll have to set it each time. Unlike setting the time, you have to do within a certain time frame of day, have to scroll whole date calendar/can’t go backward and must guess whether you’re at xx hours AM or xx hours PM.

For me personally it is 3 folds.

1. it is guaranteed to “go bad” and need adjustments every 2 months, sometimes less than that
2. you can’t even set it whenever you want. You need to adjust past 3am first and before that, you need to figure out the am/pm on your watch. It’s annoying
3. because of #2, you can’t just go straight to adjusting the date and call it a day. You always need to make sure the am/pm is correct. It is always a 2 step process, never 1

All these combined with the fact that I’m quite “date-sensitive” means that I don’t need the date that much. I need it the most at work and I have my work computer for that, and when I’m off work, I would remember what date it was while I was working just a few hours ago and know without having looking at my watch.

The fact that most modern dress watches have date annoys me.

I like having the date on my perpetual calendar EcoDrive because I trust it’s right. I’m not always sure on my other watches. I usually double check in case I forgot to fix it at months end.

I just hate setting it when my watch winds down.

https://preview.redd.it/vi9km1n82bwb1.png?width=1264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a98b8ef8949911db7b64b4935223c9b82d27b76

This does it for me. Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Day Date Auto. When you work shift work and weekends the weeks blur together

https://preview.redd.it/zpqpjomh9bwb1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48169471ac964e070caacf4987f70f3934b4e8b7

1. I barely use it

2. None of my watches are perpetual calendars, and some are really difficult to set the date, so most considering point 1, they are usually showing wrong dates.

3. It usually affects the looks of the dial.

I don’t like it because I don’t need it. I only like it on my travel watch, but I don’t think I’ve really needed to know the date in years. And if I did, I’d be on a computer which has the date right there at a glance.

It also makes it more of a hassle to set the watch if it winds down. Not a huge hassle, but still.

Third, it usually just doesn’t look good or isn’t well executed. To me, watches are mostly jewelry so looks / design are some of the most important aspects, and very few date windows actually enhance the design aspect of a watch. Some are ok, and most just look lazily tacked on after the design was finished.

So in short: mostly looks bad, makes watches more annoying, and I never use or need it. So that’s two negatives vs zero positives, for me personally at least.

I dont like pics wirh steering wheels. Nothign against the date complicatjib, it is quite useful.

For me it is the type of watch that matters, I don’t like a dress watch with a date window.

I think because it takes away from the symmetry of the dial and might kinda stand out. It really shouldn’t be that big of a deal though, imo. I definitely wouldn’t be disappointed if someone bought me a watch with a date on it- there are many more aesthetic appeals that are more important.

Probably if they have a lot of watches when you have to set up the date every time because the watch has stopped while sitting in the box.