My paternal grandfather had a tendency toward tightwaddery that I suppose he would rather have called frugality. One of his tightwad practices simply spread the cost of a moderately good watch out over decades, rather than using up cash flow in one big lump. I wondered about how that worked for years, but finally embraced the principle a few decades ago.
Every now and then, the cheap Timex watch Granddaddy wore daily would fail, likely for similar reasons to why wristwatches fail on me: no matter what the mechanizm or claims of being waterproof or being impervious to this, that, or t’other I “eat” wristwatches. A really nice all stainless steel case “waterproof” watch? Eaten in a couple of years’ use, corroded away. WHen one of his cheap Timex watches failed, it went in a box for grandkids to play with, and he bought another, usually at a local “fell off the back of a truck” store (salvage, overstock, reclaimed, etc.) for quite a bit less than retail.
So, cheap plastic watches for me, the cheaper the better (and oh what a blessing when I discovered “salvage: watches in the $1 bins at my fav “fell off the back of a truck” store!). But when applied as a principle, Granddaddy’s “watch box” can be useful for other items. Take Wayfarer sunglasses (PLEASE!) for example. . .
$200 for a pair of Rayban Wayfarers OR $1 for a pair of knock-offs at my fav “fell off the back of a truck” salvage/reclaimed/overstock/returns store. Hmmm, I think I’ll purchase a few pair while they have them in stock. Should last me a few years. Sweet! They even fit over my glasses!
And now I have 5 pairs of “Stylin’ Sunglasses™” and $195 left over for other uses.
*heh*