Most people wear their watch on the left wrist because most people are right-handed. Therefore, this has become somewhat the norm. But what about lefties? How can they be seen as normal when they are clearly strange and objectionable? There may be a way, and we will discuss it here.
Some right-handed people wear their watches on the right hand, and some left-handed people wear their watches on their left hand. Both groups deserve a stern drubbing. But in all seriousness, there are some considerations worth making when it comes to which wrist to wear your watch on. Most important, is the question of what left-handed people are meant to do in a world made for the right-handed? Here, we will discuss a few considerations left-handed folks should keep in mind when deciding which wrist to wear a watch on.
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Practical Considerations
Regardless of the situation, it is usually your best bet to wear your watch on your non-dominant hand. That is why the majority of people wear their watch on the left wrist, as most people are right-handed. This makes you less likely to damage your watch in the course of daily activities since you’re less prone to bang it against things. Therefore, lefties should wear their watches on the right hand most of the time.
However, it is generally true that people use their dominant hands to perform more detailed work while stabilizing objects using the non-dominant hand. Depending on the task at hand (pun intended) you may choose to wear your watch on your dominant hand instead. So, if whatever it is that you’re doing places your watch in danger, just swap it to the other wrist, jam it in your pocket, or leave it at home and resolve to use whatever clocks might be available.
Etiquette
While unusual, you may be expected to attend a dinner event where proper etiquette is expected to be observed by everyone. Now, it must be said that as a culture we do not do a very good job of educating young people in good and proper table manners, and you may have little interest in such things. But if you’re courting an uptown girl and want to make a good impression on the old man, or if you’re being knighted by the Queen of England, then you may need to shape up your table manners.
Now, it could be that your dinner fork will be set at your left side, depending on which county the dessert platter is being delivered from. All kidding aside, if you do attend an event where fine manners are expected, your best bet is to wear your watch snugly so that it does not rattle- and if you can stand it, wear it on your left wrist so that people don’t take you for a door to door dress-sock salesman.
For Fancy Watches
If you’re sporting an expensive Rolex or the like and you want people to know you could buy and sell an entire junior football league over the course of a Memorial Day weekend, you’re going to want to wear the watch on your non-dominant wrist. The reasons for this include reducing the chance of damaging your ridiculously expensive watch over a pencil sharpener, and you don’t want to flash such baubles excessively. You want to show off your conspicuous consumption item in your good time, not in the time dictated by the task.
So, if you’re wearing it purely for the bling factor, and you’re not a gangster rapper, wear it on your non-dominant hand.
Where do Ninjas Enter the Equation?
Anyone who runs in circles where whether or not you wear your watch on your non-dominant hand matters is almost certainly important enough that being kidnapped and held for ransom by ninjas is a distinct possibility. If you have reasonable fears of being bushwhacked by Jian-wielding, shuriken-tossing madmen, wearing your watch on your non-dominant hand could be a fatal error. Why? Because it tells any martial arts master who may be spying on you which hand is most likely to be used most readily in self-defense.
In short, if you introduce your self last-name-first and you like your martinis dry, it’s wise to wear your watch on your non-dominant hand.
Do You Have a Mobile Phone?
As you may or may not be aware, it is common and good that new and superior technologies should replace and make redundant older, more primitive technologies. You may also be aware that mobile phones are extraordinarily common and connect all who possess one to a universal, digital clock. This means every mobile phone user possesses a timepiece that is synchronized with all similar devices. This makes your wristwatch wholly decorative, and as such, it only makes good sense that you should wear it on whatever part of your body pleases you best.
At the end of the day, just don’t drop it in your soup and you should be fine.