Matt--

Among my half-dozen or so watches (wrist & pocket), the two I use are a TAG/Heuer analog quartz & a Casio G-Shock digital. Both are utterly reliable and very accurate.

My everyday, most of the day watch is the TAG/Heuer. It is Swiss-made & certified waterproof to 200 meters. It has a true mineral crystal, a day of the month display (must change manually for months not 31 days), a one-way ratcheting bezel, & luminous hands & marks. They are not self-luminous, but must be "charged"--a quick flash from a SureFire 6P does nicely for hours; a Photon takes a bit more time, & doesn't last quite as long. Though I’d prefer an automatic (read: self-winding), this one was a gift from my wife. It’s accurate to +/-2 seconds/month. The battery must be changed every 2 years, more or less, and to retain waterproof certification, must be done by an authorized/accredited facility. So far, I’ve replaced the battery twice, and no leaks to date, though I don’t dive. It’s been in pool & ocean, but probably no deeper than 6 feet or so.

The Casio G-Shock is one of several incarnations of that model. It sees use on weekends, for yard work, & lately, for travel (see below). Like Presumed Lost, I don’t like all the flashing blocks & dancing digits (when rolling over from 0, the elements of the numbers do a little “dance”—which I find quite distracting). They have nothing to do with being able to read the time quickly, and appear to me to be there because some programmer was showing off.

The G-Shock also has features I simply don’t understand: What purpose does a counter serve that will tell me how many days in the past, or in the future, a given date is from today? Or rather, FIVE (5) such counters? (BTW, I put my birthday, & that of my wife & kids in, so we can all find out how many days old we are…whoop de do.) I also don’t have much use for the Phone # data bank—it only holds 25 numbers, whereas my cell phone holds 100. I put a couple of pizza places in just to see how it works.

However, it also has five (5) independent alarms (occasionally useful—especially to replace an alarm clock when traveling, or when sick children need multiple doses of medicine throughout the night), a stopwatch, and dual-time zone display.

It’s tough, waterproof, & light, though bulky. The blue-greenish display will light up a room when illuminated, which fascinates my kids. Based on experience with previous models, the battery should be good for 5+ years; longer, if it’s not illuminated frequently. I was told by a jeweler that battery life was based on using the illumination button for 1 second 10 times a day—more frequently would reduce life, less would lengthen. Also based on previous experience, I don’t expect to be able to replace the battery & have the thing retain any semblance of a watertight seal. I expect to buy a new watch, instead.

Note, too, that these watches are on opposite ends of the price spectrum (well, the Heuer is really only mid-range, overall, but it still cost over 10 times the G-Shock).

This is my experience & opinion; YMMV.

Good luck.

David