This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.

Read enough writing about watches, and you’ll often encounter reflexive acknowledgements of the perceived absurdity of the horological world. Isn’t it funny how we’re so obsessed with these antiquated, unnecessary objects? After all, the thinking goes, we all now carry around smartphones that tell the time far more accurately than any timepiece could ever hope to do. But the more I think about it, the more I feel that this notion that we don’t need watches is just lazy, cut-and-paste thinking.

By that same logic, we don’t need any of life’s little pleasures. That delicious stir-fry you made for dinner, the nice bottle of wine you paired it with, those selvedge jeans you wear every day, the fancy car you’re lusting after, that tasteful piece of art on your wall? Maslow doesn’t care about any of that stuff.

If we accept that life is better when we’re not chugging Soylent, then what makes a watch any less essential than any of the other items I mentioned above? It’s the same reason we don’t couch stories about the best white tees with a patronizing disclaimer that, Of course, no one actually needs anything more than a pack of Hanes!

Yes, nearly everyone has a phone in their pocket, but do you know what’s more accessible than an object stowed away in your jeans? Your wrist! And there is solid evidence that people do actually use their watches rather than compulsively gawking at their phones. Despite the fact hardcore collectors hate them, brands continue to include date windows on their watches because meat-and-potatoes watch buyers love and demand them. Why? Because it’s very convenient to check the time and date right there on your wrist.