The Ideal Wristwatch
Attributes of the ideal wristwatch:
Accurate time keeping: standard Quartz accuracy (1/2 sec per day) or better.
Few if any mechanical watches achieve this kind of accuracy.
Rugged and reliable: it needs to stand up to everyday activities without worry.
Sapphire crystals are essential as they have excellent scratch resistance.
Waterproof: to at least 100 meters, 200 is preferred.
This can be viewed as a subset of the above - I want to be able to swim & dive without worrying about my watch.
Analog: I like knowing what time it is at a glance without having to read it.
Low maintenance: it must go at least 5 years between maintenance intervals.
This is longer than a battery lasts, which suggests it must use an alternate electrical power source,
like a Seiko Kinetic or Citizen Eco-Drive.
Lume: I need to read it in the dark so it must have some kind of lume.
Preferably self-lit, but long lasting lume paint is sufficient.
Date: it must have a date function, preferably with day of week too.
Perpetual calendar: this is essential since I don't want to have to remember
to set the date at the end of every other month or on leap years.
Stopwatch: the need for a stopwatch arises less than frequently but more than occasionally,
making this an essental function.
Metal band: this is necessary for low maintenance, rugged reliability.
Plastic or leather bands simply don't withstand hostile environments (like salt water) nor do they last as long.
Appearance: it looks good enough that I look forward to wearing it every day.
But it's primarily functional, not a piece of jewelry.
There are some nice to haves that are not essential:
Radio time: syncing to a global time server like WWVB means you never have to set it.
Even if you are in a location where it can't pick up the signal, quartz accuracy carries it over until it can.
If this feature exists, it must support all 26 time zones or be user-disableable so it never jumps to the wrong time.