I've always worn a watch. On days I forget to put it on I vaguely feel something is missing. I've never owned a smartphone.
For quite a while I enjoyed having a "nice" (but not overly expensive) watch (I still own one from those days). Then I switched to wearing cheap sports watches for a long time.
A few years ago I got a fairly nice (by my standards) Citizen "eco-drive" (light-sensitive, never needs winding) watch, which I prefer (in wet/rough conditions I go to a sports watch). It has large digits, which my aging eyes require . When the original leather band wore out I switched to an inexpensive nylon "NATO strap" watchband.