For the past ten years I've been allergic to nickel, which means that I can't wear most metal objects next to my skin. This can get annoying with things like eyeglasses and snaps or rivets on jeans, but gold and silver are generally okay. The exception is that I can't wear pierced earrings at all, ever, without itching for days afterward.
The nickel-reaction also applies to watches. I can't have metal on the band, the fastening, or the back of the watch. I suppose I could have a solid gold or silver watch, but I don't have that kind of money. A few years ago I needed a watch, so I went shopping and managed to find one with a cloth band and a velcro closure. The band also covered the back of the watch, which meant that its metal surface wouldn't touch my skin. Score!
That was the summer of 2000, and I still have that watch. The watch itself is still fine, except for a few dings which sometimes threaten to make the digital numbers illegible, but the velcro gradually gave out over a period of years. I guess it's been a year or maybe two since I started noticing that the velcro wasn't holding as tightly as it used to, but it never quite gave out, either, and I never bothered to buy a new one. By last week it was sticking with at most one hook, and my watch stayed on my wrist more through force of habit than anything else. I finally got my act together and bought a new watchband, and wow! I'd forgotten velcro could be this good.
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