Heh, I also made the progression from smart watch (Apple Watch) to mechanical. Watches weren't on my radar until the Apple Watch came along.

The charging every night doesn't bother me since it is something I already do with my smart phone and it literally takes a couple seconds to dock the watch. And I take off watches before sleeping anyway...

The best features of the Apple Watch is the timer, time accuracy & sync, and heart rate monitor. Along with a fitness app (I use Strava) it makes a great activity monitor. And you don't have to worry about accuracy since it is within 50ms of global time. It is neat to see other smart watches second hand move in sync without any user effort. I'm now sold on one as an activity device and wouldn't mind buying a low end one for a future upgrade (I currently own a steel).

I think what bothered me when using it as an everyday watch was its extension of my phone. I get it is one of the selling points, but after experiencing it over a year I'm not a fan of it. I rarely access the apps on my watch; I find it to be a piss poor experience. At that point I'll just pull out my phone.

Then there is notifications, which can get annoying. I hope they come up with a way to do smart notifications depending on time of day and your location. Sometimes I don't want to see work related stuff after hours. Or see personal stuff during work. I could easily turn off the notifications, but then it just becomes almost like a regular watch.

While I appreciate the engineering which went into the Apple Watch I feel its kind of boring compared to mechanicals. I am one of those people who drools over and buys the latest tech.

I also think the switch is due to me recently spending more time and money into my appearance. I see watches as jewelry accents. The Marco article hit it spot on saying the Apple Watch (I would extend it to all smart watches) as more utilitarian than the luxury image they are trying to convey. I honestly don't see any tech companies as luxury brands. I just don't think smart watches (the device itself and the history behind it and the company) give off the same personality as mechanical watches.

Smart watches are still in its infancy. I still think the industry is figuring it out, which I don't doubt they will.