I am fascinated by wearables. Unfortunately, I am a late adopter to integrating them into my life. The reason? I am hell on watches. You put a watch on my arm and suddenly my arm likes to bang into furniture, doors, walls, etc.

I dipped my toe into the wearables pool about a year ago. It started with my Fitbit Flex. I thought it was a neat device that allowed me to track my daily steps and trigger me to get up and move throughout the day. My only beef with the device was that the battery completely died after 6 months. I guess I was giving it a good workout!

So I stepped up my game and now wear the Fitbit Charge. As soon as the Charge was on my arm, I forgot about my love affair with the Flex. I enjoyed that I could actually have a watch on my arm again. The fact that the watch was also “smart” was super cool.  The Charge has been rugged enough for me to wear every day. I have banged it around a bit, completely unintentional of course, and it keeps on tracking my calories, steps, distance walked, etc. I love the function of being notified of an incoming call.

Yet, I want more. I am afraid to step up to the Pebble or Apple Watch, as I know my history with watches. I am petrified that once I put that pretty little computer on my arm that my arm will decide to smash it against a concrete trash can or decide to hold an elevator door open for a complete stranger. Friends have mentioned that the sport version of the Apple Watch is tough and I should consider trying it. I politely ask to wear their watches so they can see the mayhem with their own eyes.  Thankfully for all parties they decline the invitation.

So what was I to do? I purchased an unknown smart bracelet that would give me similar functionalities to the Charge, but is prettier. Yes, I actually said that. I purchased a D8 Smart Bracelet. It is pretty and shiny. It looks nicer than my Charge. Setting it up was a challenge as the directions were translated poorly into English, but I finally managed to get it synced to my iPhone 6 Plus. I tested the call quality and it was surprisingly good. I am delighted to be able to make and receive calls from my watch. Unfortunately, this watch has better functionality options for an Android, but I am making it work.

The question is: will this last? I guess a good indicator will be InfoComm16; if you see me on the show floor, stop me and ask how my pretty bracelet is working out.

I am open for suggestions on a sturdy wearable smart watch, tell me how to spend my money!