I'm of the same mind set as you, J; I like my watches to look well cared for, but a little age and character never hurt anything...
Since I don't have a bucket of lathe left overs and shavings to subject my watches to, my only course of action is to just wear my watch in just about everything and anything I do. Before long, it will accumulate wear on it's own (and if I'm of the mindset of wanting to keep something pristine and perfect, it seems as though it picks up scratches and the sort just that much easier ).
If I want my watch to look really, really beat up, I just Mrs. Ubi wear it for a few hours...