If it makes you feel any better I have a Moto 360 smart watch (I also have a Pebble on the shelf which is now retired), and it also loses connection to the phone sometimes, and the solution is the same as you've described -- recycle the bluetooth on the phone. It only seems to happen in instances where the watch gets out of range of the phone, and not reconnecting like it's supposed to when they are back in range of each other. It isn't consistent though.
I used to charge my watch on my nightstand, and my phone on my desk, which are not within connection range. I moved the watch charging station to my desk, and this has reduced the number of disconnects substantially for me.