Watches losing popularity

[Tomasso]

Many of the aficionados in the fields that I collect can often become tedious, especially those who "know" people. God, save me from the dilettantes.

 

[imageWIS]

Sigh...back to the topic at hand:

I personally find a watch more convenient, since I have to go into my pocket and bull out the cell phone to read the time, whereas the watch is right there on my wrist. Also, it's less intrusive and weighs quite a bit less, when looking at the subject merely as a timekeeping device.

Jon.

 

[swiego]

FWIW, I haven't carried a watch since I was a teenager, and that was 10 years ago. Ever since working, I've had to carry work phones, PDAs, pagers, just about every class of electronic device there is at some point or another. I'm completely happy without a watch and have never felt the need for one. I figure that with the amount of time I'm at home (clocks), shopping (clocks), driving (car clock), talking on the phone (clock) or listening to music with a portable MP3 player (clock) it's pretty rare that I need to even inconvenience myself to know the time. And, not having a watch, I don't think I dwell too much on clockwatching either.

Chalk me up also as one who doesn't understand why people would pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for technology that is hundreds of years old, when the time is displayed in just about every device we own.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by swiego

Chalk me up also as one who doesn't understand why people would pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for technology that is hundreds of years old, when the time is displayed in just about every device we own.
Why do people spend $50,000 restoring a car that has 40+ year old technology, possibly no AC, and that's really only worth $10,000 at most?

 

[swiego]

Because they have a lot of disposable income?

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by swiego

Because they have a lot of disposable income?
I've noticed people who do these types of restorations are never the ones with lots of disposable income. Schoolteachers, and middle-class types.

 

[Nantucket Red]

Originally Posted by swiego

Chalk me up also as one who doesn't understand why people would pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for technology that is hundreds of years old, when the time is displayed in just about every device we own.

One word: Elegance.

The mechanical wristwatch is one of the most ingenious pieces of technology ever created. As long as you wind it once a day, it acts as the closest thing to a perpetual motion machine you are ever likely to encounter.

My early 60s LeCoultre manual is more accurate than the clock on my mobile phone. What's up with that? My LeCoultre is also 14 kt. gold and weighs a negligible fraction of what my cell phone weighs. I paid $300 for my LeCoultre and put another $200 into an overhaul and a band. I paid over $200 for my cell phone and pay around $60 per month to be saddled with this odious bit of technological filth. Although my mobile is supposed to have full international functionality, it was mere dead weight on my business trip to the States last week. For reasons yet to be determined, it told me I was out of range. Meanwhile, I'm paying for international service. The US representative of the company could not be reached.

My LeCoultre didn't notice it was half a world away from its usual haunts. I reset the time and away it ticked. keeping faithful time and keeping me on time to meetings throughout the week with a discreet glance at my wrist. It also receives a lot of compliments, which my cell phone never does.

All in all, I find the cell phone to be a dismal solution to timekeeping. Again, it basically boils down to elegance.

 

[imageWIS]

How many bands is your phone? You probably don't have a tri-band or quad-band phone.

I agree with your watch perceptions. The Omega my grandfather left me will outlast me AND my grandchildren; I can't say the same thing about my LG phone.

Jon.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by imageWIS

I agree with your watch perceptions. The Omega my grandfather left me will outlast me AND my grandchildren; I can't say the same thing about my LG phone.

Exactly, fine timepieces are legacy. (Sorry if that sounds like a PP commercial). Historically, they were a gentleman's most personal possession. Upon passing, all else might be liquidated but the timepiece was handed down. In my mind, no such consideration of provenance would be made for something digital.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

Exactly, fine timepieces are legacy. (Sorry if that sounds like a PP commercial). Historically, they were a gentleman's most personal possession. Upon passing, all else might be liquidated but the timepiece was handed down. In my mind, no such consideration of provenance would be made for something digital.
Have you seen the Vertu cellphone marketing schemes? They claim it's an heirloom. Of course, making it out of materials like platinum, and such one would be compelled to think of it as an heirloom simply for future collateral purposes.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Have you seen the Vertu cellphone marketing schemes? They claim it's an heirloom. Of course, making it out of materials like platinum, and such one would be compelled to think of it as an heirloom simply for future collateral purposes.

You think the technology in the Vertu will be used / useable in 20 years? Jon.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by imageWIS

You think the technology in the Vertu will be used / useable in 20 years?

Jon.

It is already long in the tooth. Bejewelled tech is IMHO completely daft.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by skalogre

It is already long in the tooth. Bejewelled tech is IMHO completely daft.

Bejeweled cell phones make as much sense to me as bejeweled teeth...

Jon.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by imageWIS

Bejeweled cell phones make as much sense to me as bejeweled teeth...

Jon.