Smart watches and the future of mechanical

[Hedgeman]

I've got a small collection of nice mid-range mechanical watches - Rolex Submariner, Explorer 2, Breitling SuperOcean and a few lesser pieces from TAG and the like. But since getting an LG G Watch R for Christmas, none of them have adorned my wrist: the smart watch has been a permanent fixture.

I like the aesthetics of the mechanical watches, and they kept time well enough that those aesthetics always beat wearing a quartz. But the sheer utility of the smart watch has completely won me over. And what we have now is clearly only the beginning technology wise.

So I'm left wondering what to do with the mechanical watches. The two Rolex in particular were bought as birth-year watches for my sons. But I can't help thinking that when they're old enough to have them (another 10-15 years) that they'll be viewed as quaint and archaic, a bit like steam engines are now.

Interested to see others thoughts on this.

Gary.

[TimLambert7]

I think the comparisons, made by some, to the 'Quartz Crisis' are wrong. A smart watch isn't an identical product that offers better performance for less money, like quartz was/is.

I'm sure the Apple release will launch them in to the stratosphere but to me it completely contradicts what I like about watches.

[z4RRSchris99]

I dont wear a watch because it tells the time

[Hoofy]

TimLambert7 said:

I'm sure the Apple release will launch them in to the stratosphere but to me it completely contradicts what I like about watches.

If I was given a wearable, I'd probably not wear it everyday as I'd want to wear my other watches, too!

I'm sure there'll be people out there who never wear watches but start wearing an Apple watch. They probably have beards just because it's "on trend".

[Eleven]

z4RRSchris99 said:

I dont wear a watch because it tells the time

What does yours do, out of interest?

[davepoth]

Eleven said:

z4RRSchris99 said:

I dont wear a watch because it tells the time

What does yours do, out of interest?

As it has done since around about the point that the second watch was created, it serves to tell the people that matter that you are a gentleman of both means and taste.

[toohuge]

Hedgeman said:

But the sheer utility of the smart watch has completely won me over.

What utilities are these? I have looked at smart watches and just don't see the point, perhaps you could expand on why these are so useful?

[z4RRSchris99]

davepoth said:

Eleven said:

z4RRSchris99 said:

I dont wear a watch because it tells the time

What does yours do, out of interest?

As it has done since around about the point that the second watch was created, it serves to tell the people that matter that you are a gentleman of both means and taste.

correct dear sir.

[NDA]

Hedgeman said:

I've got a small collection of nice mid-range mechanical watches - Rolex Submariner, Explorer 2, Breitling SuperOcean and a few lesser pieces from TAG and the like. But since getting an LG G Watch R for Christmas, none of them have adorned my wrist: the smart watch has been a permanent fixture.

I like the aesthetics of the mechanical watches, and they kept time well enough that those aesthetics always beat wearing a quartz. But the sheer utility of the smart watch has completely won me over. And what we have now is clearly only the beginning technology wise.

So I'm left wondering what to do with the mechanical watches. The two Rolex in particular were bought as birth-year watches for my sons. But I can't help thinking that when they're old enough to have them (another 10-15 years) that they'll be viewed as quaint and archaic, a bit like steam engines are now.

Interested to see others thoughts on this.

Gary.

Keep your mechanical watches!

I have a small collection of automatic watches (Breguet, JLC etc) but recently bought a Citizen 'radio controlled' watch whilst one was being serviced. The Citizen is currently my favourite as it looks good, is clever and I don't worry about it being seen on public transport!!

However, I know it's just a passing thing. I will go back to my decent watches in a few weeks.

[devnull]

As much as I love my electronics, I don't envisage smart watches or wearables overtaking my love of traditional automatics. Watches are jewellery for me. I did have a pebble watch for a while when they came out, but I soon realised that I wasn't actually interested in incoming notifications of emails, etc.

[grumbledoak]

I think quartz watches have already pushed mechanical watches into a niche that smart watches don't overlap. As said, they are not about telling the time any more.

[BrassMan]

davepoth said:

Eleven said:

z4RRSchris99 said:

I dont wear a watch because it tells the time

What does yours do, out of interest?

As it has done since around about the point that the second watch was created, it serves to tell the people that matter that you are a gentleman of both means and taste.

Please don't. This subforum already has a bad reputation.

Smart watches as we know them look like a dead end. The lack of screen size nerfs the functionality leaving it the permanently worn bluetooth headset of the smartphone.

[Hedgeman]

toohuge said:

What utilities are these? I have looked at smart watches and just don't see the point, perhaps you could expand on why these are so useful?

Notifications are a big win for me - whatsapp, texts etc, and with work email configured to notify for anything urgent.

The fitness stuff is useful too - pedometer, heart-rate, time/distance spent exercising.

It's also nice having a pretty unlimited selection of faces available for different looks depending on mood.

"Ok google", navigation etc are nice to have too.

There's stuff which makes good demo-ware, but is not so useful day to day e.g. remote viewing of your phone camera with apps like "look behind me". Useful I guess if you want to keep an eye on young kids when you're out of the room, in the kitchen etc.

All in all there's more than enough of value (to me) to more than outweigh things like watching the second-hand sweep on the sub. I think this is just the beginning too. In a few years time we'll likely have larger, flexible, super-thin, wrap around screens with plenty of "real estate" on your wrist.

Gary.

[Hedgeman]

davepoth said:

As it has done since around about the point that the second watch was created, it serves to tell the people that matter that you are a gentleman of both means and taste.

There's clearly a lot of truth in that as reasoning for why people buy expensive watches, at least at the moment.

But what happens if it serves to tell people you are a dinosaur from a previous generation, which I fear is what smart watches will do over time.

Gary.

[Lorneg]

Hedgeman said:

But what happens if it serves to tell people you are a dinosaur from a previous generation, which I fear is what smart watches will do over time.

Gary.

When I was younger I used to call my father a dinosaur when ever he asked me to set the video recorder, or later in life to set up his email. He used to smile and say, 'one day young lad your children will call you a dinosaur and when they do you'll just smile and think to yourself that it doesn't really matter'.

I don't wear a smart watch that tells me when I have a new text or when my chidrens school has twitted that rugby is cancelled or if I'm out of breath and really a bit old to be running around....and do you know what,

Edited by Lorneg on Sunday 1st February 16:15

[Craikeybaby]

I'm a geek, I like shiny (Apple) gadgets, but I can't see myself getting a smart watch, unless it is able to do something my smart phone can't, which would then need to be important enough to ditch my mechanical watches.

[sad61t]

Hedgeman said:

I've got a small collection of nice mid-range mechanical watches - Rolex Submariner, Explorer 2, Breitling SuperOcean and a few lesser pieces from TAG and the like. But since getting an LG G Watch R for Christmas, none of them have adorned my wrist: the smart watch has been a permanent fixture.

I like the aesthetics of the mechanical watches, and they kept time well enough that those aesthetics always beat wearing a quartz. But the sheer utility of the smart watch has completely won me over. And what we have now is clearly only the beginning technology wise.

So I'm left wondering what to do with the mechanical watches. The two Rolex in particular were bought as birth-year watches for my sons. But I can't help thinking that when they're old enough to have them (another 10-15 years) that they'll be viewed as quaint and archaic, a bit like steam engines are now.

Interested to see others thoughts on this.

Gary.

I've got a small collection of nice world exotic teas - white oolong, black Argentinian, Turkish and a few lesser blends from PG and the like. But since getting methamphetamine for Christmas, none of them have adorned my palette: the crack pipe has been a permanent fixture.

I like the flavours of the exotic teas, and they quenched thirst well enough that those aromatics always beat drinking a coffee. But the sheer high of the MDMA has completely won me over. And what we have now is clearly only the beginning chemistry wise.

So I'm left wondering what to do with the exotic teas. Two Royal Albert tea sets in particular were bought as birth-year mementos for my sons. But I can't help thinking that when they're old enough to have them (another 10-15 years) that they'll be viewed as quaint and archaic, a bit like tamagotchis are now.

[Hedgeman]

sad61t said:

I've got a small collection of nice world exotic teas - white oolong, black Argentinian, Turkish and a few lesser blends from PG and the like. But since getting methamphetamine for Christmas, none of them have adorned my palette: the crack pipe has been a permanent fixture.

I like the flavours of the exotic teas, and they quenched thirst well enough that those aromatics always beat drinking a coffee. But the sheer high of the MDMA has completely won me over. And what we have now is clearly only the beginning chemistry wise.

So I'm left wondering what to do with the exotic teas. Two Royal Albert tea sets in particular were bought as birth-year mementos for my sons. But I can't help thinking that when they're old enough to have them (another 10-15 years) that they'll be viewed as quaint and archaic, a bit like tamagotchis are now.

Very good :-) Made me smile :-)

[hilly10]

No watch, no matter how smart, will ever take the place of my Rolexs & Omega. Period

[z4RRSchris99]

hilly10 said:

No watch, no matter how smart, will ever take the place of my Rolexs & Omega. Period

I thought that until I got an AP, its very 'smart'