According to a recent study by Pew Research, over 97 percent of Americans currently own a cellphone, and a staggering 85 percent own a smartphone. Not only the time, but an entire digital world is at our fingertips, or at least in our back pocket.
Does that mean that the mechanical watch, whose primary function is simply to tell time, is no longer relevant in today’s world? In short, no. Reduced to its most utilitarian function, a watch may no longer be needed, but it is so much more than a timekeeper. A watch is fashionable, elegant, and nostalgic. It is a timeless investment that never goes out of style.
An Artistic Accessory
The mechanical watch as a practical item became obsolete with the quartz crisis. This hit in the 1970s and 1980s and made digital watches cheaper and more accurate than the traditional mechanical watches.
However, the desire for mechanical timepieces didn’t disappear. The Swiss watch industry adapted and stopped competing with the new quartz watches as timekeeping devices. Rather, mechanical watches became luxury accessories that happened to tell the time. The demand for analog watches will weather the current technological revolution for the same reasons, and the market supports that.
Despite the growth of smart watches, the demand for luxury timepieces ballooned during the Covid-19 pandemic. The strongest year ever for the Swiss watch industry was 2021. While the market for luxury watches has cooled somewhat since then, the demand is still high. A watch is a beautiful piece of art, with intrinsic value that goes beyond its practicality. Watches are are an important fashion accessory and status symbol.
The styles of watch initially created to support their function—dress, field, aviator, dive, and chronograph watches—now serve to complement the occasion and the personality of the wearer. Whether you are a CEO, a doctor, a teacher or a football coach, there is a watch for every person and every occasion.
Dress watches complement a dress or a suit while an aviator watch pairs great with casual attire. Most of us are not using our watches to fly a plane or tell time on the battlefield, but they are the perfect functional accessory that convey an elevated sense of style. Wearing the right watch is a way for men and women to define their taste and their social standing.
Timeless Appeal
While technology advances at an ever increasing pace, the simplicity of a mechanical watch is one of its biggest draws. Many watch aficionados love the nostalgia of a classic timepiece. While our cars, phones, and even our homes become increasingly high-tech, a mechanical watch is strikingly low-tech.
The Millennial generation, in particular, seems to love classic watches, and watchmakers like Rolex, Breitling, Weiss and Daniel Wellington have taken note. They have embraced classic designs, replicating styles from the past or infusing modern designs with timeless finishes. We find the need to replace our technology every few years, but a classic watch is an investment that will never go out of style and can even be passed down through generations.
More practically, wearing a watch can be a gentle way to disconnect from our digital world. How many of us have picked up our phones to check the time, and then found ourselves still scrolling 15 minutes later? Every time we pull our phone out of our pocket or our bag, even if just to check the time, we are opening the door to algorithms carefully created to draw our attention and keep it. Even a smartwatch invites us to engage with our phones, sending us notifications for every text message or social media update.
The beauty of an analog watch is its simplicity: dividing our day into neat quadrants without extra distractions. Watch wearers report that they find themselves more in tune with the minutes and hours of the day and better able to manage and control their time. This creates the kind of life they want to live.
A Mark of Maturity
For the discerning buyer, a watch is a symbol of maturity. It signals that the wearer cares about details, heritage, and style more than the next fleeting fashion trend. It is an indication that one values time and the ability to manage it. A luxury watch designates that the wearer has money and knows how to spend it intelligently. A quality wristwatch is a mark of an adult who is confident in his or her standing.
Despite the rapidly changing pace of technology, classic watches will always have a place in our world. Watches have proven to be endlessly adaptable and yet timeless in their function and appeal. No matter your lifestyle or profession, a watch is the perfect accessory, a work of functional art, an elegant piece of fashion that stands the test of time.
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