watches...

[hikenbike]

Swiss continues to decline: With 63% share, Apple Watch pushes global smartwatch shipments past Swiss watches for first time



It looks like smartwatches, esp Apple Watch, are hurting Swiss badly.

Actually, no. Different product, different market. They are largely comparing AW sales to other "smartwatch" sales.....not all watches. What is hurting traditional watch sales as indicated by the 5% yoy decline is the rise of a generation of buyers who simply don't wear watches and declines in the gens that do.......which is a much larger scope problem than the AW alone as the younger gens have many other digital products that get their attention and dollars. This is not AW vs. Swiss.

 

[Thai]

Actually, no. Different product, different market. They are largely comparing AW sales to other "smartwatch" sales.....not all watches. What is hurting traditional watch sales as indicated by the 5% yoy decline is the rise of a generation of buyers who simply don't wear watches and declines in the gens that do.......which is a much larger scope problem than the AW alone as the younger gens have many other digital products that get their attention and dollars. This is not AW vs. Swiss.

No. Different market? Not exactly. Look at the timing of Swiss decline and when AW came to market.

 

[hikenbike]

No. Different market? Not exactly. Look at the timing of Swiss decline and when AW came to market.

AW has had an impact but there's a much bigger picture on how Swiss watch declines were an eventual reality.

Analysts Blame Smartwatches for Decline in Swiss Watch Sales | Digital Trends

Especially this part.........

The natural inclination is to blame smartwatches, a market segment which is expected to reach $32.9 billion by 2020, but they’re far from the biggest factor. Analysts point to weak demand in Asian nations, especially Hong Kong, which saw its sales share of Swiss wristwear tumble 10 percent in October from the same period a year ago. Other overseas markets haven’t fared much better — in August, sales to China were 40 percent of total sales, down from 49 percent in July 2014, and in the same month the South Korea market shrank to 29 percent.
Still, analysts say the role of smartwatches in recent declines can’t be ignored. “Traditional watch makers are coming under pressure,” Ben Woods, Chief of Research at CCS Insights, told Tech Radar in October. “It would be naïve to think the Apple Watch has not impacted the traditional market in some form.”

 

[Thai]

AW has had an impact but there's a much bigger picture on how Swiss watch declines were an eventual reality.

Analysts Blame Smartwatches for Decline in Swiss Watch Sales | Digital Trends

Especially this part.........

The natural inclination is to blame smartwatches, a market segment which is expected to reach $32.9 billion by 2020, but they’re far from the biggest factor. Analysts point to weak demand in Asian nations, especially Hong Kong, which saw its sales share of Swiss wristwear tumble 10 percent in October from the same period a year ago. Other overseas markets haven’t fared much better — in August, sales to China were 40 percent of total sales, down from 49 percent in July 2014, and in the same month the South Korea market shrank to 29 percent.
Still, analysts say the role of smartwatches in recent declines can’t be ignored. “Traditional watch makers are coming under pressure,” Ben Woods, Chief of Research at CCS Insights, told Tech Radar in October. “It would be naïve to think the Apple Watch has not impacted the traditional market in some form.”

Of course, AW is not the ONLY reason. World market going down. But all of these reasons would affect ALL watches (smart or dumb). The fact is that AW sales are now passing 15 million at end of 2015 while Swiss is declining with every quarter. And AW is only to gain steam. Despite general public opinion that smartwatches are not ready for mainstream, sales is skyrocketing (mainly AW). And as smartwatches become more mature, they will become more popular.

So, Swiss is in deep sh!t. Rolex, Patek, AP are probably safe...decline in sales probably won't be huge. But everything under $5k is screwed.

For me, unless something horrible goes wrong with Apple, I have no plans on buying another Swiss...ever. (Truth be told, part of that reason is that i already have two Rolex at home.)

Think of it this way, in 3 months (Quarter 4 of 2015), Apple sold 5.1 million watches according to above study. How many does Swiss sell altogether in 3 months? 8.3 million collectively. That is a HUGE hit on Swiss.

 

[Thai]

It looks like Swatch is giving up going against Apple Watch: Swatch thinks it can?t compete with the Apple Watch, sticking to low-end smartwatches for now | 9to5Mac

 

[USNA91]

My daily-wear baby...

 

[08t4rsr5]

My two EDC watches.

 

[Thai]

My daily-wear baby...

What is wrong with the date? No quick date change?

 

[USNA91]

I knew someone was going to say something about that... :laugh:

 

[Thai]

Link: Builder who suffered heart attack at work 'had life saved by Apple Watch'

Apple Watch literally saved someone's life...again.

 

[hikenbike]

Link: Builder who suffered heart attack at work 'had life saved by Apple Watch'



Apple Watch literally saved someone's life...again.

Wonderful.....but it's not a watch......it's a WristPad.

 

[Thai]

Wonderful.....but it's not a watch......it's a WristPad.

Here we go again.... :Cry:

 

[Friggin Idiot]

For work I wear a Casio with dual time zones since I work exclusively in Zulu time.
But this is my favorite watch.

 

[Beer.runner]

Omega Speedmaster my grandfather wore and then gave it to me when I graduated college/grad. present.



it gets the job done. Also have a older Citizen Eco-drive for when I'm doing dirty work.

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Lots of Omega love here.... I'm clearly in good company!

Here is my Planet Ocean Chronograph, on a Hirsch strap.
I never got on with the stainless bracelet it came with.

 

[Thai]

Wonderful.....but it's not a watch......it's a WristPad.

Well, Patek Philippe Chairman stated that TAG should quit competing with Apple : Patek Philippe to TAG Heuer: Your $15,000 Watch Is Too Cheap - Bloomberg Business

"Patek Philippe Chairman Thierry Stern said rival TAG Heuer will have a difficult time competing with Apple Inc. in smartwatches and is ruining Swiss craftsmanship by making cheaper versions of complicated mechanisms....

Swiss watchmakers such as TAG Heuer rushed into making smartwatches and not all will be winners because they don’t have the expertise, Stern said at the Baselworld trade fair Wednesday.

“It’s hard to compete with brands who are very powerful, we’re talking about Apple,” Stern said in an interview. “With TAG, again, it’s not their field. To be frank, it will be hard for them.”

“Is it going to be the best one?” Stern asked. “Definitely not, I don’t think so, because they don’t have the power behind.”

 

[vlad drac]

Another Omega - Seamaster Chrono Diver. On my wrist 80% of the time since 2003. Serviced once in 2014.

 

[Stgo2019]

Big Omega fan. I chose this over the Rolex Sub LV.


Planet Ocean Ti, 42mm

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[thevanillagorilla]

I'll join in.

Panerai 423

 

[Thai]

For active folks and Android users, here is a very good watch (but somewhat expensive at $400): SMART | Nixon Watches and Premium Accessories

Positive: rugged, waterproof to 100m, GPS, no flat tire, touchscreen works with gloves.
Negative: expensive, no sapphire, HUGE, no speaker, no heart rate.

(Casio offers similar watch withOUT GPS and less waterproofing for $500...so, relatively, Nixon is not too bad.)

Overview: https://www.wareable.com/android-wear/nixon-the-mission-specs-release-date-features-price-2469