Dave McQuillin has spent more than 10 years writing about almost everything, but technology has always been one of his main interests. He has worked for newspapers, magazines, radio stations, websites and TV stations in the US and Europe. The smartwatch market is huge, and there are plenty of options for those who want to add a little smart functionality to their wrist. Some luxury brands have already launched their own smartwatches with price tags to match. But is the concept of a "luxury smartwatch" really that silly?
Tech giants like Samsung and Apple have many high-end, premium products, but they are not ultra-premium in terms of price and prestige. In this category, you can find names like Rolex, Omega and Montblanc. In addition to standard features like sleep tracking, pedometry and GPS, they promise to add prestige and community to your new device. However, despite their decades of success and exclusive customer lists, these brands offer duplicate products that no one wants or needs.
Why do people collect luxury watches? There are several luxury smartwatches to choose from. Luxury smartwatches do nothing but give a sense of status.
A luxury watch is both an investment and a display of wealth. With its many tiny moving parts and amazing precision, it is both a work of art and an amazing engineering achievement. While Rolexes aren't much more practical than G-Shocks, they have pedigree. It's a ticking story.
Luxury watches tend to rise in price because of their rarity, durability and prestige. If you get stuck with one, you can pass it on to your family or sell it for a premium. While some electronics can be very expensive, you're talking about items that have a long history and are in good condition. An Apple 2 in a box will be expensive, but if you go out and buy a new MacBook, it may not be worth much in 40 years. The same is true of smartwatches. Open the box and you'll find a PCB, not hundreds of carefully crafted parts. No matter what brand is printed on it, your smartwatch will not appreciate in value.
There are several well-known companies that make high-end smartwatches and sell them at high prices. Montblanc, a German company known for making expensive fountain pens, is one of them. Surprisingly, for a company that charges thousands of dollars for a ballpoint pen, their contribution to the smartwatch market isn't that outrageous. Although the Montblanc Summit and Summit 2 cost about twice as much as the Apple Watch, they cost less than $1,000.
Well-known Swiss watch makers, such as Tag Heuer, have entered the smartwatch market. Their Caliber E4 seems to focus more on style than substance - you may have a Porsche logo displayed on the front, but there's nothing under the hood that sets the watch apart from others. If you want to spend closer to $10,000, Breitling has a strange hybrid mechanical smartwatch aimed at "pilots and yachties.
You might be able to justify the price if companies like Montblanc and Tag Heuer offered cutting-edge products, but there's nothing special about their efforts. Maybe they can't keep up with the well-known smartwatch brands, so you end up spending less money.
While the product doesn't live up to its name, Garmin has at least innovated with a solar powered "infinity battery" smartwatch. This eliminates the biggest drawback of smartwatches - the need for regular charging. Again, Apple has a quality product (as they usually do) that fits in perfectly with the rest of their catalog. So if you're an iPhone user, this is an obvious choice.
Ultimately, one of the features Tag brags about is the ability to display the value NFTs in your name on your value smartwatch. the problem with this feature is that no one cares about your NFT or fitness tracker.
While some families have items like watches that are passed down from generation to generation, it's unlikely that something like this will happen with electronics. Electronics have a short shelf life, with products like smartphones only lasting an average of two to three years. Then there's obsolescence: products in the tech world improve quickly and frequently. Today's best-in-class smartwatch will likely be pristine junk within a decade.
Yes, mechanical watches are technologically obsolete. Some clocks are associated with atomic clocks, which are more accurate than purely mechanical devices. But just like vintage cars and retro video game consoles, they have found their niche among collectors and still have a market.
Luxury watches also require maintenance and are expensive. Ideally, you should take your watch to a certified watchmaker every three to five years. This professional will inspect the watch, perform routine maintenance tasks such as lubricating the mechanical parts and replacing any badly worn or damaged parts.
This is very delicate and specialized work that can cost hundreds of dollars. So, can you replace the inside of an aging luxury smartwatch in the same way? Maybe you can. But as I mentioned earlier, part of the appeal of a luxury watch is its complex mechanics. The chips and circuit boards are also very difficult, but don't have the same prestige.
Apple has a great reputation as a brand. If you look at the hand of a billionaire answering the phone, chances are you'll see the latest iPhone. this iPhone may be wrapped in gold and bejeweled, but behind the high price of displaying wealth, it's still the type of phone most people in America use.
However, even the biggest names in technology know that the luxury smartwatch is not the first of its kind. Seven years ago, the company introduced the first 18-karat gold Apple Watch. At around $17,000, this deluxe version was on par with brands like Rolex. Unlike Rolex, the cutting-edge Apple Watch has been a complete failure. The company has since ditched the precious metal case, tweaked the price, and has been incredibly successful in the smartwatch market.
If you want to brag, no one will look down on you for showing off an Apple product, and for Android-based technology like the Montblanc Summit, you can get a side-eye. Apple technologies also work well together, and while they play nice with others, they're not always happy about it. So if you're currently using an iPhone, choosing products outside of the Apple ecosystem can limit your expensive watches and expensive phones.
If you're an Android user, there may be a cheaper option that will impress just as much as other Android watches. So there you have it. If you want to show off, get an Apple. If you don't, you'll pay more, probably have a worse experience, and get bullied by the superficial elements of the tech world. For the reasons mentioned above, luxury watch collectors are likely not interested in smartwatches. Likewise, while the truly tech-savvy may have no problem spending four figures on something that is truly market-leading - I doubt they would pay a 100% premium over a standard Apple Watch for a German Wear OS device with the handle manufacturer's name on it .
So here's the question. Theoretically, these devices appeal to two large and wealthy markets, but don't offer what they need. On top of that, when you run a luxury brand, charging a huge premium is tied to the territory. As a result, they can't even price this watch in a way that could theoretically compete with the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Garmin. A luxury smartwatch is a silly idea. The customer base is probably limited to three middle-aged people at an Austrian ski base who know nothing about technology, but are interested in the quality of their sleep.
Post time: Aug-24-2022
