Apple Watch 31 million units Swiss Watches 21 million

Nobel Prize · Feb 16, 2020

Foo2rama
I don’t think they are cannibalizing mechanical watches. I don’t know a single person that had a mechanical watch and switched to an Apple Watch. I know many many people that started with Apple watches and moved to mechanical watches.

I’ve said it before, Apple Watch owners swap to mechanical watches at a higher rate then the other way.

me too!! I know people that just used their phones and didn’t even think about watches and then started to pay attention at wrists after they got the Apple Watch..... and got hooked.

kov · Feb 16, 2020

To me it’s like comparing Moleskine sales numbers with current Evernote subscriptions. 😀

cvalue13 · Feb 16, 2020

kov
To me it’s like comparing Moleskine sales numbers with current Evernote subscriptions. 😀

Agree, but with one big exception: Moleskin and Evernote don’t compete for space on a specific part of the body!

I’ve read of a few mechanical watch folks who have refused the Apple Watch double-wrist, and so have taken to strapping their Apple Watch to their ankle in order to keep wearing their mechanical...

kov · Feb 17, 2020

cvalue13
Moleskin and Evernote don’t compete for space on a specific part of the body!

Not the body but the desk 😉

lindo · Feb 17, 2020

So last year my financial advisor said to get into Apple shares. I thought they had just about run out of puff, but decided he knew more about such things than I did, so bought a few in June just in case I was wrong. They have gone up 91% since then.

The moral of this story (apart from confirming I truly know nothing about investing): don't buy an Apple Watch, buy a really nice mechanical - and if there is any money left over, invest it in Apple.

Capt Cave Man · Feb 17, 2020

I know so many people who own an Apple Watch of one version or another but always forget to leave them on charge overnight, as such they end up in a drawer or as with a colleague last week, a dead watch on their wrist.

I so enjoy the routine now of deciding which time piece that week and just winding it up before putting it on.

Larry S · Feb 17, 2020

R rustyduck
and while I do use it, it has no soul.

BINGO!

M'Bob · Feb 17, 2020

Foo2rama
I don’t know a single person that had a mechanical watch and switched to an Apple Watch. I know many many people that started with Apple watches and moved to mechanical watches.

I wonder if this is age-group dependent. Many guys I know who are 55+ have gone from a mechanical to an Apple Watch.

The most common explanation I hear is that it's just so much more useful. Plus, it makes them feel more up to date, hip if you will, not a dinosaur. Young guys, on the other hand, who grew up with technology, may find a mechanical watch more interesting an intriguing.

I don't own one, and don't see me ever buying one. My flip-phone is enough on-hand gadgetry.

Lazy_Lightning · Feb 17, 2020

kov
Not the body but the desk 😉

The 80s were simpler times.

Wivac · Feb 17, 2020

I hope Omega doesn't release an update which bricks my Speedy.

Lazy_Lightning · Feb 17, 2020

Foo2rama
I don’t think they are cannibalizing mechanical watches. I don’t know a single person that had a mechanical watch and switched to an Apple Watch. I know many many people that started with Apple watches and moved to mechanical watches.

I’ve said it before, Apple Watch owners swap to mechanical watches at a higher rate then the other way.

I would agree with your points above and add that Apple watches serving as a gateway to mechanical watches is a good thing for the watch industry. At the end of the day, an Apple watch is a gadget that will be thrown in the trash once it's reached end of life. A mechanical watch is something to be cherished and handed down to the next generation (the majority of watched I own are older than I am).

vbrad26 · Feb 17, 2020

When they first came out, I never felt the need to buy one. And I would be considered a Apple Fanboy by most.
A few years went by and I ended up inheriting my wife's when she upgraded to a new one.
I always like having a watch on (always have) so I found that I would put it on in the evening during the week after I stripped off the work clothes.
It was convenient because I could leave my phone in the bedroom, but still have "access" to it if needed.
I also wore it a lot on the weekend while doing stuff around the house and what not, and also wore it for exercise tracking.
When it broke, I figured I wore the old one enough that I would miss having it, so I got another one.
It definitely gets some wrist time, and I charge it about every 3 days or so. I think it will last just a hair over 4 days from full charge to totally dead.
As already mentioned, I think it IS somewhat generational as well.
A lot of my friends in the 25-35 range have them as their only "watch". But I also do run into a lot of people in the 55+ who have them.

STANDY · Feb 17, 2020

Was going to read this on a Iwatch but it’s charging again. 😗

The only thing I link to the computer is a power cord. Man I hate that everything has to be updated by a computer or linked to it now days.......

The Father · Feb 17, 2020

Foo2rama
I don’t think they are cannibalizing mechanical watches. I don’t know a single person that had a mechanical watch and switched to an Apple Watch. I know many many people that started with Apple watches and moved to mechanical watches.

I’ve said it before, Apple Watch owners swap to mechanical watches at a higher rate then the other way.

I was shocked the other day, the Prez of the company came in sporting an Apple Watch after have a Rolex/Tag forever.
All I could say was "WTF, Dick Tracy?" For the youngsters out there, Dick Tracy was a comic book detective and he a radio watch or some shit like that. Plus he is 82

vbrad26 · Feb 17, 2020

I have an older coworker that gave up has Cartier Tank for an Apple watch.
And another who quit wearing his gold Day/Date because "his phone tells the time".
However he is just getting old and frail and I think wearing a watch bothers him.

WYO_Watch · Feb 17, 2020

The Father
Another tether

Ironically the reason I bought an Apple Watch was “non-tethered” gps 😁

I dislike carrying my phone on mountain bike rides and hikes, but don’t mind logging where I was or how far I went. If a grizzly bear eats me - it can act like a black box and they can check my heart rate prior to dismemberment 😗

drhombus24 · Feb 17, 2020

watchos
“He added that the Apple Watch could also be attracting newer audiences who might never have purchased a Swiss watch.”

That’s what happened to me. Got pulled in by the Apple Watch, looked at mechanicals after. I am sure there’s more people out there like that.
If this is in fact happening, it could bring in more people that weren’t weakening anything ion their wrists to change their habit. From there it’s an easier sell. IMO.

This is what happened to me too

Dan S · Feb 17, 2020

Sorry if I missed it in that article, but does this represent a drop in sales for Swiss watches (in units or value), or just a dramatic increase in sales of Apple watches with Swiss watch sales holding steady or growing slightly? Those two scenarios would seems to tell dramatically different stories. Yes, in principle, the items are competing for space on your wrist, but it would be interesting to know if they are really competing in the market, or if the markets are mostly orthogonal (or even cooperative).

alam · Feb 17, 2020

thanks for the reminder, tomorrow is Tabata Tuesday for me...

😀

Nobel Prize · Feb 17, 2020

cvalue13
I’ve read of a few mechanical watch folks who have refused the Apple Watch double-wrist, and so have taken to strapping their Apple Watch to their ankle in order to keep wearing their mechanical...