Swiss Watch Maker Debuts $30,800 Apple Watch Clone With Mechanical Loading Wheel

[rpmurray]

I'll wait until tomorrow when the Chinese release a knockoff of this for $30.

 

[LFC2020]

Looks hideous ? I'll give them $3 for it.

 

[7thson]

So $30k to virtue signal pretentiousness, disposable wealth and just general d-baggery

 

[ToomeyND]

I always find mechanical watches far more interesting but not interested int this one lol.

Check out Oris. They aren't exactly cheap, but anyone who says they like a certain style of watch, I imagine, would find these to be in the "quite affordable" range.

 

[CasinoOwl]

Is this what we have become? Does everything have to be a reaction? This is an expensive troll.

 

[x5tuu]

The same reason as the Apple Watch Edition failed this will too. People don't want to drop $30k on a smart watch because smart technology gets outdated far too fast. Mechanical watches can go for even more than that because even in 20 years they'll still be just as good

Have you read the article??

This is a mechanical auto. It’s not a smart watch at all.

 

[SWAON]

Honestly I'm over it, some people don't have food to eat, homeless, and here we are with another fancy useless thing. The worst spent money.. The elite has to stop thinking only about themselves.

 

[jicon]

"No updates required, no lousy autonomy, no unnecessary features, no annoying notifications, just the only reminder you ever really need: To disconnect from all the noise and cherish each and every moment,"

I can get that for $10 though... 770 times over... if that battery only lasts four days as advertised.

 

[rafark]

I don’t like the watch but this clone just looks cheap.

 

[neuropsychguy]

The same reason as the Apple Watch Edition failed this will too. People don't want to drop $30k on a smart watch because smart technology gets outdated far too fast. Mechanical watches can go for even more than that because even in 20 years they'll still be just as good

This is a mechanical watch though.

 

[happyprozak]

The same reason as the Apple Watch Edition failed this will too. People don't want to drop $30k on a smart watch because smart technology gets outdated far too fast. Mechanical watches can go for even more than that because even in 20 years they'll still be just as good

Sure in 20 years it'll be just as good as long as you spend money on maintenance and replacement parts are still made. It'll still only lose 2-5 seconds a day.

You could make the same argument about cars and we still see "classic" cars on the road but they have been supplanted by something more practical and better.

To be fair, I do like mechanical watches but they are jewelry. I don't support the myth that mechanical watches are an "investment" or that they lost "forever". You can set that argument in with DeBeer's brilliant marketing campaign on diamonds.

 

[TheLinkster]

Yeah just awful. No idea who would want that.

This is a mechanical watch.

What a bizarre product. An expensive mechanical watch made to look like a (much cheaper) smart watch while also poking fun at said smart watch. I just can’t imagine who the intended audience is for this.

Hipsters who thrive on irony and have more money than sense?

 

[TheLinkster]

Sure in 20 years it'll be just as good as long as you spend money on maintenance and replacement parts are still made. It'll still only lose 2-5 seconds a day.

And it would cost you an Apple Watch Sport every time you did.

 

[SuperCachetes]

So $30k to virtue signal pretentiousness, disposable wealth and just general d-baggery

To be fair, I somewhat feel that way about Rolex, Patek Philippe, and all the other 5-figure+ brands I can't spell or pronounce... but in my case a lot of it's probably just envy.

The difference is that I could actually find a Rolex or Grand Seiko I would wear if I had the budget. This... not so much.

 

[jonnysods]

This is unfortunate - I wouldn't call the Apple Watch casing something I would want to emulate - its not overly sophisticated or styling, perhaps which was why they pushed more of the fitness/health element than the style mantra when they first came out.

 

[7thson]

To be fair, I somewhat feel that way about Rolex, Patek Philippe, and all the other 5-figure+ brands I can't spell or pronounce... but in my case a lot of it's probably just envy.

The difference is that I could actually find a Rolex or Grand Seiko I would wear if I had the budget. This... not so much.

At least those others efforts aren’t trolling for attention. Not to mention many of those actually retain their value if cared for because they are iconic.

 

[AngerDanger]

Finally, a traditional watch that perpetually looks like it’s undergoing a software update!

 

[manu chao]

So $30k to virtue signal pretentiousness, disposable wealth and just general d-baggery

Doesn’t this apply to any $30k watch?

 

[allpar]

“The Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade is entirely mechanical with 100% Swiss Manufacture movement and a 96 hour power reserve.”

Including the writing? May I suggest...

“The Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade is entirely mechanical, with a 100% Swiss-made movement and a 96 hour power reserve.”

 

[freakomac]

I would just buy an Apple Watch and find a watch face that looks like the one on this watch if I wanted that minimalism.

 

[axantas]

I don’t like the watch but this clone just looks cheap.

Don't underestimate Moser. If you love mechanical watches, they are definitely worth to have a look at. It is about the inside as well. And in reality it does not look cheap at all. It is for admirers of mechanical watches and they will love that - be sure...

 

[7thson]

Doesn’t this apply to any $30k watch?

I’d say yes if the sole intention of that watch was to troll another manufacturer. Throwing away $30k just to titter at Apple is just top shelf disposable wealth. Also this thing will not appreciate in value, while some of its better designed neighbors will.

 

[manu chao]

This is unfortunate - I wouldn't call the Apple Watch casing something I would want to emulate - its not overly sophisticated or styling, perhaps which was why they pushed more of the fitness/health element than the style mantra when they first came out.

When smartwatches emulate the design of classical analog watches this is partly done to cash in on the associations (with analog watches) this creates. This watch here does exactly the opposite, which is a testament to the (positive) associations an Apple Watch has created in our collective consciousness.

 

[kingtj]

Yeah just awful. No idea who would want that.

This is a mechanical watch.

What a bizarre product. An expensive mechanical watch made to look like a (much cheaper) smart watch while also poking fun at said smart watch. I just can’t imagine who the intended audience is for this.

And yet, they had a customer suggest the design to them. So that's 1 sale, at least....

Seriously, if they're only making 50 of these -- it's just meant to be an odd collector's item. They can probably find 50 wealthy watch collectors who'd buy it because it's so weird.

 

[axantas]

So $30k to virtue signal pretentiousness, disposable wealth and just general d-baggery

You might want to apply this to 1000$ plastic handbags of well known brands. Worth the money or you buy it, if you can afford it and like it?

In this case, you get at least an outside of white gold, which has quite some value as precious metal.