Who of you prefers the Apple Watch over his Rolex/Patek/Omega/Breitling/etc?

[scarab0]

So here is the thing, I had a hard time justifying the value of the Apple Watch over any normal watch, or especially my Jaeger LeCoultre. However, since I own the Airpods and enjoy them so much, I figured, in combination with the Apple Watch, it will be much easier to switch between songs and not being forced to have the iPhone when running outside for example.

Yet, I still found too much negative feedback about the Nike Version, how it scratches too easily and so on. Also the fact, to upgrade the watch at least every 24 months made me stay away from it.

But actually, the Apple Watch isn't as expensive, if you consider that you have to change your leather strap on all those luxury watches almost once a year as well. Depending on which leather quality you prefer it could easily mean 300 EUR over here. So expenses wise there is basically no difference, but perhaps even more value in a smartwatch.

That finally rises the question, is there a point in keeping a Rolex/Patek/etc. ince I decide to go for the Apple Watch? I guess the Apple Watch has its value for sports purposes only already but don't you then wear it 24/7? So what do you do with your luxury watch if you own any? To be honest, I was already thinking of selling them, just because in the near future we will end up all using some sort of a smartwatch, which could even probably replace a smartphone completely I suppose?!

 

[44267547]

The Apple Watch and mechanical watches are entirely two different categories. There are occasions where I like to wear other watches in my lineup for a particular event or just a break away from the Apple Watch.

But the Apple Watch serves more as a tool as an in between my iPhone that I use on a daily basis. But I also find my Apple Watch to be more divisive in the sense that I can customize it further and give it a new look with different watch faces and bands. That's what separates the Apple Watch from mechanical Watches.

 

[RichardMZhlubb]

I have two fairly expensive Tag Heuer's that have been gathering dust since I bought my Apple watch. I haven't worn either in over a year.

 

[justiny]

I currently own a Rolex and a Tag, have had them both for well over a decade, and I’ll echo the above replies.

If I’m going somewhere very special/fancy and always with the wife, I’ll throw on one of the above. However, that is how I always used them even when I first purchased them. I actually never considered myself as a watch person until the WATCH was released for several reasons (fear of damage, loss, etc.).

The WATCH is far and beyond my daily driver, and is definitely more productive than anything else I’ve seen on the wrist (anyone remember how popular the Casio calculator watches in the 80’s?). I’d estimate 90% of the year, the Rolex and Tag sit secure in my safe. However, I’m not in a state of mind to sell them (sentimental value to me), at least anytime soon.
[doublepost=1515529150][/doublepost]

But I also find my Apple Watch to be more divisive in the sense that I can customize it further and give it a new look with different watch faces and bands.

Couldn’t agree more. In a sense, the WATCH’s customization is one of the top 3 killer applications which no one really ever talks about.

 

[SRLMJ23]

I generally only wear my Audemars Piguet Millenary when I am going to a wedding or something fancy like that. Basically all of my mechanical watches are hardly worn, as I use my Apple Watch S3 LTE all the time except for the rare events where a mechanical is proper to wear.

 

[Kermit262]

I sold my Omega Seamaster immediately after getting my Apple Watch. I had planned to occasionally swap between the two, but I knew right away that I didn't want to give up any of my fitness tracking (the three rings, steps, etc.). I told my wife it was with the caveat that I could get another luxury watch in the future, but who am I kidding? 10 years from now an Omega/Rolex, etc. will look essentially the same and do the same things, but a future Apple Watch will have capabilities we can't even imagine.

 

[CrystalQuest76]

I have had my Seiko kinetic for more than 15 years. It works reliably and keeps great time and i wear it nearly every day. Never have to worry about scratches or charging it. It does the same things that i bought it for and don't have to worry about updating or upgrading it. I don't have to worry about a wireless provider raising cost of operating it. If i want features beyond keeping time, i use my iPhone 6 which works as well as the day i bought it with no scratches. Apple executives have gotten enough of my money.
Saving money is not crime.
Majority of Americans don't have 500 dollars saved.

 

[newellj]

I may be a universe of one, but I don't view the AW as a watch at all. I use it as a fitness wearable. At the moment, I'm wearing a Rolex GMT Master II on my left wrist and an AW on my right wrist.

 

[justiny]

I have had my Seiko kinetic for more than 15 years. It works reliably and keeps great time and i wear it nearly every day. Never have to worry about scratches or charging it. It does the same things that i bought it for and don't have to worry about updating or upgrading it. I don't have to worry about a wireless provider raising cost of operating it. If i want features beyond keeping time, i use my iPhone 6 which works as well as the day i bought it with no scratches. Apple executives have gotten enough of my money.
Saving money is not crime.
Majority of Americans don't have 500 dollars saved.

I’m not sure how your post answers the OP’s question. It reads as though you don’t own an WATCH and never will. Owning an WATCH doesn’t require updating or upgrading if you don’t want (still plenty of S0 users on WatchOS 3), and it also doesn’t require a wireless carrier to function.

I do agree saving money is never a crime.

 

[BarracksSi]

(I wrote a lot more here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/comparing-my-aw-to-the-rest-of-my-collection-pic-heavy.1946056/ )

My AW totally changed my future watch-buying plans.

I still have a decent stash of watches, and I choose from a few of them to wear to the office (no personal gadgets allowed). I also might wear one of them when we’re going out and don’t want any interruptions.

All the rest of the time, though, I wear my AW.

How did this change what I’d look for in a future luxury[-ish] watch purchase? Well, instead of an all-arounder with a date window and maybe a GMT hand, I’d get a plain three-hander, maybe even a simple manual-wind for extra thinness. Easier to reset when I haven’t worn it in a while and the power reserve runs out.

You know, like this Breguet.

 

[OllyW]

I'm not wealthy enough to afford watches from the likes of Rolex/Patek/Omega/Breitling but I've got a few nice reasonably priced watches which share wrist time with my Apple Watch.

I've got to be honest and say I still prefer to wear conventional watches. I like wearing my Apple Watch at work because it's a fairly noisy environment and the notifications are very useful when I'm out in the factory. Away from work I'd still rather wear one of my other watches unless I'm exercising. I went two full weeks over the Xmas holiday without wearing the Apple Watch and didn't miss it once.

I don't even know if I'll bother to upgrade it in the future. I only really like the stainless steel version and I can't see myself ever paying the full asking price for a new one. I may pick up a newer second hand one if I see a bargain but it's a low priority while my 1st gen still works just fine.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I don't currently own any of the watches being discussed but I have to say that when I see an Apple Watch out in public absolutely nothing about it exudes the timelessness and luxury that expensive mechanical/traditional watches do… At least not to my eyes.

Watches are very much a jewelry accessory to many people and a techno gadget has a hard time in that role right now.

 

[BlueMoon63]

I will say that if I owned one of those watches - esp the Patek, then I never would have bought the AW. However, unless it was a gift, the AW changed my idea of what I would spend for a watch and doubt I will ever wear anything but the AW.

I think TAG had a smart watch that couldn’t do much, but maybe if it was as good as the AW, I could buy it.

 

[BarracksSi]

I think TAG had a smart watch that couldn’t do much, but maybe if it was as good as the AW, I could buy it.

TAG still has it, it’s in its second version now, and it’s apparently a big seller for them (although it probably hasn’t reached 100,000 units yet).

But why would the TAG brand make it any more desirable than any other smartwatch running Android Wear?

(semi-rhetorical question)

 

[BigMcGuire]

I have always been a huge huge fan of watches since I was a kid. Growing up without access to $ meant I never got to have anything other than those problematic, break after a few weeks watches. Once I got to college, I saved up and bought my first Swiss watch ($150) and when I got married my wife got me a Fossil ($200?) watch. Fossil watch went through batteries every 3 months so kinda stopped wearing it for that reason alone.

Love the idea of a clock that keeps time on its own on my wrist. My wife and I are going through NCIS and Agent Gibb's Omega watch constantly impresses me ( think he has an orange band though ).

Really bugs me when I turn on my Apple Watch and I see it correct the time after a sync with the phone on the Utility face. Like, come on, can't you keep time accurately on your own? It was much worse before I got 4.2 and doesn't happen all the time. Edit: This stopped happening as of 4.2.

The health factors make me wear my Apple Watch all day. Love seeing activity, steps, sleep information, etc... But if I had the $ I'd probably get the above Omega and be pretty happy with it. Knowing I could wear the thing for 15 years and it would still look good and operate well and keep time perfectly.... very attractive to me.

Would love a watch like Gibbs that had all the benefits of the Apple Watch - and make it last awhile on battery.

I don't see myself affording a watch like that in the next 6 years - so I'm very happy with my AW3.

 

[BarracksSi]

Really bugs me when I turn on my Apple Watch and I see it correct the time after a sync with the phone on the Utility face. Like, come on, can't you keep time accurately on your own? It was much worse before I got 4.2 and doesn't happen all the time.

Not sure what’s going on with yours, but my S0 ran better than -1 sec/month when I tracked it for over three weeks in Airplane Mode.

(the jump at the end was after it re-synced online)

 

[BigMcGuire]

Not sure what’s going on with yours, but my S0 ran better than -1 sec/month when I tracked it for over three weeks in Airplane Mode.

(the jump at the end was after it re-synced online)

Way cool! What app is that if you don't mind me asking?

Must just be me and my eyes! I can't get it to happen again now -- https://9to5mac.com/2015/12/30/apple-watch-timekeeping/ - also read that.

 

[BarracksSi]

Way cool! What app is that if you don't mind me asking?

WatchTracker. Some apps have you take photos of your watch's hands and compares them to the time of the photo, but this one has you tap a button when your watch displays a given time. Since you don't have to take a picture of your watch, it works for anything, even digital clocks.

Tracked all my watches with it, too. Found out that my Seiko automatic was wildly variable depending on my physical activity, but averaged better than 1 sec/day over a month; and my Rado was consistently +5 sec/day no matter what I did. My G-Shock, if it didn't get a radio sync, would drift something like -0.3 sec/day -- not high-accuracy quartz status.

 

[960design]

So here is the thing, I had a hard time justifying the value of the Apple Watch over any normal watch, or especially my Jaeger LeCoultre. However, since I own the Airpods and enjoy them so much, I figured, in combination with the Apple Watch, it will be much easier to switch between songs and not being forced to have the iPhone when running outside for example.

Yet, I still found too much negative feedback about the Nike Version, how it scratches too easily and so on. Also the fact, to upgrade the watch at least every 24 months made me stay away from it.

But actually, the Apple Watch isn't as expensive, if you consider that you have to change your leather strap on all those luxury watches almost once a year as well. Depending on which leather quality you prefer it could easily mean 300 EUR over here. So expenses wise there is basically no difference, but perhaps even more value in a smartwatch.

That finally rises the question, is there a point in keeping a Rolex/Patek/etc. ince I decide to go for the Apple Watch? I guess the Apple Watch has its value for sports purposes only already but don't you then wear it 24/7? So what do you do with your luxury watch if you own any? To be honest, I was already thinking of selling them, just because in the near future we will end up all using some sort of a smartwatch, which could even probably replace a smartphone completely I suppose?!

Apple watch for running, swimming. Rolex for sailing, drinking. Right tool for the right occasion.

 

[newellj]

Love WatchTracker! BTW/FWIW, it says my GMT Master II is running roughly +1.5/day, which is excellent. Before an accident, it ran at literally +/-0, which was amazing for a mechanical watch. I dropped it and the watchmaker who serviced it did a truly great job, but getting it back to that would have required industrial quantities of luck. In any case, I never thought of checking my AW with WatchTracker.

 

[richard371]

Ive been into mechanical watches since I was a kid. I've spent/lost more money then I wold like to admit on them. As the Apple watch evolves I find it more and more harder not to want to wear. I don't use the fitness features that much but the notifications are very useful since I run around the office a lot working in IT. I do like to wear my Daytona from time to time and will not get rid of it as its my favorite watch I've ever owned and I really love the look of it. The AW is a disposable electronic item where the Daytona isn't. Thanks to the AW I will no longer buy anymore exp mechanical watches. I can only imagine what the AW will evolve into 5 years down the road. Im worried fine mechanical watches will be like pocket watches some day and will be reserved for special occasions. I see way ore popped here in SF wearing Apple Watches vs anything else.

 

[44267547]

I sold my Omega Seamaster immediately after getting my Apple Watch. I had planned to occasionally swap between the two, but I knew right away that I didn't want to give up any of my fitness tracking (the three rings, steps, etc.). I told my wife it was with the caveat that I could get another luxury watch in the future, but who am I kidding? 10 years from now an Omega/Rolex, etc. will look essentially the same and do the same things, but a future Apple Watch will have capabilities we can't even imagine.

I do look forward to the future of the Apple Watch with possible glucose monitoring and EKG, which would be a huge breakthrough if it happens. Lots of potential with health advancements in the future.

 

[LaoBron]

Sea dweller was my go to everyday. Now I prefer the aw just cause I love the notifications and rings.

 

[tgara]

The AW is my daily driver now, replacing my Omega Seamaster 300M. Getting information on my wrist is very helpful throughout the day. Also, if you wear nice clothes or work in a conservative office environment, the AW looks especially good if you pair it with a good band, like a Lucrin leather band or a Juuk metal band.

https://www.lucrin.com/apple/applewatch.htm

https://www.juukdesign.com/

I'll wear the Seamaster occasionally, especially when I'm wearing a tuxedo for a black tie charity event (wife says I look like James Bond ). But most of the time, it sits in my valet now.

 

[arthurggonzales]

So here is the thing, I had a hard time justifying the value of the Apple Watch over any normal watch, or especially my Jaeger LeCoultre. However, since I own the Airpods and enjoy them so much, I figured, in combination with the Apple Watch, it will be much easier to switch between songs and not being forced to have the iPhone when running outside for example.

Yet, I still found too much negative feedback about the Nike Version, how it scratches too easily and so on. Also the fact, to upgrade the watch at least every 24 months made me stay away from it.

But actually, the Apple Watch isn't as expensive, if you consider that you have to change your leather strap on all those luxury watches almost once a year as well. Depending on which leather quality you prefer it could easily mean 300 EUR over here. So expenses wise there is basically no difference, but perhaps even more value in a smartwatch.

That finally rises the question, is there a point in keeping a Rolex/Patek/etc. ince I decide to go for the Apple Watch? I guess the Apple Watch has its value for sports purposes only already but don't you then wear it 24/7? So what do you do with your luxury watch if you own any? To be honest, I was already thinking of selling them, just because in the near future we will end up all using some sort of a smartwatch, which could even probably replace a smartphone completely I suppose?!

[doublepost=1515687365][/doublepost]I would never give up my watches (172 to be exact) for the purpose of owning and wearing an Apple Watch. I do own an Apple Watch Series 3 and finally decided on one due to the stand alone phone feature. I wear both an analog watch and my Apple watch on a daily basis and one does not seem to interfere with the other... No one has ever said anything and it really doesn't worry me too much if they did/do.