I wear my Apple Watch 99% of the time. When I'm doing something that involves a meeting where big decisions are being made, and I'm included, I wear my Breitling chronomat.
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Who of you prefers the Apple Watch over his Rolex/Patek/Omega/Breitling/etc?
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An interesting thread. Having read most of it, and in particular noticed the photos, I am struck by how aesthetically unattractive I find the luxury watches discussed. Only one would appeal to me, the Rado shown in a recent post; and I guess that is probably battery rather than mechanical?
So is the appeal of the luxury ones generally just about name/prestige, plus knowledge of the engineering feats within them?
In the interrsts of full disclosure, I am about to buy my first Apple watch. I currenlty have a Rado, which I find attractive but a pig to contol its functions, and a very cheap but clear Casio on a plastic strap. I actually prefer the face of that Casio to nearly all of the luxury watches.
So is the appeal of the luxury ones generally just about name/prestige, plus knowledge of the engineering feats within them?
In the interrsts of full disclosure, I am about to buy my first Apple watch. I currenlty have a Rado, which I find attractive but a pig to contol its functions, and a very cheap but clear Casio on a plastic strap. I actually prefer the face of that Casio to nearly all of the luxury watches.
It's all subjective, a lot of people think the Apple Watch is horrible looking, many others think it's beautiful. It's the same for mechanical watches.
If you are going by looks, there are countless types of traditional watches to choose from but only a handful of styles available for the Apple Watch. Of course some people buy their Rolex or other luxury watches because of the name and prestige attached to it but there are also many Apple fans who must have the latest and greatest Apple products available because they like to brag about them and it makes them feel superior. Just pick and wear what you like and don't worry what anyone else is wearing or what they think about what you have on your wrist.
I’d say if the AW took over from your mechanicals you maybe weren’t the target market in the first place.
I’ve had Rolex, TAG, Christopher Ward, Seiko both low end and high. On the tech side, Fitbit, Huwawei Mi band and a few AW’s.
I CANNOT do without a mechanical watch. Thus I dual watch at all times. I love the look of the AW but it’s a soulless piece of tech nothing more.
My AW is 99.9% in airplane mode. It’s a fitness tracker for me. I tried the rest but the AW is more exciting to me so it wins.
In my job I see a LOT of people multiple times a day. Only a handful noticed I do this. When one notices I have another pipe up they never noticed till it was pointed out.
Picking up my new AW S4 in the next hour. Excited about it but like a new phone not like a piece of horology.
But to conclude I can’t deny and neither can the existing watch companies it’s taking the watch world by storm.
I’ve had Rolex, TAG, Christopher Ward, Seiko both low end and high. On the tech side, Fitbit, Huwawei Mi band and a few AW’s.
I CANNOT do without a mechanical watch. Thus I dual watch at all times. I love the look of the AW but it’s a soulless piece of tech nothing more.
My AW is 99.9% in airplane mode. It’s a fitness tracker for me. I tried the rest but the AW is more exciting to me so it wins.
In my job I see a LOT of people multiple times a day. Only a handful noticed I do this. When one notices I have another pipe up they never noticed till it was pointed out.
Picking up my new AW S4 in the next hour. Excited about it but like a new phone not like a piece of horology.
But to conclude I can’t deny and neither can the existing watch companies it’s taking the watch world by storm.
Haha I’m in the same boat. Really enjoy the health features and competing with friends in activity rings. The days I wear the Daytona I loose all that. But the ceramic Dayton is just beautiful.
Exactly. It’s distracting me to exercise too much now my health is better than ever (my blood pressure was reduced from 140/85 to 125/75 in the process). And I really hate its illusion of usefulness. If only it could be useful for me to wear it 12/7 instead of 24/7 I’m wearing it nowadays.
Another Daytona fan here, I do not think the AW can replace my 2 Daytonas (or anything else in my box) but it sure is a fun watch to put into the rotation, even if it is worn a couple of times a week it is worth it.
I never had an AW, but honestly the draw this year was the chronograph looking face. I plan on placing an order real soon for a 44mm space grey.
I have a Rolex Submariner 116610LN (Black dial with black ceramic bezel). I have a S0 42mm SS, and now a 44mm GSS S4. I wear an AW every day for most of the day. If I have a nice event to go to, the AW is left on the charger and the Rolex goes on.
My Rolex is on a watch winder between those events (maybe once a month or once every two months it gets wear time).
My Rolex is on a watch winder between those events (maybe once a month or once every two months it gets wear time).
So those of you that purchased an Apple Watch did you get Stainless or Aluminium? I have 2 Rolex’s that I wear, but really want an AW. Now they way I upgrade my iPhone and iPads makes me think if I really like the watch I will upgrade it every year, thus the cheaper Aluminum model making more sense. I know at trade in time the SS only get about $20 more but at purchase they are like $200 more, also they do have the better sapphire crystal. Thoughts?
Me too Rolex Sea Dweller price go up every Christmas by 10% AW lose 50% even year
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I prefer the stainless model, but I really don’t care about the resale value, I just really want to take full of advantage of the watch, if that means spending extra money on the stainless, then it’s worth it to me in that respect, because it does have a much more premium and I can appreciate the aesthetics over the aluminum.
A few perspectives:
I treasure my grandfather's Flightmaster and my father's Seamaster. No one will treasure my old Apple Watch. It will be obsolete tech, not a collectible.
If you consider the replacement cost of upgrading Apple Watches, vs the scheduled maintenance costs of a luxury mechanical, it may not be a wash, but it is a reminder that there are costs to owning either across time.
Does it need to be an "either-or" decision, or can it be an "and" decision?
Does there need to be a "right" position and a "wrong" position? Choice is nice.
I treasure my grandfather's Flightmaster and my father's Seamaster. No one will treasure my old Apple Watch. It will be obsolete tech, not a collectible.
If you consider the replacement cost of upgrading Apple Watches, vs the scheduled maintenance costs of a luxury mechanical, it may not be a wash, but it is a reminder that there are costs to owning either across time.
Does it need to be an "either-or" decision, or can it be an "and" decision?
Does there need to be a "right" position and a "wrong" position? Choice is nice.
What kind of cost is involved in a service of these mechanical watches?
The reason watches go up in value is that they are a status symbol. It's been like that for a very long time - you could tell someones class and style by the watch they wore. But there has been a shift in the last 10 years to people wearing watches less and less. You may find that watch prices will peak and then eventually decline as we cycle through generations. Not something you (or I) will have to worry about mind you!
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Define "needed a service". It may have never needed a repair, but according to Rolex it should be serviced. Check the type, as Rolex recommend servicing your watch.
https://blog.toolwatch.io/watch-tips/watch-servicing-guide/
I don’t own a luxury automatic watch.
However I think that there’s something to treasure about owning a device that is designed to do just a few things very well & is built to last decades and decades
There’s something wonderful about owning a device with no built in obsolescence (automatic watches were effectively obsolete by the early 70s) that you can take through your life with you.
That’s something to savour in our throwaway world.
However I think that there’s something to treasure about owning a device that is designed to do just a few things very well & is built to last decades and decades
There’s something wonderful about owning a device with no built in obsolescence (automatic watches were effectively obsolete by the early 70s) that you can take through your life with you.
That’s something to savour in our throwaway world.
One more thought on this:
The AW in 5 years time is going to be much more of a must have, when it has a full array of health monitoring and coaching functions.
So it’ll be interesting to return to this question in 5 years time.
Personally though, I think that people will still appreciate well made mechanical watches, but I think they’ll move to being items worn at special occasions rather than on a daily basis.
The AW in 5 years time is going to be much more of a must have, when it has a full array of health monitoring and coaching functions.
So it’ll be interesting to return to this question in 5 years time.
Personally though, I think that people will still appreciate well made mechanical watches, but I think they’ll move to being items worn at special occasions rather than on a daily basis.
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
The Juuks look very nice at a decent price. Note, the website says their bands won't fit the Series 4, but they are working on bands that will fit. Thanks for the links!
[doublepost=1546801449][/doublepost]I don't have any high end traditional watches, just an Apple Gen. 1 and a couple of non-Apple. I do have a Gen. 4 on the way. I go to the non-Apple watches when I want to unplug. If I have the Apple on my wrist I'm to tempted to keep the notices coming. Yes I know you can go into Airplane mode. But I'm weak
Plus the Daytona probably gains more value each year than you spend on Apple watches - LOL. Very jealous. I have been on the waitlist for a ceramic white face stainless Daytona for about 3 years. Probably be another 3 or 4 before I get to the top of the list. But like you it will be the last mechanical watch I ever buy.
I must admit to being a mechanical watch person through and through... I have had nice watches for most of my adult life, and have any number of watches from Lange, JLC, Rolex, IWC, Omega and others. I never thought I would get caught up in the electronic watch revolution, and was even able to escape the quartz revolution that began in the 70’s. That being said, when the LTE version of the Apple Watch was first released, I bought one to see how I would take to it. I was a bit unprepared by how much I would like this watch. So much so, that I transitioned to the LTE Apple Watch 4 when it came out and there was a 2 1/2 year period where I scarcely wore any of my mechanical timepieces. They had all begun to gather dust in my safety deposit box.
Over the holidays, I attended some parties and that’s when I had an epiphany. Did I really want to be getting email and text notifications while I was out trying to have an evening out? Not really. However, I had become addicted to the activity trackers on the Apple Watch and was reluctant to give those up.
So what was my solution you ask? Well, I’ve come full circle and am once again wearing my nice mechanical watches, and I am wearing my Apple Watch on my ankle! After 2 1/2 years of near constant wear, I have come to the conclusion that activity tracking is more important to me than the notifications.
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Don’t kid yourself. The stainless Daytona was a grail of mine for many years. When I finally got one, it was the only watch I wore for a month, but soon enough, I was off in search of my next fix. It never ends.
Over the holidays, I attended some parties and that’s when I had an epiphany. Did I really want to be getting email and text notifications while I was out trying to have an evening out? Not really. However, I had become addicted to the activity trackers on the Apple Watch and was reluctant to give those up.
So what was my solution you ask? Well, I’ve come full circle and am once again wearing my nice mechanical watches, and I am wearing my Apple Watch on my ankle! After 2 1/2 years of near constant wear, I have come to the conclusion that activity tracking is more important to me than the notifications.
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Don’t kid yourself. The stainless Daytona was a grail of mine for many years. When I finally got one, it was the only watch I wore for a month, but soon enough, I was off in search of my next fix. It never ends.
This has to been the most bizarre post I have ever read. Nothing personal, but the Apple Watch obviously isn’t for you, even if that’s what you’re using it for tracking your fitness, it almost defeats the purpose of the watch entirely by you wearing it on your ankle.
If it works for me, who are you to say it’s not for me? I’m not the only one who wears it that way. Amazon sells several ankle straps for the Apple Watch. Some people, for whatever reason, cannot wear a watch on their wrist, and over the years have asked on this very forum alternative wear options.
If you choose to wear actual watch on your ankle, great, that’s your prerogative. It has a display, which Apple intended for the user to be able interact with that display by touching and looking at it, again, which defeats the purpose of you wearing the Apple Watch on your ankle. It’s my viewpoint, you don’t need to justify your reasoning.
Am I the only one who wears both? Watch on my left wrist (Speedmaster today) and AW on my right. Felt odd for about half an hour. Nobody notices, or if they do they haven't commented. In fact I know a few people who wear a watch and Fitbit so don't see why an AW should be any different...
To me if makes sense. I still enjoy my nice watches while using the AW for all the things that make it indispensable for me...
To me if makes sense. I still enjoy my nice watches while using the AW for all the things that make it indispensable for me...