Would Smart Watches Devalue Rolex Watch?

[bayerische]

Originally Posted by Lrlx

Does a Honda Civic devalue a Ferrari?

Only if it crashes into it...

[Laszlo]

Oh, lord... not again.

(sigh)

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by AstroBoy

Just a thought that with the advancement of smart watches and the up coming Apple Watch next year, would it devalue Rolex watch or make it less prominent? would it be harder to justify the price for the Rolex ?

Lets see, disposable electronic gadget vs. high end luxury jewelry.

No.

[Wesley Crusher]

I would expect this kind of question from somebody who just joined, not somebody who has been here since 2009.

[rmfnla]

Originally Posted by Wesley Crusher

I would expect this kind of question from somebody who just joined, not somebody who has been here since 2009.

[bighaole]

I've been thinking about this some more and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Apple got this one wrong. I think there is a tremendous market for wearable sensors and signalling devices. But I don't think people are going to find a watch sized screen to be useful for much more than telling the time. Plus, look how many people abandoned their watches, when cell phones started carrying accurate network time.

I think there is a market for jewelry (which, let's face it, a watch is jewelry), and us here will keep buying watches. And there is a market for wearable technology. But I think that all the things that make the Apple Watch interesting can all be accomplished in a sleek bracelet-looking thing, without having to add a bulky screen, which creates a form factor which most of the target audience has already abandoned.

[ColRam425]

As far as the disposability goes, I assume the first model will be obsolete in a few years, however I discovered that some smart watches (Kairos, an automatic watch-smart watch hybrid) will actually let you send it in and they take it apart, upgrade the technological aspects of it, then close it up and send it back to you for an upgrader's fee. If that would be the case, I could see why one may actually be more inclined to purchase the 18k Apple Watch Edition models, if the case itself remains constant.

[Racerdj]

My guess is no effect on Rolex.

[Roll the Lex]

Ideal situation- the Apple Watch when first released pops the Rolex valuation bubble and the 116718 and an everose Daytona and a DD can be picked up for $5K a piece. So I pick one of each for that price and then the market realizes that was a mistake and the values go back up again!



But seriously, no effect.

[Wesley Crusher]

Originally Posted by Roll the Lex

Ideal situation- the Apple Watch when first released pops the Rolex valuation bubble and the 116718 and an everose Daytona and a DD can be picked up for $5K a piece. So I pick one of each for that price and then the market realizes that was a mistake and the values go back up again!



But seriously, no effect.

Ideal situation - People stop making threads about these stupid "watches"

[lsettle]

No, fads come and go.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by lsettle

No, fads come and go.

This isn't a fad. This will build and grow. For certain.

But it still won't have an effect on luxury items.

[Castor]

Originally Posted by superdog

This isn't a fad. This will build and grow. For certain.

But it still won't have an effect on luxury items.

[Presa canary]

Oh good! This again...

[77T]

Originally Posted by Presa canary

Oh good! This again...

[mkw]

Apple CEO Tim Cook basically said at the Apple Watch intro two wks ago that smart watches are just another baby step towards eventual permanent implants , which will augment our intelligence, memory, connectedness, health-superhuman abilities / lifespan etc.etc., in the decades going forward

think of the crudely controlled implants that have been used in medicine already the last 2 decades and now add " the internet of things " to it in the coming decades

our grandkids or great grandkids will be cyborgs, since they are already researching all these body internalized devices..much of it being quietly funded from the " $$$hielded " part of the military budget ...for obvious reasons

haven't you wondered why a lot the Google Glass team came from research labs centered around Washington DC, for instance ?


" Bash bug " - type hackers ( or certain military , gov't , terror groups , etc.) will have a field day .

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by superdog

This isn't a fad. This will build and grow. For certain.

But it still won't have an effect on luxury items.

Originally Posted by mkw

Apple CEO Tim Cook basically said at the Apple Watch intro two wks ago that smart watches are just another baby step towards eventual permanent implants , which will augment our intelligence, memory, connectedness, health-superhuman abilities / lifespan etc.etc., in the decades going forward

If that turns out to be true then the smart watch is transitory, i.e. is a fad. I've a feeling Rolex would be OK though at that point when people intuitively "know" the exact time, watches will become strictly jewelry.

Wow, imagine some of the other things that would become obsolete, institutions like college for example. I suppose a Stanford law degree chip implant would cost more than say one for a philosophy degree from the University of Phoenix, but you get the idea. Quick question, anyone know if these implants are covered by Obamacare?

With everyone being equally intelligent I suppose the most important thing will be good looks.

[mkw]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

If that turns out to be true then the smart watch is transitory, i.e. is a fad. :

so are mobile phones, laptop computers, tablets , TVs, headphones, ...you name it

as James Kirk often said aloud in Star Trek : " Computer , I need ...."

BTW, scientists say there will be " teletransporters " in the future ..there is research going on in this field, too

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by mkw

so are mobile phones, laptop computers, tablets , TVs, headphones, ...you name it

as James Kirk often said aloud in Star Trek : " Computer , I need ...."

BTW, scientists say there will be " teletransporters " in the future ..there is research going on in this field, too

Even some tech companies will be obsolete. Who needs Google if all available info is already on a chip in your head, with updates for news and such beamed into your skull every 5 minutes via satellite, the cell network, wifi, or some entirely new means?

[mkw]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

Even some tech companies will be obsolete. Who needs Google if all available info is already on a chip in your head, with updates for news and such beamed into your skull every 5 minutes via satellite, the cell network, wifi, or some entirely new means?

Tech is always evolving at lightning speed ....no tech company in existence today will be here a generation from now and Silicon Valley VCs make their money over time on that premise

[Rogdogg]

I think the apple watch is only going to affect cheaper quartz watches in the short term. Smart watches are nothing new, except to apple, who have yet to release one. While it's only my opinion, the first apple watch will sell like hot cakes but after a while I think the hype will die down when people realise they are mostly a gimmick and can't be bothered constantly upgrading and find they hardly use them like they were intended anyway. I think the second apple watch, whenever that comes out will sell much less than the first. Then again, some people would buy a dog turd if it had an apple logo on it, so I could be completely wrong with this.

[Majin Buu]

Hi!

Apple is here to stay.., the aWatch should do well since most people believe this is the natural extension of their iphone, if you have an iphone, chances are you (secretly) want this watch to succeed! Apple has a lot to loose (credibility) if this flops... They are moving with care... So, if they have a hit,

I don't know yet about high end pieces, but the low end, sub $2000 and definetly sub $1000 will take a hit, sub $500 should be nasty...

Plus some of the (wealthy) elders, yes those who spend top dollars will start thinking whats more usefull : Health vs Wealth ...

Just thinking out loud!

Best!

MB

[bighaole]

Originally Posted by Majin Buu

Apple has a lot to loose (credibility) if this flops...

Apple has had plenty of flops, they just handle it well. Anyone remember the Apple Newton or AppleTV? Track balls in laptops, rather than track pads? Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh? The Pippin game console? Apple is just very good at knowing when to "fold 'em" and when to "walk away". And, of course, they know how to hit a few home runs.

I hope the wearable concept is a success, and Apple is more likely than most, to do so. I just don't think it needs to be in a watch form-factor.

[jwill051]

In a word NO!!!

[Mu2008]

nope

[jack81]

They actually serve diferent 'purposes'.

[Castor]

I don't actually see the Apple Watch having a real effect on the luxury watch market. Although Apple will certainly try. But unless my name is Tim Cook then I'm not going to trade in my Rolex for an Apple Watch.

The only way I think I can see an iPhone being an addition to a Rolex is if Apple can make some kind of a bracelet, or an accessory to the bracelet, that can send info to the iPhone. I really can't see anyone trading in a Rolex for an iWatch.

[HogwldFLTR]

It's technology and disposable. I can't even see there being any value in the "Smart Watch" after a year or two. Destined for the trash pile.

[BomB#Frog]

a smart watch is neither smart nor a watch.......Discuss....

[MrSimba]

I was at a meeting last week wearing my Explorer II and a guy had a 'pebble' smart watch on my impression was that it looked a very cheap plastic 'generic' watch with absolutely no 'soul' or 'character' to it whatsoever, then a glance at the Polar Exp the quality and design integrity just oozed style & substance.

I really hope the masses all do rush out & buy smart watches as it'll make wearing my Rolex even more special! (and no doubt me more smug!!!)