There are some watchmakers who believe that smartwatches and traditional timepieces can exist side-by-side. After all if you’re planning to attend a fancy dinner party, you might be more inclined to rock an elegant Swiss-made timepiece as opposed to a smartwatch which might sometimes come across a bit too loud and flashy.
That being said, OEMs have been trying to create devices to mimic more traditional timepieces, such as Apple who have created the Apple Watch Edition and have released straps that are more classy in nature, so much so that according to a report from Reuters, it seems that it has impacted the sales of Swiss watches in a negative way.
According to the numbers, it seems that Swiss watch sales have dropped by as much as 8.5% in the third quarter, and falling by 9.9% in the month of September. Apparently this is falling much faster than expected and while the Apple Watch isn’t solely to blame, the most affected segment is the $200-$500 segment which is where smartwatches like the Apple Watch and other devices typically fall under.
It is also possible that due to our phones being capable of telling the time and setting “smarter” alarms and reminders that normal watches aren’t as needed anymore, but what do you guys think? Will smartwatches like the Apple Watch force traditional watchmakers out of business?
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