As you read this article, you can read the time on your computer or mobile phone screen. While we can no longer unhook our electronic gadgets, which constantly tell the time, wouldn't the watch have become obsolete, as much for these gents as for these ladies? ? No way. Because more than ever, the watch is a fashion accessory.
A trend that is not new
We didn't have to wait for the worldwide success of smartphones for men to see watches above all as a way to enhance their look. For example, Andy Warhol often wore a Cartier Tank watch on his wrist. But he never used it so as not to be late for an appointment. As a September 2017 New York Times article revealed, “I wear a Tank watch because it's the watch to wear.The tone is set: the watch is an object that everyone must look at. except its carrier.
Today, it seems logical that the men who take care of their look adopt the perspective of the iconic pop culture artist. The utilitarian function of the watch is increasingly giving way to its aesthetic function. The timepiece becomes a sort of jewel for men.
The worst part: wearing a watch that doesn't tell the time
This is how we get a ludicrous situation in which the men's watches do not give the exact time. If you wear a watch for looks and it's a mechanical model, what's the point of winding it over and over again when you can simply tell the time by glancing at the watch? iPhone screen? Publicist Judson Lee, 38, said no different. He owns 3 mechanical watches, which he rarely wears. And when it does, it doesn't work. "Before the advent of the iPhone they were tuned and escalated," he said. Today, he no longer bothers.
The traditional watch still suffers from competition from phones and smartwatches
And as if that were not enough, classic watches, in addition to facing competition from smartphones, must also resist smartwatches. Popular among executives, the Apple Watch overshadows traditional watches. A study showed that during the last quarter of 2017, Apple sold more watches worldwide than all Swiss watchmakers combined. Watches are becoming increasingly rare on men's wrists. And when they wear one, it's a smartwatch.
A matter of precision
Besides the relative effort that a mechanical watch requires when it comes to making it display the correct time, nothing can compete with our electronic gadgets in terms of precision. Constantly synchronized with the reference time to the nearest hundredth of a second, telephones and computers are untouchable in terms of . Even the best mechanical watch cannot challenge this observation. This is confirmed by James Lamdin, owner of a boutique specializing in vintage watches in New York. "Any digital device, whether it's a phone or even a vulgar quartz watch, will be more accurate than a traditional watch, no matter how good it is. You don't wear a classic watch to tell the time, but to live the passage of time, " he said.
Men's watch: style over technique
Given this context, it is not surprising that in the field of men's watches, style takes precedence over technique. We worry less and less about what happens below the dial: the watch is a sophisticated men's bracelet. This situation makes people happy, namely the owners of watches that no longer work. Indeed, some do not hesitate to buy them and wear them as they are, without even having to repair them, since even if they worked nothing would be done to make them tell the time!
That might sound totally absurd, especially when these watches can be worth the purchase price of a nice car. But it is so.
A Ralph Lauren look specialist summed it up very well when he said: "Now you can think of the watch as a nice pair of socks: it harmonizes the style of the man and make it more sophisticated". This stylist puts a watch on his wrist every morning, after putting on his suit. And as it becomes the norm, it displays the correct time only twice a day...