“In September, famed Apple chief designer Jony Ive used some colorful language to say his company’s debut wearable device meant the Swiss watch industry was — ahem — in trouble,” Robert Hackett writes for Fortune. “This is not the first time, however, that Switzerland’s horologists have been on extinction watch. With cunning and a little bit of rebranding, they’ve survived upheaval before. And this time it will be even easier.”
It’s the “reputation of the Swiss watch as an heirloom, a treasure, an encapsulation of the lifetime of an ancestor, that may insulate it from would-be competitors,” Hackett writes. “It’s playing a different game than Apple, a company with cutting edge technology that tends to blunt on an 18-month cycle. “’The question is are these competing in the same market category and my belief is that they’re not,’ Raffaelli says. ‘The traditional $10,000 watch produced in Switzerland they’re hoping you’ll not only wear, but you’ll pass down to your children and great grandchildren.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Of course.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
However, we do not foresee anyone wanting to take off their Apple Watch in order to wear a “jewelry watch.” Apple Watch is not just a watch to be replaced with another regular watch. Maybe wearing two watches will come into vogue for special occasions?
MacDailyNews Note: Today is Good Friday. As such, the U.S. financial markets are closed for the day and posting will be less frequent today.