Our products should have very long life cycles. In modern technologies the life cycle is exactly the opposite. It may be the hottest thing today, and in one year it’s already outdated, and in two years you’re made fun of for still using it. — Alexander Schmiedt, managing director for watches at Montblanc

I don’t think that customers are going to be ecstatic to throw away watches in one to two years when the technology is obsolete. — Johann Rupert, owner of Montblanc

“I thought those two quotes summed up the luxury watch industry’s reaction to Apple Watch pretty well. Jean-Claude Biver of TAG Heuer has said something similar, unsure how to compete with something that isn’t timeless,” Neil Cybart writes for Above Avalon. “Such uneasiness towards Apple Watch originates from the changing value proposition found in the luxury watch industry. With Apple Watch, consumers can begin valuing utility on the wrist. A luxury watch’s timelessness was something that you were required to value if you wanted high-end jewelry for the wrist.”

“I suspect we are entering an era where people are still going to want the jewelry aspect found in their old watch, including the craftsmanship, but no longer place the same kind of value on a device’s timelessness,” Cybart writes. “For an industry built on timelessness, you can start to see how the Apple Watch spells trouble.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Yes, we imagine being stuck between a rock and a hard place is rather uncomfortable.

Here’s what makers of Swiss or any other watches should do: Push the idea of wearing of two watches, one on each wrist or two on one wrist, into vogue. Because once people start using Apple Watch, they aren’t going to want to leave it at home. Ever. They won’t want to go to dinner parties without their Apple Watch. And that’s bad, bad news for watchmakers not named Apple. Watch and see. – MacDailyNews Take, April 16, 2015

SEE ALSO:

As Swiss watchmakers dismiss Apple Watch, Swiss National Bank increases Apple holdings by 60 – May 10, 2015
Apple Watch Edition is poised to disrupt the classic Swiss watch – April 16, 2015
Jean-Claude Biver changes his tune, calls Apple Watch ‘a fantastic product, an incredible achievement’ – January 20, 2015
TAG Heuer plans smartwatch as honcho Jean-Claude Biver changes mind as Apple Watch looms – December 16, 2014
Apple Watch starts countdown on face off with Swiss industry – October 31, 2014
The fashion elite crowd around Apple Watch at Colette in Paris – September 30, 2014
Jean-Claude Biver: ‘The Apple Watch cannot compete at all with European watches’ – September 15, 2014
Jean-Claude Biver: Apple Watch ‘too feminine; looks like it was designed by a student in their first trimester’ – September 16, 2014
Barclays: Apple Watch could crush companies like Fossil – September 16, 2014
Jean-Claude Biver: ‘The Apple Watch cannot compete at all with European watches’ – September 15, 2014
Old school watch makers don’t get Apple Watch – September 12, 2014
Apple Watch, the world’s first real smartwatch, will be a massive hit – September 9, 2014
Apple iWatch designer Jony Ive: Switzerland is in deep shit – September 4, 2014