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Post by ninja01 on Oct 10, 2014 16:20:14 GMT -8
Was on another watch forum & saw a reference to this article: www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/fashion/for-luxury-watch-buyers-one-just-isnt-enough.html?_r=2An interesting perspective on the hobby we share & it actually does remind me a lot of the face-to-face gatherings reported on PWC {Philippine Watch Club} where I was a moderator/lecturer for a few years. The more "elite" members, usually from the Manila area (or overseas members working as professionals abroad) would have gatherings (some quite small, some rather large) like what is discussed in that article above - and they often DID have high-end and/or complicated mechanical timepieces as shown/discussed therein. Those people on PWC however, did likely represent the upper 1 to 5 percent of the Philippine society in terms of wealth & social position. One would see a veritable "treasure" being displayed in the posted shots of the gathering and what was both worn there & carried there "for show". You would see the upper-end names of Swiss horological product, as well as better quality Japanese being proudly shown off! Generally, the participants (like in the article) were men, youngish, and definitely successful. They enjoyed their hobbies and were willing to spend on them!! Not just watches, but that was a big part of their "leisure interests". There were a few women with their treasures, sometimes a wife of a forum member, sometimes a member and collector in her own right - and usually successful in life... some were business owners in their own right. One was a scientist/engineer from Singapore. Of course, big in those circles was Rolex, and Panerai, and Audemar-Piguet, and IWC, and occasionally Grand Seiko - and a few other names. DESIRED often, and shown on occasion by someone who had "arrived", was Patek and some other truly elite names. And they expressed similar emotions to this one from the article: “Sure, you can look at the cellphone and get the time,” Mr. Jewett said. But your cellphone is unlikely to stimulate memories of the day you married, Mr. Jewett added, when his wife, Brenda, made him a gift of a Rolex Datejust, or of that moment when his father passed on to him a treasured Patek Philippe. Anyway - before the end of our hobby is predicted as a certainty with the younger generation gravitating to gadgets instead of ticking watches in daily life, let's look over this article & see if the hobby truly will "die" when they replace "us"... or just mutate to a new focus. After all, we (our more senior generations representing the bulk of active collectors today) likely did "mutate" the hobby when we took over from our elders ... away from the heavy emphasis on pocket-watches and towards various generations of wrist-watches!! |
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Post by sweffymo on Oct 10, 2014 16:38:11 GMT -8
I don't think that the hobby is going to die any time soon. Full disclosure: I'm 23 years old.  |
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Thomas
WIS
Nun Gut
Posts: 1,480 
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Post by Thomas on Oct 11, 2014 3:11:52 GMT -8
I also think that there will be WIS in the future.
The mainstream may move beyond the simple mechanical watch, but I think there will always be some group that appreciates the mechanical watches we love.
The group may dwindle in size over time, perhaps until only the "watch otaku" are still involved, but I think there will always be some of us left.
- Thomas
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trandy
Needs a Life!
Posts: 3,274
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Post by trandy on Oct 11, 2014 5:14:29 GMT -8
I also think that there will be WIS in the future. The mainstream may move beyond the simple mechanical watch, but I think there will always be some group that appreciates the mechanical watches we love. The group may dwindle in size over time, perhaps until only the "watch otaku" are still involved, but I think there will always be some of us left. - Thomas And that's fine with me....more watches and less competition for them.  I understand his point....but I think there will always be watch nerds. And I am proud to include myself in their numbers. |
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scubarob99
Moderator
Just bought a 6309-7049...this is the last one, I promise.
Posts: 3,708
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Post by scubarob99 on Oct 11, 2014 5:14:42 GMT -8
There will always be watch lovers (otherwise all the guys with safe queens will be in big trouble)
seriously, some will find the mechanicals special, even though we can't make a phone call or check emails on them.
Rob
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Post by sweffymo on Oct 11, 2014 5:38:24 GMT -8
Honestly, I love electronics. But there is nothing that can replace a watch for me. CERTAINLY not a smartwatch. Why would I buy one of those if I still have to tether it to my phone and stuff? It's just as fast to reach into my pocket and look at my phone at that point, and my phone has a larger screen.
But anyway, honestly I see MORE people starting to like mechanical watches in the future. But not really as a hobby like us; more like as a luxury item because most of the time there's an obvious feeling of quality about a mechanical watch (unless you get a Sistem51). But as long as people keep buying them then that's good enough because then the companies that make them will stay in business and we can continue to support our hobby.
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Post by SpinDoctor on Oct 11, 2014 7:03:50 GMT -8
I'm glad I read that article. It was much better than I was expecting. I guess I've been reading too much Gear Patrol and Hoodinkee.
I don't know if you all know who Adam Craniotes is, but he is heavily quoted in that article. He is one of the few nice guy mods over at TimeZone and also some other off the grid forums.
I don't think the smart watch revolution will have any impact on the hobby as we know it today. The smart watches are still differentiated as gadget watches and will attract a completely different customer than the hobbyist or enthusiast. If anything it might bring new people into the fold as they cut their teeth on the gadgets and then perhaps discover some new things. There will certainly be no impact on the luxury segment.
The biggest threat to the hobby is the same as any other hobby I've had. Simply, COST. Costs continue to climb. This chases away new people as well as seasoned veterans who know better. Get what you want now. There's no guarantee it will be around any longer or as economical.
I think this may be an exciting time for the hobby as the technological barrier is removed, there are collections of watch enthusiasts everywhere. No more restrictions to a few forums with their ridiculous leadership and moderators.
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Post by seikoholic on Oct 11, 2014 7:55:25 GMT -8
Watches are more popular now than at any time in my life. I'm 46. For example, I'm a frequenter of Reddit, and the three watch subreddits I go to:
all have a young user base. It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they.
Watches are a big deal, and getting bigger.
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Post by sweffymo on Oct 11, 2014 8:03:15 GMT -8
Watches are more popular now than at any time in my life. I'm 46. For example, I'm a frequenter of Reddit, and the three watch subreddits I go to:
all have a young user base. It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they.
Watches are a big deal, and getting bigger.
Yeah, you're the person who I PM when my threads get stuck in the auto-filter.  Also I was going to send my King Seiko to you but then you got absolutely inundated with other work (which is obviously a good thing). |
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Post by seikoholic on Oct 11, 2014 8:12:41 GMT -8
Watches are more popular now than at any time in my life. I'm 46. For example, I'm a frequenter of Reddit, and the three watch subreddits I go to:
all have a young user base. It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they.
Watches are a big deal, and getting bigger.
Yeah, you're the person who I PM when my threads get stuck in the auto-filter. Also I was going to send my King Seiko to you but then you got absolutely inundated with other work (which is obviously a good thing). Well, the work inundation was there before the W&W article but it kicked into high gear afterwards. I got four packages yesterday, and only one had watches for me.  |
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Post by sweffymo on Oct 11, 2014 8:15:27 GMT -8
Yeah, but I think I originally asked you in January or something like that. I think it was only supposed to take a couple of weeks then.  |
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Post by SpinDoctor on Oct 11, 2014 10:22:08 GMT -8
Watches are more popular now than at any time in my life. I'm 46. For example, I'm a frequenter of Reddit, and the three watch subreddits I go to:
all have a young user base. It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they.
Watches are a big deal, and getting bigger.
I'm surprised /r/gshock isn't more popular. |
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Post by seikoholic on Oct 11, 2014 12:10:36 GMT -8
Watches are more popular now than at any time in my life. I'm 46. For example, I'm a frequenter of Reddit, and the three watch subreddits I go to:
all have a young user base. It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they.
Watches are a big deal, and getting bigger.
I'm surprised /r/gshock isn't more popular. TIL. And that might be part of the problem. Had zero idea that sub existed. |
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Post by J. F. Sebastian on Oct 11, 2014 13:35:42 GMT -8
It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they. Sometimes I feel very much like the odd one out on watch forums, because for me watches really are about time and have nothing to do with being "proper" or a luxury, and I don't think of them as jewelery. I carry a phone like everybody else, but I've never bought the argument that this makes a watch obsolete. Replacing your wristwatch with a cellphone today makes about as much practical sense as replacing your wristwatch with a pocketwatch would have in the 90s, and I didn't see many people doing that. You have to reach into your pocket, pull the phone out, push a button to make the screen light up, and then put it back. It's impossible to do this discretely in a meeting. It's impractical to do this if you're riding a bicycle, or if you're carrying something heavy in your dominant hand and your phone is in your dominant-side pocket. And, perhaps my favourite, what if you are talking to someone on your phone and you want to know the time so you can arrange a meeting? If you've been wearing a watch all your life, checking the time becomes almost subliminal, it takes very little time and very little movement, in a wide range of situations, and no phone is ever going to change that. I value that practicality. |
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Post by seikoholic on Oct 11, 2014 14:13:14 GMT -8
It is considered right & proper for a man to have a watch as part of his wardrobe. Young men (and young women too! I should say "young people") are seriously down for watches. Yes, everyone knows that you don't need a watch to tell time. We have smartphones. But watches aren't really about time, are they. Sometimes I feel very much like the odd one out on watch forums, because for me watches really are about time and have nothing to do with being "proper" or a luxury, and I don't think of them as jewelery. I carry a phone like everybody else, but I've never bought the argument that this makes a watch obsolete. Replacing your wristwatch with a cellphone today makes about as much practical sense as replacing your wristwatch with a pocketwatch would have in the 90s, and I didn't see many people doing that. You have to reach into your pocket, pull the phone out, push a button to make the screen light up, and then put it back. It's impossible to do this discretely in a meeting. It's impractical to do this if you're riding a bicycle, or if you're carrying something heavy in your dominant hand and your phone is in your dominant-side pocket. And, perhaps my favourite, what if you are talking to someone on your phone and you want to know the time so you can arrange a meeting? If you've been wearing a watch all your life, checking the time becomes almost subliminal, it takes very little time and very little movement, in a wide range of situations, and no phone is ever going to change that. I value that practicality. I sometimes forget that watches tell time if correctly set. |
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Post by J. F. Sebastian on Oct 11, 2014 14:33:01 GMT -8
I sometimes forget that watches tell time if correctly set. Fascinating! But please tell me they at least have to be running. I know a guy with a nice rose-gold Sekonda watch he really likes, but he wore it in the water once and, despite its supposed water resistance, it fogged up and stopped running. He hasn't gotten around to having it fixed, but he still wears it, dead as a doornail. |
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Post by seikoholic on Oct 11, 2014 15:53:34 GMT -8
I sometimes forget that watches tell time if correctly set. Fascinating! But please tell me they at least have to be running. I know a guy with a nice rose-gold Sekonda watch he really likes, but he wore it in the water once and, despite its supposed water resistance, it fogged up and stopped running. He hasn't gotten around to having it fixed, but he still wears it, dead as a doornail. They're always running, and if they're not I find out why very quickly. And they're set to the correct time, and in the case of a quartz, set to the second. I just don't always process that the time is something with a relationship to real-world time. It's probably something to do with being more concerned with the inside of the watch rather than the outside (hands in this case being considered "outside" since they're peripheral to the movement itself). |
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Post by ninja01 on Oct 11, 2014 16:06:09 GMT -8
Well, function vs. jewelry for Men ...
I can say a lot of the "elite" members of PWC that I mentioned in the OP did consider watches to be their "jewelry" ...
as well as "chick magnets" (especially if wearing a Panerai) ...
not a lot of "serious horology" in that crowd. They often didn't truly understand what made a movement "high quality" vs. "run of the mill". It was the appearance that caught most of their attention, though they did "play at" {my opinion} talking seriously about the "quality" of the particular item they bought. But .. if one moderator there was typical of that crowd, then he kind of summed it up when he told me he had trouble with all the deep technical stuff I'd talk about... I answered that all that "deep stuff" was just typical conversation on most serious watch forums I'd been on & quite common topics [like names of movement parts and technical terms like "moment of inertia" or MDR (Mean Daily Rate) ].
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Post by 69ChevelleSS on Oct 12, 2014 7:02:05 GMT -8
OK . . . I'm 53 and have always worn a watch. I remember my younger days when my Dad and Mom bought me a cheap Sheffield diver watch (which I still have) and I feel naked when I don't wear one. Jewelry to me . . . . no . . . more about functionality but definitely a style element that I love. I won't wear just any watch but once I love a watch, it will be worn, no matter how valuable.
Our son is 21 and he's starting to get a taste for watches. We bought him his first Seiko when he graduated high school and he's about to graduate college. He recently bought himself a very nice Citizen dressy watch at Macy's and he has my Dad's Chase Durer flight chrono and a gold 7A28 that I picked up for him from Spencer.
The most significant thing, in my mind, is that HE bought the Citizen. HE liked the style, HE picked it out and HE paid for it with his own money.
I think that tells that t least some of the younger generation still aoppreciates "old school" watches.
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Post by mwbuss8 on Oct 12, 2014 8:15:50 GMT -8
I'm 26, as a teacher I wear a watch for function, and I'm already hunting for a "first watch" for my 6mo old son... the hobby has a future...
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