(U.S. only)
A question of time
If you take a look around in your room or any place you’re at right now, you most likely have at least one piece of technology that can tell time. Nowadays, whether it's a smartphone, TV or even a microwave, a clock in devices are a given. One might think that watches would become obsolete by now. Yet, they thrive. The watch industry is still here, and it's not going anywhere soon. So why do people still want watches, apart from having sentimental value?
The thing with modern technology today is that it requires a lot of power and regular charging. Take your smartphone for example. Ask yourself, how long does your phone actually last without charge? When you first got it, maybe it could survive two whole days. Maybe now, after a year of using it, it barely holds on to 6 hours. What do you do if you’re away from home in the middle of nowhere, or simply somewhere where there aren’t any clocks or technology with time-telling features? Ask someone? What if there is no one there? Quartz watches last the minimum 2 years and automatics last even longer than that. You never have to worry about finding an outlet to charge the watch.
One might argue that it is much more comfortable to just carry a smartphone, since it’s an all-in-one deal. How many times have you had trouble getting your phone out of your pocket to check the time? Maybe it was cramped, cause of other things in your pocket with it, such as a wallet and keys. Or maybe your pockets are simply tight, and it is a whole hassle to get the phone out. As the name suggests, you only have to take a look at your wrist to check the time on a wristwatch. It doesn’t even take a second to look at your wrist, but whipping out your phone can prove to be a hassle.
Even when you do eventually get that phone out of your pocket or bag, there is another issue. The blight of modern technology - distraction. How many times has this happened to you? You look at your phone to check the time, and you notice a notification about a message from your friend or that you’ve gathered some likes on Facebook, you check it out, put away your phone, and you realize - you still don’t know what time it is. These devices have been designed to grab your attention and waste time - a commodity no one can afford to lose.
Let us not forget the most important aspect of wearing a timepiece. It is a vessel for expressing yourself. Your style and character can be portrayed through your timepiece.
With all these arguments at hand, it seems that wristwatches aren’t as obsolete as they might appear at first glance. Despite the dynamic accretion of technological development in the past decade, we still haven’t created any time telling gadget powerful enough to outlast quartz watches in the long run. Or anything that is as nearly stylish. Premium timepieces are here to stay, and they can only get better with time.
