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Swatch Co-Inventor Predicts Apple Will Bring an 'Ice Age' To Swiss Watch Market
MojoKid writes It seems that these days everything Apple touches turns to gold, hence why the company was able to post an $18 billion profit for its fiscal first quarter of 2015. Be that as it may, can Apple popularize the smartwatch market as others have been unable to do so far? Not only is that the expectation, but according to Swatch watch co-inventor Elmar Mock, Apple is going to bring about an "Ice Age" to the Swiss watch market. Elmar noted that he expects the Apple Watch to quickly reach sales of 20 million to 30 million units per year. For the sake of comparison, Switzerland exported 28.6 million watches in 2014, none of them with smart capabilities. "Apple will succeed quickly. It will put a lot of pressure on the traditional watch industry and jobs in Switzerland...I do expect an Ice Age coming toward us," Elmar said. Analysts for Barclays noted to investors that the Apple Watch launch could result in a 6 percent annual decline in Swatch Group AG's revenue. To keep up with the times and fend off Apple, there are at least three Swiss watch companies planning to make smartwatches, including Swatch Group, which will unveil a smart model sometime this year.
The Apple watch presents no threat to such Swiss watches, any more than a Tesla car presents a threat to Porsche.
And back in 2007 you'd be telling us the iPhone would present no threat to BlackBerry. And before that you'd have told us that the iPod would pose no threat to other mp3 players. The sheer amount of fault predictions that Slashdot nerds have made about Apple are hilarious.
Except no one will buy that watch. Why would you buy a disposable 18k gold watch?
If you buy an expensive watch you're buying the skill and craftsmanship of the watchmaker. You're buying something that will stand the test of time and pass down to generations. While i'm not a huge watch guy I have a very nice watch that was my great-grandfather's and has been passed down for several generations and it still works well.
Who's going to buy a $10,000 18k gold Apple Watch that will be obsolete in 6 months? There are no nice pieces, no craftsmanship; you're paying $10,000 for a disposable gold watch made by Chinese peons instead of a quality timepiece made by a master craftsman. There's a huge difference.