I have read a couple of times that watch sales are less (or is that fewer?) than they used to be because of the number of people using a mobile phone to tell the time. I have no cite, sorry.
Is there any truth to this at all? Anyone have any sales figures that could back this up ?
No hard statistics sorry, but I haven’t worn a watch in over 10 years (occasionally I wear one as jewelry) for pretty much that reason. The other thing beside mobile phones is that a huge number of people sit in front of a computer for a big chunk of their day, which again eliminates the need for a watch.
In the thirty seconds I looked I couldn’t find anything, but your best bet maybe to find the stock symbol of a cheapo watch company (you’re looking for a company that makes watches for people that want to know what time it is, as opposed to something like Rolex that makes watches for people that want to show them off) and check the stock history for the last 10 years or so.
This phenomenon also struck me. Occassionally, I intentionally look at people who I meet to see if they wear a watch, I and also have the impression that watches have become less usual than a few years ago, when practically everybody wore one.
Personally, I hate the thought of giving up my watch. There’s an affection thing to it - I’ve worn it every single day since I was 15 or so (I’m turning 24 soon), so I went through a lot of important events of my life with that watch. Besides, I consider it more convenient to look at it to tell the time, although I have a mobile phone.
It’s still more convenient for me to glance at my wristwatch, than go fossicking around for the mobile phone. I have an old style phone anyway, so the characters aren’t as easy to read.
I hope watches don’t go completely out of style. I’d mourn.
I’d feel nekkid without my watch, Nekkid :d
In the future, that’s how kids will know who the old fogeys are. Like wearing a monacle.
Heck, I haven’t owned a watch since I got a pager, over 10 years ago. I can’t imagine wearing one any more. Plus, I spend all day at a computer. It’s 1:20. I spend all day sitting next to my phone. It’s 1:21.
Since I started carrying my cel phone around, nope, I rarely wear a watch. At work, there’s a clock on the computer, on the phone, on the wall… In the lunch room, it’s on the microwave. In my car, on the dash. At home, on computer, microwave, wall, clock-radio.
My cel phone defaults to a big time display so I can’t remember the last time I wore a watch.
theres another issue at work here, methinks:
Not only the question of technology, but of social fashion.
Watches used to be a status symbol and a fashion statement. But in the last 10-20 years, that has changed. And also in the last 10 years, mobile phones came into use–but I don’t think that is related to the decline of watches.
Good watches up till the 1970’s had 17-jewel mechanisms and diamond-studded faces, and they were expensive. A fancy watch was a good gift for a serious occasion --graduation, wedding, retirement, etc. Of course, there were also plenty of cheap Timex watches and even Mickey Mouse watches, etc–but these were known to be cheap, and not considered proper for wearing with a formal suit.
In the 1980’s digital watches became common, and it became acceptable to wear them with a business suit.
So watches in general became less important, and people who might have owned 3 or 4 now only have one.
(for a cite for all the above “facts” , please see my posterior region, out of which I pulled them. 
.But I do think my anecdotal observations make sense, even if this is GQ .)
I agree. It’s stil way more convenient for me to just look at my wrist than it is to unfasten my cell. Also, depending on lighting conditions, it’s not always easy to see the cell’s display of the time.
In fact, I actually hope one day to own an expensive watch, specifically the kind that doesn’t use batteries and is powered by the wearer’s motion. I forget what they’re called, but it’s only in the past few years I’ve seen them advertising.
On the other hand, I do mourn for my pocketwatch. Once I started wearing a cell phone, there was no way the pocketwatch made sense anymore.
Self-winding. They’ve been available for decades.
As for the OP, I was just pondering this very question yesterday afternoon. The guy sitting next to me in a meeting was wearing a watch and I thought, “how strange, John still wears a watch.” Then I thought, “That’s weird that I even thought that. Are watches going the way of the dodo?”
I have used my cell phone for a watch for years. As others have said, I also just look at the lower right hand corner of the computer monitor. If I’m watching TV, I can push the info button on the remote. Who needs a watch? Nice ones are cool fashion accessories but they’re no longer needed as tools.
I have both with me everyday. The pocketwatch is easier than a flip phone. Plus, I just really like my Swiss Army pocket watch.
I’m 20 and wear a watch everyday. I’ve had a pager or phone since I was 13 (mom got me a pager because I was out with my friends alot and wanted to know where I was). I love my Anne Klein fake bling watch. I only look at my cell for the time when I wake up, otherwise it’s buried in my purse and inconvenient. I like them as a fashion acessory. I can’t afford expensive watches yet but I always buy nice ones that look more expensive than they really are. If I forget my watch one day, I feel uneasy.
I hate wearing watches and I rarely do. However, they can be invaluable for things like meetings and conferences. In these situations, it’s nearly impossible to get a look at your phone, but you don’t even have to be that clever to throw a glance at your watch and not get caught. Yes, this is probably a childish reason to wear a watch, but hey, it works.
Having to fish out your cell phone just to know what time it is is as inconvenient as having to dig through a briefcase (or purse, I imagine) for a mechanical pencil (or whatever your writing instrument of choice is).
Am I the only weirdo that doesn’t really have a good sense of what time it is without an analogue face? Looking at my computer screen, sure, it’s 4:49 right now, but that’s really a lot less meaningful to me than seeing the analogue gage on my watch. (To me) it’s a lot more meaningful to see where the hands lie (kind of like how those 80’s digital speedometers and tachs didn’t really take off). Yeah, sure, there are digital watches, but other than having a calculator on my watch in 6th grade, they’ve always been tacky and ugly – if the word blingy had existed back then, that’d’ve been a good description.
Like myskepticsight, I feel nekkid if I should discover that I forgot to put my watch on in the morning.
I have a computer with correct time, a cell phone with correct time and a watch with correct time. I use all of them as needed.
I am bumping this once. I need to know can anyone provide any figures rather than just anecdotes.
Some relevant articles:
Times up for watch sales in Japan
Watch sales are down
Are wristwatches becoming obsolete?
Some years ago in Turkey I bought 2 real Rolex Oysters for less than £5.
They came with a 20 minute no quibble guarantee money back if not satisfied warranty.